“Letters of a World War II Airman” shares original letters to and from my uncle, Frank Ebner Gartz, from 1943-1945, tracing the course of WWII, life on the home front, and the evolution of a neighborhood kid into seasoned airman.
In Frank's letter to his mom, he refers to "boilers." These were the furnaces in the many buildings my grandparents cared for. In this era, and for many years afterwards, they burned coal, requiring lots of shoveling of coal when the weather was very cold, often several times a day, even overnight. They could be finicky and required a good deal of attention.
Ebner describes the ailment "The Mississippi Miserys" and how it affects him: "I have what is called the 'Mississippi Miserys.' It’s a sort of a cold. I’ve had it about a week now and there’s no change for the better. Nearly all the men down here have it and it’s hell. It’s a cough that almost chokes you and a clogged up nose. It comes from the damp weather. I sent home some personal papers I want kept for me."
Ebner responds to his mother's desperate plea for more letters, and his oldest brother's (Will) apparent chastisement about the "dearth" of letters.
Lisi Gartz, my grandmother, struggles again with English, writing in her tortured spelling and syntax to Ebner, her youngest son, who's in basic training at Keesler Field, Mississippi. She enlists my mother, Lillian, to take over midway through the letter to help with the writing.
The War Department started an Aviation Mechanics school at Keesler Field, which was activated in June 1941. "The first shipment of recruits arrived at Keesler Field on August 21, 1941. Many stayed at Keesler to become airplane and engine mechanics, while others transferred to aerial gunner or aviation cadet schools."