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The Power of One

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We never know how we will impact the lives of others when we start a relationship with someone, whether it is business, professional or a mixture. Only time can tell, or show us this, and sometimes we are never made aware of the impact of using our authentic voice has on others. Or the impact our “seemingly small” life had on many.

Yesterday I attended a Rosette Ceremony at Margraten (Netherlands American Cemetery) for David Rosenkrantz who was Killed In Action in 1944 and finally identified and buried with his brothers in California in 2018.

As more than 20 people gathered for the ceremony, I was reminded again about the Power of One. Please watch the video and then scroll down to read more.

David’s Power of One

Many of us commented after the ceremony and during the luncheon, that David would probably be amazed that he brought together so many different people. Dutch and Americans. Civilians and some active 82nd Airborne personnel. The living and the dead.

All were in attendance at the cemetery yesterday. His life which ended in 1944 fighting for our freedom and that of Europe, still has an impact 75 years later. David’s spirit lives on through his nephew Phil and all of us who were in attendance, those who contributed to Phil’s work, and those who will read his book once it is published. The research and writing Phil has done to learn about David’s life and honor his death is certain to inspire someone else to follow a similar path to learn about their family member in the future.

Your Power of One

Thinking about the Power of One as I talked about in my video, I was reminded that my work has tremendous value, even if I never know how it has affected someone else’s life, their family, the dead, or the future. Many people have the point of view that they must speak to thousands and be famous to make an impact. I have never believed that. I have seen how helping just one person find the answers to their family secrets and stories, helping them find answers and closure, and heal on some level, changes everything. Not only for them but also me. Each of us, speaking authentically, become the Power of One to spread the word in some form or fashion.

Yesterday, Phil spread the word about the work I do with families, military research, PTSD, healing, and all that is related to this, in his few moments to present me with a photo of David. His beautiful and generous words reminded me that the work I do is valuable and will stay with me in times when the work becomes too emotionally difficult or I am unsure where to turn next for help so I can continue helping my clients and those I interact with.

Who knows where else his words will ripple out or who might enter either of our worlds asking for help. Maybe we will never know.

What is YOUR Power of One? What gifts and knowledge do you have that you share with the world? What gifts are you afraid to share with the world or do not see as valuable? I challenge you to sit with these questions and explore how you being your authentic self in life and business can help change the world one life at a time.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this and how you have impacted someone’s life or someone has impacted your life. Please comment below.

Can I help you?

Are you ready to learn the bigger picture of your family member’s military service? Would you like to see what is included in unit records for your soldier? We are taking new clients and can help you find the answers and tell a deeper story about your family member. Email us at info@wwiirwc.com to set up your free phone consultation today to discuss project options, fees, and time.

© 2019 World War II Research and Writing Center

Why Do We Keep Repeating History? A Look at WWII.

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Last weekend Johan and I traveled to the Dutch/German border near Aachen and spent a few days exploring WWII history and contemplating family history. I did a lot of writing on this trip. Musings. Questions. Concerns. Joyful things. All of this was captured in my journal.

One thing that keeps showing up the longer I am in Europe on this trip is that history keeps repeating itself. We are not doing enough to stop this.

In September while at the unveiling of a new WWII memorial in the Netherlands, during a speech someone said something to the effect that the Dutch have lived in relative peace for almost 75 years. The current young generations have no idea what it is like to live in fear or hunger. They in many ways take their freedom for granted as if this is how it has always been and this is how it will always be.

Wrong attitude.

The Dutch seem to be the only European country (that I have witnessed) consistently educating their youth on the history and events of WWII. I can say that having kids in American schools, they are not being educated on any of this beyond 5 minutes here or there. My boys know about our family’s history and sacrifices because I take time to explain it. They know how things work in other countries because I explain it. Knowing American schools are not educating about the past in a way that we can stop the division, anger, hate, and war in the present or cause our kids to QUESTION everything, stirs a lot of emotion in me. Rather than question, students are being taught to follow the crowd like sheep and buy into everything the media, government, school, church, etc. tells them is “truth”.

In the Netherlands, the school children participate in commemorations and other events so the history is alive. In other countries in Europe it seems to be covered up, changed, ignored, slid under the carpet.

Case in point, we watched a National Geographic investigative program on Mussolini the other night after we visited the Nazi Training Facility at Vogelsang in the German Eifel. I have not studied Italian history beyond early family history for a client so was unaware that Mussolini was in power so long in the 1930s and Hitler modeled himself after Mussolini. Then the historians in the program made an important point – when rulers are losing power or the country is going to hell, they create a DISTRACTION. That distraction is war.

Mussolini took his country into war with Ethiopia and won yet lost. WWII began and eventually Italy, who originally sided with Hitler, lost that connection and became an Allie. From the program and what I’ve heard, Italy does not educate their youth the way the Dutch do. There is a rise in Fascism today because people want a new Mussolini. They seem to have no concept of what happened in the past to bring him to power, the destruction he caused, and his downfall and the state of Italy afterward.

Thinking about all we have seen in the last two months in Europe, the programs I have watched, the places we visited, the history I read, the clients I have been working with, I did a lot of writing on this topic before we visited Margraten, the Netherlands American Cemetery for WWII. In this sacred place I wandered the graves, visited some specific soldiers, was snagged to stop and talk to others, and contemplated all of this. Having family members who fought, were changed, or died, in WWI and WWII, I do not understand why we keep forgetting the past. Why we continue to carry the sins of the fathers around like they are ours. Why we are so afraid to bring our family darkness to the light and explore it. Forgive it. Release it. Find closure.

Some of my thoughts are contained in this video. Some invitations and questions for YOU are also here. Have you taken the time to consider these things? What roles have your family members played in the past – whether WWII, WWI, or even before that, to continue looping history? Do you think it is time to let these things go and stop carrying them in our families?

Additional reading: for background on this trip and where some of my questions came from, you are invited to read the other articles I wrote where I touch on these topics.

Are you ready to explore your family’s history or military history? Explore our services and educational materials to learn more.

© 2018 World War II Research & Writing Center

More on an Unknown Soldier at Margraten

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In late 2016 I visited Margraten again to see some soldiers I had researched, visit my husband’s adopted graves, and stop by a grave a friend asked I see. Next to that is the grave of an Unknown soldier (John W. Gordon from Illinois). I wrote about the spiritual experience I had at that grave in my article, When the Dead Speak. Today you can watch the video about this Unknown when I visited him Memorial Day weekend 2018. If you would like to visit this soldier, he is buried at Plot P Row 22 Grave 14.

UPDATE 31 January 2024

John W. Gordon was identified on 13 July 2022. You can read about it on DPAA’s press release. I’m so excited! I hope his spirit has chosen to pass to the next level on his journey now that he has been freed from his Unknown status. He was buried on 23 October 2023 at Wood National Cemetery in Milwaukee, WI. His obituary and video of his funeral can be found at the Harder Funeral Home website.

Would you like help researching and telling the stories of your family’s service members? Contact us to discuss a research or writing project. Be sure to also check our our online courses to learn how to navigate the records (and the 1973 Fire) and locate information.

© 2018 (and 2024) World War II Research and Writing Center

From Margraten to Mississippi, A Dutch Family’s Journey

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This is a guest post written by Bert Eggen.

A little history about the American War Cemetery in Margraten, a little village in the South of the Netherlands and our special bond with Mississippi.

The use of this cemetery started at the end of 1944. At any moment in 1945 there were about 18.000 American soldiers buried in Margraten. The local community decided to appeal the Dutch people to adopt a grave. That meant that you regularly had to visit the grave, do some prayers for the soldier and put flowers on the grave. On Memorial Day 1946 all the graves were adopted by Dutch people and one of them was my father. He had adopted the grave of the American Staff Sergeant Earl Jenkins from Winona, Mississippi who had been killed in November 1944 in the German Eiffel Mountains. (Hurtgen Forest.)

Bert by the grave of Earl Jenkins in 1947. Photo courtesy Bert Eggen.

At the end of 1949 about 10.000 of the killed soldiers had been brought back to the USA and have been reburied there. This was also the case with Earl Jenkins. He has been reburied at the cemetery near Winona , Mississippi.

Bert at Earl Jenkin’s grave in Mississippi. Photo courtesy Bert Eggen.

At our first visit to the Jenkins family we also have visited his grave. Since that first visit, we go every year to Mississippi and visit them. From there we start our vacation-trip through the USA.

At the present time there are still 8.301 American graves and the names of 1.722 missing soldiers are engraved on two big walls.

On May 8th 2005 your President Bush and our Queen Beatrix visited the cemetery on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Europe.

John Rutherford, MIA

My wife and I have also adopted a grave.  The name of our soldier is John Rutherford and he was also from Mississippi. About 12 years ago I started to do some research to find out about the families of those soldiers. Unfortunately our soldier John Rutherford doesn’t have any relatives.

Remembering Earl Jenkins

But it happened that we found the relatives of Earl Jenkins.  We found his daughter Earline, his brother Clyde , his sister LuluMae and many of his nephews. Since that time, 10 years ago, we travel every year to Mississippi to visit our “new relatives.“ So it is obvious that we have a special bound with Mississippi.

Every year on Memorial Day there is a special ceremony on the cemetery in Margraten. On each grave are two little flags planted, one American and one Dutch flag. Now we had the plan of also planting a little flag of Mississippi on the graves of the soldiers from Mississippi. It appears that there 98 of them buried in Margraten. That is when I started to contact the Government in Jackson and informed them about the cemetery, the adoption by the Dutch citizens and my plan for the flags of Mississippi. Then things worked out very quick and very well, especially thanks to the great support of Mr. Chuck Holifield, Outreach coordinator of the Mississippi Veterans Affairs Board. In August 2013 my wife and I and some Jenkins were invited to the State Capitol in Jackson Mississippi. There was a ceremony and Governor Phil Bryant handed over 100 little Mississippian flags to me. It was a very special event for us!!!!! Every year with Memorial Day we place those little flags at the Mississippian gravesides.

Do you have questions about John or Earl? You can email Bert Eggen to learn more.

© 2017 World War II Research and Writing Center

Should I Repatriate the Remains of My Son Bernie Tom?

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Bernard Tom. Photo courtesy of the Tom family.

This week we are honoring Bernie Tom and the anniversary of his death with articles on some of the letters he wrote to his parents and explaining how the details can help researchers understand not only military service of an individual, but also who he was.

The decision of whether or not to repatriate a soldier’s remains was a very personal one, which often involved many factors. These included, but are not limited to:

  • Soldier’s wishes (remain overseas where he fell with his buddies or be brought home)
  • Money (could a family afford to bury their son in a private cemetery after the government paid to return the remains? Not all families wished to have their son in a national cemetery, which may have been far away.) I recently wrote an article called, A Family’s Grief and the Cost of WWII Repatriation. A comment was made that money was never an issue as to why a soldier remained buried overseas. I beg to differ, as does the father in the article.
  • Wishes of the legal next of kin (NOK).
    • There was a specific hierarchy during and after the war, as to who the official and legal NOK was. If a soldier was married, his unmarried widow was designated to choose. If she had remarried prior to the time in which the decision was to be made, and proof existed she remarried, it reverted to the soldier’s father. In some cases, and this is documented in IDPFs, there was arguing between the widow and family of the soldier as to where his remains should be. There are many reasons for this. I recently read a file for an airman who was KIA in the Pacific, whose widow remarried and the airman’s mother and sister obtained a certified copy of the marriage license, submitted it to the government and had the legal NOK changed. In another file, the widow remarried, did not notify the government and the soldier was permanently buried in North Africa. Somehow the family of the soldier proved after the permanent burial with the marriage license, that she remarried and was not the legal NOK, and the decision was reversed and he was repatriated. These IDPF files contain more than basic death information. It is worth your time to really study them.
    • If the father was deceased, the next legal NOK was the mother. If both parents were deceased it moved through siblings unless there was some other official legal person named.
  • Concern over whether the grave would be tended to or just become overgrown and forgotten.
  • Concern over whether the people in Europe would care about our soldiers and honor their memories, or just move on with their lives and forget the sacrifice our boys made for them.

The reasons to repatriate or not in most cases, may never be known if the IDPF or service record does not have correspondence about this topic. To judge a decision or assume that because we have beautiful cemeteries overseas (now) and at home in the states, judging through our eyes and experiences today, does our soldiers an injustice. As a historian, we are taught to have no judgment but look at the information through the historical lens. We do not know all the factors that went into a decision (emotions, money, desire of soldier or family, etc.)

Bernie Tom’s father questioned whether or not to leave his son buried overseas. This is an undebateable fact as his IDPF has the letters to prove it. These are pages 82-88 in Bernie’s IDPF. Read Bernie’s 122 page IDPF.  Mr. Tom asks:

  • How many families are bringing remains home?
  • Will the remains over there be cared for in the future as they have the last 3 years (length of time since Bernie died and option to repatriate.)
  • He comments on the fact several families in Holland have provided information, laid flowers, and taken an interest in the graves – but questions if that will end.
  • He states if the graves will be forgotten and go into ruin basically, he would prefer to have his son home. However, he says he thinks if the boys could talk, they would prefer to be where they fell.

As I read the letters in this IDPF, I can feel Bernie’s father’s pain, doubt, and sincere desire that his son never be forgotten.

Click on the images to enlarge.

In the end, the explanation from the government seemed to be enough to satisfy Mr. Tom’s questions. He chose to leave him in the land he helped liberate and fell. Bernie Tom rests at Margraten, where his grave was adopted. Not only did Johan adopt his grave, but also that of paratrooper Charles (Dave) Horn.

I, along with many others in Europe and America, honor Bernie’s memory, tell his story, and ensure he is never forgotten.

Would you like to know more about the job of Graves Registration who cared for our fallen and missing? Read FM 10-63 Graves Registration 1945.

© 2017 World War II Research and Writing Center

Bernie Tom’s Death and Burial

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Molenhoek temporary cemetery in Holland

This week we are honoring Bernie Tom and the anniversary of his death with articles on some of the letters he wrote to his parents and explaining how the details can help researchers understand not only military service of an individual, but also who he was.

Today I would like to explore some of the contents of Bernie Tom’s IDPF and make mention of Orel Lev’s IDPF. Orel died with Bernie and Kenneth Hull, whose IDPF I do not currently have. One interesting fact that is a bit in question is the death date of Orel and Bernie. Their Report of Burial forms say date of death 8 October 1944. They were both buried at 16:30 on 9 October 1944. Their Reports of Death provide a death date of 9 October 1944, as does Bernie’s grave. Kenneth was repatriated and buried in California. His Headstone Application shows a date of death of 9 October 1944.

According to the testimony and narrative, in Fighting Fox Company, about the artillery barrage at the position in which Hull, Tom, and Lev were, it is possible they died on the evening or overnight on the 8th. Graves Registration and the personnel who created the Report of Death, may have processed a lot of remains that day and did not pay close enough attention to the date of death on the Report of Burial form.

These are the “small” details we often overlook by just searching for the answer to one question as we investigate these records.

Bernie’s file contains many letters from Fred Tom (Bernie’s father) and the military. Fred also enlisted the help of his congressman to learn the location of Bernie’s grave and the details on “missing” personal effects. As many parents or widows of soldiers did, Fred wrote to the military inquiring about personal effects he believed or knew his son to have carried, that were not returned. Unfortunately, items were not always recovered by Graves Registration personnel. Sometimes items were pilfered or lost in the area in which the soldier died. Sometimes a soldier told a buddy to ‘take my watch or ring and send it home if I die.’ And as in the case of my cousin James Privoznik who was killed by a high explosive shell during the Battle of the Bulge, later buried in Luxembourg, it is likely any personal effects survived based on the description of his remains. Yet his mother was not told this. Families were not told many things after their loved one died. That is a post for another time.

Of all the IDPFs I’ve read, it is my observation that the men who inquired and pressed the military and government for answers, got them. Most of the men had one or all of the things required to get answers: education, money, or social connections. It seemed the men (and only one woman in a file I’ve read so far inquiring about her brother), who had one or all three of those things, would receive information above and beyond what the average family received. Women were less likely to press for information, or receive answers, if they did. Bernie’s father pressed and the military responded with great detail which you can read in his file.

Bernie’s file contains information on his burial temporarily in Molenhoek, his father’s decision to leave his remains overseas, and final interment papers for Margraten.

Tomorrow we’ll look at the decision Fred Tom made regarding where to permanently bury his son.

Read Bernie’s 122 page IDPF. 

Read Orel Lev’s 44 page IDPF.

There are countless books available on the Airborne in World War II. Two specific books to help you learn more about Bernie’s service include the following.

  • Learn more about F Company in the book Fighting Fox Company by Terry Poyser and Bill Brown.
  • Learn more about Paratrooper training in the book The Making of a Paratrooper. Airborne Training and Combat in World War II by Kurt Gabel.

What details have you learned about your soldier through the IDPF? What discrepancies did you discover and how did you resolve them? Did your family press for answers? If so, did they get them?

© 2017 World War II Research and Writing Center

Paratrooper Bernie Tom from D-Day to Death

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This week we are honoring Bernie Tom and the anniversary of his death with articles on some of the letters he wrote to his parents and explaining how the details can help researchers understand not only military service of an individual, but also who he was.

As we move through the final set of letters Bernie wrote to his parents, I’d like to point out a few things I learned about Bernie.

He has a great sense of humor.  In one letter dated 1 June 1944, he tells his parents General Taylor is supposed to talk to the troops. He jokes he will make some time to talk business with the General to speed the end of the war. On 2 June he writes one final letter containing general chatter and then writes nothing until 16 June 1944.

He has a confidence and strength not seen in every young man. He seems to have a sense of what he is contributing to the world. Bernie has a plan for the future and sent a lot of money and war bonds home throughout his entire service.

The war was real before D-Day, but it is even more real after. Bernie discusses France in his 16 June 1944 letter saying people have it hard. They wear straw for socks and walk around in wooden shoes. Most are happy to see the Americans, but not all. He goes on to say, “The jump wasn’t bad but i was never more scared in my life…..” This is the first time he admits he has any fear.

Bernie did a good job overall in writing his letters. Almost nothing censored. One letter dated 20 June 1944 had several things blacked out, including the name of the fountain pen he was using, which seemed an odd thing to black out. He was sitting in a Red Cross Club in France as he wrote this letter and was likely using a pen they provided as he mentioned the Red Cross Club had writing desks, pens, and paper. That same letter had a sentence in which it appears he talked about killing Germans (Krauts) as those words make sense in the blacked out portions. Interesting those words would be blacked out when it was common knowledge the Americans were fighting the Germans. Bernie also mentions in this letter he had his first bath since they arrived in France on 6 June. His bath was out of a bucket. How often do we take bathing for granted?

Bernie’s letters are less frequent through the rest of June and contain general news about how he is and questions for his parents. He states several times he really knows nothing about how the war is progressing unless he sees a news bulletin. Often those are two to three days old. By 4 July 1944 he is still in France, hasn’t bathed for a month and comments on something his dad wrote in a letter saying he didn’t read anything about Bernie’s involvement in D-Day. Bernie responds the 506th may not have been mentioned in the papers but his Division was, though he couldn’t say which Division at that time. He did say he was one of the first to drop into France on D-Day.

Bernie takes great pride in the work he does for the war. On 5 July 1944 in his letter to his parents, he asks if they read anything about the fall of Carentan. He said, “The papers mention the Rangers took the town, but it was solely a paratrooper victory…..I know because I was there.” Later that month his unit returns to England to await the next jump.

Between late July and mid-September, Bernie’s letters are few and far between. The unit is training a lot and he mentions being tired and behind on writing letters. By this point he knows his brother Dana is overseas, but not exactly sure where. Unfortunately the two did not meet up prior to Bernie’s death.

His final letter home is dated 15 September 1944 and he asks about the family and mentions he rode into town in a 1938 Hudson, the largest car he’d seen in England. This is just prior to the jump into Holland.

If any of Bernie’s other letters exist, if he wrote any others prior to his death, they are not part of this collection.

Bernie Tom died on 9 October 1944 near The Crossroads.

© 2017 World War II Research and Writing Center

Paratrooper Bernie Tom – Part 2

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Bernie Tom after jumping into Holland September 1944.

This week marks the anniversary of PFC Bernie Tom’s death on 9 October 1944. After reading three binders of letters from him to his parents and friends, and some from his parents and friends to him, I chose to write a few articles to honor his life and service. Also to explain what we can learn about our soldiers through their words. You can read the first article, Band of Brothers in Letters – Bernie Tom KIA 9 October 1944.

All quotes are typed as Bernie wrote them, spelling and punctuation.

Bernie arrives overseas early in 1944, first landing in Ireland. the V-Mail to his parents for 19 February 1944 stated, “The Crossing was awful, especially for me. I was sick most of the time. Not so much sea sickness but it was the food. It was the worst I had ever left on my plate. I lost about 10 pounds all together.”

Can you imagine losing 10 pounds within a short period of time crossing the Atlantic? For most of these soldiers, this was their first time on a boat or a ship. I wonder what they were thinking, how they felt.

As the months of February and March 1944 go on, Bernie reports the food is better, he is better and that he will have a lot to tell his parents when he gets back. His letters provide a sense that he will return. In some of his letters, there is a sense of homesickness, as he describes thinking about his mother’s apple pie or playing football with his friends. He also seems to mention in most of his letters, that he received another letter from his parents dated x, and it took a month/2 weeks etc. to cross the ocean. In future months, Bernie reports the air mail is much faster than V-Mail and asks his parents to send air mail stamps.

Bernie often has to cancel dates with local girls because of last minute guard duty he is told to do. He mentions this often in his letters.

By April 1944, the unit has moved from Ireland to Scotland to England and by 10 April 1944 (exact date unknown until I do the research), Bernie has been assigned to F Co 506th PIR 101st Airborne.

His letter of 17 April 1944 stated he was in the field for a week and it rained the entire time. The men stayed in the same clothes all week as it rain fell and the mud got deeper. Seems they were being prepared for what was to come – fewer showers and changes of clothes.

Bernie writes his parents often and while he seems to write at least weekly, and often more when he knows he’s about to move, he apologizes for not writing enough. In his 1 May 1944 letter he ends with, “PS – I think your the swellest folks a guy could ever have. I love you both more than you’ll ever know.”

As the month of May progresses, Bernie writes more often to his parents, using V-Mail as the primary communication tool. He talks about a night jump he did where he was not injured. Mentions friends he received letters from and boys from Athens, OH, where he’s from that he runs into here and there. Thanks his parents for every box they send filled with cookies, candy, film, and other things Bernie requests. He always mentions how much the boys in the barracks enjoy the box as each time one receives a box, they all share.

Wouldn’t it be great if all of us stopped to appreciate these “small” things in life and stopped blowing up over the insignificant things? Every letter Bernie writes and mentions a box, is filled with gratitude. You can feel it. What would it be like if we all lived that way every day?

As May winds down, Bernie’s letters increase as he must know things will happen soon. He tells his parents more than once, not to worry if he doesn’t write for a while, he’s just out in the field. One very interesting thing he wrote on 23 May 1944 is a request for his parents to donate all his clothing, except the uniforms he sent home. He wants to buy all new clothes when he returns. The energy I picked up on this letter was strange – I couldn’t quite tell if he knew he would never return home or if his body had already changed so much from the food (or lack of) and training, that after the war, he would not be the same as he was before – in any aspect.

Finally, as D-Day approaches, Bernie sends off several more letters and mentions he has no idea what is happening with the war. The Athens Messenger newspaper he was receiving is at least a month old. The men are told almost nothing. So he is not able to respond if his parents mention something in their letters. Sadly all their letters do not exist in this collection. A few do, but not all.

What else can we learn about Bernie’s service from his letters? Well, he is about to jump into Normandy and there are more letters to read.

© 2017 World War II Research and Writing Center

Band of Brothers in Letters – Bernie Tom KIA 9 Oct 44 Part 1

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Bernard Tom. Photo courtesy of the Tom family.

Today we remember PFC Bernard (Bernie) Tom of F Company 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment 101st Airborne, who was Killed In Action on the dike between Randwijk and Heteren, Netherlands, near the Crossroads. If you know where Dukeman was killed and turn around, that is where F Company also fought.

A grave adopter adopted Bernie’s grave at Margraten (Netherlands American Cemetery). Several years ago he connected with one of Bernie’s nephews and niece in-law, who gave Johan a collection of photographs, documents, and over 100 letters Bernie wrote just prior to joining the Army until just before his death. These letters have never been published.

I started reading these letters and after reading 39, I have a better idea of who Bernie was as a man and soldier. I know about people in his family and town. I am able to document much of his service history that may have been in his OMPF (it did not survive the fire). I’m also learning a lot about the training itself. This is the first article about the contents of Bernie’s letters and what we can all learn by reading wartime letters.

Bernie’s OMPF (service file) burned. Only seven pages remain which contain letters and requests for information written by relatives in the 1980s. The information provided in this article is only the tip of the iceberg. My target is to help readers understand the depth of information you can find in these family letters.

The letters begin on 3 November 1942, when Bernie is living in Akron, Ohio, having left Athens, OH for work. His letter mentions he took his exams for the “Navy and the Air Corps.” He wished to fly planes, based on the information in his letters.

Once Bernie is in the military, much of the paper he uses to write letters is on camp letterhead or some really cool Paratrooper letterhead. His letters are primarily written with fountain pens in ink colors of red, black, and various shades of blue, though a few are in pencil.

He enlisted in the Army on 1 February 1943 and went to Camp Taccoa to join the Airborne. He did not initially make the cut due to low blood pressure. By the end of the month, he was transferred to Fort Jackson, SC and assigned to H Co 328th Infantry Regiment 26th Infantry Division. In his letter to his parents, he said, “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to worry, but Camp Toccoa was a hole. I mean it was awful but this place is O.K. good food barracks and such.”

Using the envelopes that are with each letter, I am able to establish a timeline of his service history because some of his letters only say “Saturday evening”. The envelopes are important because not only do they have the date they were posted but also from where. Without the envelopes, I would not have known he spent a lot of time at Camp Mackall. It is so important if you have envelopes with the letters to keep them with the letters!

I can document the units and training camps Bernie was in until the point he officially entered the 101st Airborne. Bernie mentions as he is transferred from one unit to another (and camp to another) his service records are “lost” and it takes a long time for them to make their way to his current location. This caused him some issues with rank and pay while waiting for his records to show up.

Many of his letters mention family members, including his brother who is in the Army Air Forces. He mentions many of the friends from Athens, Ohio, he knew. This information is especially important for anyone writing about wartime in Athens, Ohio. It was a small town and using letters from soldiers, may provide information about the whereabouts and service of the young men who left to fight.

Bernie appeared to have a strong work ethic and sense of adventure young men often have. Prior to joining the Airborne, he volunteers to take a swimming instructor course, in which he stated, “It’s a 50 hr course on [i] time. One class i 4 hr. long every afternoon. During this course I’ll swim through burning oil, and with a full field pack. It’s very interesting work.” In the same letter he talks about a Ranger course he took. “One time I crawled 75 yds under machine gun fire dodging blasts of T.N.T. also I had to craw under 30 ft of barbed wire entanglements. We also did many other interesting things such as, a booby trap course, T.N.T. course, and ect.” (All misspellings are his.)

He documents some, but not all of his jumps, with details about each one. Using the letter dates, I can tell you what dates he jumped. His letters indicate the day he received his jump boots. I learned more about his paratrooper training and when he is transferred after training to a replacement depot and heads overseas. Bernie was not officially in an Airborne unit until early 1944 when he is overseas.

There is so much information in these letters, it would take a book to explain it all. I hope this first article gives you an idea of who Bernie was, a little about his service, and the depth of information you can find in these letters.

Thank you Bernie for your service. We will keep you memory alive.

Does your family have letters from your soldier? Are the envelopes in which they came still with the letters? What information can you learn about your soldier’s service history, his family, and life from these documents?

© 2017 World War II Research and Writing Center

Are You Researching the Other Names in the IDPF?

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Did you know I’ve been researching genealogy (family history) for more than 20 years? Though to be honest I know more about my client’s families than my own at this point, as I spend more time researching for them. One thing that the genealogy community encourages people to do is research the collaterals. For readers unfamiliar with this concept, let me explain.

Joseph and Majdalena Kokoska, my great great grandparents, came to Chicago from Bohemia in 1880. To my current knowledge and research, they had no family here, so the reason they chose Chicago over another location where Czechs were settling is unknown. They had 11 children, 10 of which survived beyond infancy. They lived on 18th Place in Chicago, which was in a Czech neighborhood. To learn more about them, I used the usual records – census, vital record, military draft cards, etc. I also searched the collaterals when I could not initially locate them in the 1920 census.

Searching the collaterals meant looking at who their neighbors were. If I could locate them in the census, chances are I would locate my family as I had other proof they had not moved. Examining the records of the neighbors lives, might lead to a connection that went back to Bohemia. It may have also linked to occupation and organization involvement in Chicago. In rural areas, genealogists may look at many families in a town or county, as it was common for groups of families to migrate from one place to another. When we can’t find a family in one place and a census shows other families are gone, tracing those families may help us locate ours.

How does this apply to military research?

Often when we receive military records for our soldier, airman, sailor, or Marine, we focus so much on the individual and the details we can find on him or her, that we ignore the rest. What would happen if we shifted some focus to those who served with our soldier or were declared MIA or KIA the same day they were? What might we learn?

In one example, I have been reviewing the IDPF for Col. John A. Gillies, who died when the Russian plane he was on with two other Americans, crashed over Iran on 29 Feb 1942. Col. Gillies was part of the Corps of Engineers at that time stationed in Iraq and the Americans he was with, along with many Russians, were handling aspects of the Lend-Lease agreement. While the IDPF is VERY complete and there are many descriptions of the plane crash, photographs, and a detailed description of the recovery efforts, searching other records and the collaterals is important.

I searched Ancestry.com for two men, Roland L. Spencer and Gustave A. Goesele and found a database I don’t remember seeing before. If I had, it didn’t pertain to the research I was doing so I overlooked its significance. This is the Reports of Deaths of American Citizens Abroad, 1835-1974. In this database I found roughly 10 pages that pertained to Spencer and more than 50 pertaining to Goesele! In these records was information about the plane crash and loss of the men, financial information, and occupational information. Gillies was mentioned in these reports as well. They provided yet another source of information to his life.

Exploring offline archives for additional records, especially occupational records to see how these men were connected prior to the war may also prove useful in compiling their life stories.

For European grave adopters, there is always a concern of how much will it cost to obtain records. In Europe many records are digitized, and available free or at low cost, in archives. The same is not true for U.S. archives. Online resources are the primary way grave adopters locate information. Yet as I have explained in my Why WWII Research Isn’t Free article, most of the information you need to tell the full story, not just the end, is not online. When you read the IDPF you are getting the end of a soldier’s story and his final unit, which often is not the only unit in which he served and not the only war experience he had. To learn his full story you have to use offline records.

I encourage everyone to explore these other individuals connected to your soldier. You may be surprised at what you discover about them, their living family members, and even locate photographs.

Do you need help obtaining records? Would you like an individual consultation in the Netherlands? Contact us for details on research projects.

Have you searched the collaterals for your service member? What discoveries did you make?

© 2017 World War II Research and Writing Center