“Family Archaeologist” explores a century of family letters, diaries, and artifacts, and how they illuminate history and our shared humanity. To get an overview of the blog, click: “Welcome to Family Archaeologist”
LATEST BLOG POSTS
World War II 20-year-old: The important things in life
Frank may be the “little brother,” but he’s wiser about life and love than Will, older by eleven years. I’ve written before about Will’s “serious” nature, and difficulty “letting himself go.” Here Frank takes Will’s reluctance to get involved with a girl head on—filling his older brother in on what life’s all about.
World War II navigator cadet breaks a few rules to have fun
Frank is losing weight. Who wouldn’t with the intense workout the young cadets are put through? Stephen Ambrose, in his book about B-24 cadets, "The Wild Blue," describes one such workout, probably similar to what Frank experienced.
World War II interests: Planes and girls
Frank's oldest brother, Will, had always the most serious of the three Gartz boys. As the eldest in the family, he was motivated to be "good," especially because he had to compete, with an upstart younger brother, my dad, born when Will was just twelve months old. As you might expect, my dad had to carve out his own persona, radically different from his older brother's.
“I know how to misuse a brain cell…” World War II buddies in training
Corps Cadet, navigator-in-training, Frank Ebner writes to a former high school buddy, Ted Symon. Using his familiar humor, colorful language, and self-deprecation, common in the letters to his buddies, Frank highlights the intellectual rigor he's exposed to in his courses of study.
World War II navigator student battles heat, coursework, and roaches
Frank's twentieth birthday is coming up on May 14th, and his family wants to know what gift he would like. He's practical, and asks for "sun tans," the light-weight uniform cadets wore in warm weather. Again, it appears each cadet had to pay not only for toilet paper, but his own uniform!
Navigation school “a beautiful setup” in World War II
Below are two letters, written within a day of one another, by Frank to my dad and mother and the second one, just to my mother, Lil.
Keeping mum on the home front during World War II
My mother, Lillian, writes this chummy letter to youngest brother-in-law, communicating with spunky joy. Marjorie, the girl met in California, again comes into the conversation.
A typical day at Hondo, Texas Navigation School
A typical day, hour-by-hour, in Navigation School at Hondo, Texas. This letter from Frank to his brother Will (sometimes Will, sometimes Bill), again talks about Marjorie whom he met in California. Sounds like they had some serious interludes together.
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