“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.
Frank Gartz's best friend, Frank Von Arx, writes to him from his post in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska. Besides the usual wry humor, this letter contains little-known information about the World War II Japanese invasion of the Aleutian Islands, Alaska. It was the first time the Japanese had invaded American soil since the War of 1812. I had known nothing about the battles of Attu and Kiska before reading this letter and looking into the history.
Like many army guys, Frank is figuring out ways to pull in some extra money. His mother sent him so much jeweler’s rouge, he’s going to sell the extra to his Cadet buddies. Perhaps it's the responsibilities he's taking on or the camaraderie of the Army Air Corps, where everyone has a job to do, but this letter demonstrates a growing maturity in this 19-year-old. He was a fun-loving, rascally high school kid who probably didn't do all he could to help his seriously over-worked parents in their janitorial business. Here is declares when he comes home, he'll show his dad "what a real son is like."
My grandmother's World War II letter may be hard to decipher with its German-accented English, here cleaned up a bit so it's readable, but her love and devotion to her youngest son comes through the difficult syntax loud and clear. She's sending him whatever he requests and more, news from home, and enough affection and encouragement to fuel his heart and courage.
I don’t know who the gal who wrote this letter is, but she sounds very ambivalent about how to respond to a marriage proposal from her boyfriend. A lot of guys wanted to get married before they left for the service. Many girls were suspicious of their motivations. In an era when girls had to be more concerned about getting pregnant (no birth control; no abortion), many were more reluctant than girls today to have sex without the benefit of marriage.
Frank really wants to keep in touch with everyone back home. It's the surest way to keep the letters coming and relieve homesickness. He's writing about three letters each day, and this missive to his Mom shows how he finagles any extra spare time in between his demanding studies to get the daunting amount of writing done.