Sun, Sep 10, 1944: a variety of occupations

Sun, Sep 10, 1944: a variety of occupations

[language warning] "While on the subject of fathers, I might mention that the boys here in Section 5 are sons of men representing quite a variety of occupations.  Ed Burke's dad makes stationary and Ed's grandfather recently came back from China where he had been interned by the Japs while a missionary.  Burt Brody's Dad, a Russian immigrant, must be a very successful accountant; for somewhere he accumulated enough to send Burt to Europe, to a fancy 'finishing' school, and to Yale.  Then there's Harry Brown, who makes it clear that he hails from Queen, although his Brooklyn accent and the fact that his father is a Lieutenant in the Brooklyn Fire Dept. had us confused for a time.  Of course, one will find a scattering of farmer's sons around; but the occupations of the other 20 odd men here are not known to me.  It would make an interesting subject for investigation....

"Hank Brown, a very careful, meticulous housekeeper, hit the ceiling upon walking into the room Friday and finding a mimeographed room inspection sheet, stamped with our company officer's name and with red marks opposite six listed officers plus the line ROOM IN GROSS DISORDER.  Buel happened to have a stray appropriately signed slip; so we conceived the idea of planting it on Hank's desk.  The result was well worth the effort involved; and when Hank indicated that he was ready to take the grip to the Captain, if necessary, we informed him concerning the true state of affairs. Hank, being a good guy, sheepishly, grinned."

-- Letter from my father, Notre Dame, Ind., to his family, Bloomington, Kans., Sunday, September 10, 1944. 

Tue, Sep 5, 1944: propaganda movie

[warning: derogatory language] "I was a busy man over this week-end.  Friday evening we saw 'The Battle of China', a film in the 'why-we-fight' series.  It was the kind of thing which would certainly get us worked up about the war.  Pictures of Jap atrocities -- executions, persons with mutilated limbs, etc. - featured this propaganda movie.  Most horrible sight was a living man with half his neck hacked away.  The thing they tried to impress upon us is the fact that Japan by doing such has united China.  As has been the case with most countries, China has evolved from a geographic expression into a nation, because of a foreign war."

-- Letter from my father, Sidney DeVere Brown, Notre Dame, Ind., to his family, Bloomington, Kans., September 5, 1944. The word "Jap" appears regularly in my fathers' letters, in reference both to Japanese nationals and to Japanese-Americans.  I know in his later life, as a professor of Japanese history, my father was chagrined by his frequent use of the word in these letters.  In fact, when he transcribed some of these letters for publication, he always changed that word to "Japanese."  My father's liberal usage of the term reflects its common usage among non-Japanese Americans during World War II and before.  In fact, only a few U.S. newspapers chose to avoid the common slur.  Nowhere in my father's letters does he question the use of the term, even when he sympathizes with his Japanese American teachers unable to get housing because of racial prejudice.  To most Japanese Americans, the term was a biting insult.  As one Japanese American, Shosuke Sakai who immigrated to the United States as a seven-year-old around 1919, remembered: "They [white boys] used to call me a 'Jap.'  I remember, I used to get furious and start fighting back."  (Frank Chin, ed., Born in the USA: A Story of Japanese America, 1889-1947, 51; Daily Tulean Dispatch, November 6, 1942).

Mon, Sep 4, 1944: the team and wagon

"No mail today and Mother said it would be a good time for me to write you, so here goes....

"Mother and Stanley started to school today, they just went till noon as it was labor day, Mother just has eleven in her room, that will be some different from Waverley where they have 26 pupils this year  I imagine Ella Myres will have her hands full, you know she is teaching this year there.

"Mother and Barbara washed this afternoon and Stanley and I sowed Rye, Stanley drove the team and wagon to the field, thats the way we had of taking rye seed to the field. It looked for awhile like it was going to rain us out, but outside of a few sprinkles it has'ent rained yet."

-- Letter from my grandfather, Bloomington, Kans., to my father, Notre Dame, Ind., September 4, 1944.  My grandparents were still using horses on the farm in 1944.  The transition from horses to tractors for farmwork was very gradual on my grandparents’ farm as in the country at large.  The number of farm horses in Butler County, Kansas, peaked around 1910 at 22,752, roughly the number of people in the county (23,059).  If you add in the town horses, there were likely more horses than people in the county then.  The number of farm horses gradually declined to 8,479 in 1940 and to 4,666 by 1950, while the human population grew slightly and the acres of farmland stayed about the same.  My grandfather gave up horses in fits and starts.  He acquired a Fordson tractor, probably during the 1920s, but tired of its gas consumption and unreliability and returned to using horses in the early 1930s.  He got a new Farmall F-20 tractor in 1937, yet continued to use horses for some tasks.  (Sources: U.S. Census, 1900-1950; Sidney DeVere Brown, Kansas Farmboy: A Memoir of Boyhood and Youth [2008], 103, 105)

Thu, Aug 24, 1944: flowers are tossed

"The people of France are very joyful on being liberated from German control.  When we go through towns flowers are tossed on the jeep.  Bottles are brought out from hiding and everyone is happy.  Little kids and old men want to shake hands.  Cigaretts are in demand about the only English we hear is from children who say ‘Cigarette for Paw Paw.’

"Foot soldiers have quite a time. I saw a beautiful girl push her way into the colum and plant a juicy kiss on a pleased G.I.'s cheek.  He's been in a dazed condition since."

-- Letter from Dale Sooter, France, to my father, Notre Dame, Ind., August 24, 1944.  Allied forces landed in Normandy on June 6, 1944.   Dale was my father's cousin.  This letter was written one day before Paris was liberated by allied forces, aided by Resistance fighters who had already begun an uprising.  The French Free forces of General Philippe Leclerc were the first to enter the city.

Wed, Aug 16, 1944: haymaking

"Monday, Bato got here to help put up the prairie hay.  The haymaking is progressing slowly.  Last night we had a shower accompanied by lots of wind so the hay was too damp to work with until after noon.  Now to-night it is showering again.  We really need the rain badly though and the cooler weather that follows the showers is very refreshing...

"Jack Seal writes that he is back with his company again and is O.K."

--Letter from my grandmother to my father, Wednesday, August 16, 1944

Wed, Aug 16, 1944: Normandy invasion

"Yesterday a Lieutenant Commander, who had just returned from the Normandy invasion, in which he participated aboard an LST, attempted to get us all enthused about the amphibs.  He made a good speech, but I was amused at certain statements.  'Study hard while you're here.  If you can't pass the test, which we give at Solomons (an amphib training base) we'll send you back to school.  If that happens, you may never see any action in this war.' The foregoing words approximately sum up a portion of his speech.  He also went on to say that a high grade average here is necessary for that duty.  Heretofore 90% of the men from this school have gone to the amphibious forces.  However, after that speech the boys are contemplating discarding their books for the rest of the term and getting by with a 2.501 average to avoid this assignment, which necessitates top grades."

-- Letter from my father, Notre Dame, Ind., to his family, Bloomington, Kans., Wednesday, August 16, 1944.

Fri, Aug 11, 1944: glad to go home

“Daddy probably told you about hiring some German prisoners to help with the hay.  Just to see them without P.W. all over their clothing they would easily pass for American boys.  They were very mannerly and polite around the house (probably had a lot of instruction along that line).  One carried his German-English dictionary with him and if he couldn't think of the word out came his dictionary.  They really worked fine.  One was thirty-four one was twenty-four and one twenty-one.  The youngest was the best looking with brown eyes and wavy hair.  He couldn't speak English and was rather sad and dejected acting.  All of them said they would be glad to go home.”

-- Letter from my grandmother, Bloomington, Kans., to my father, Notre Dame, Ind., Friday, August 11, 1944.

Sun, Aug 6, 1944: the Chaplain

"Have you been writing that gal in Cape -- if you can't tell it to the Chaplain write and tell it to me.

"Your Pal

"Rip"

-- Letter from Rip Tallent, Asbury Park, N.J., to my father, Notre Dame, Ind., Sunday, August 6, 1944.  Rip Tallent was a fellow classmate of my father from his Navy V-12 program in Cape Girardeau, Mo.

Sun, Aug 6, 1944: German prisoners

"cut the alfalfa for the third time this year last Thursday and put it in the north barn on Friday, to help put it in the barn I got three German prisoner's from El Dorado, they have a camp of about 80 prisoners in it you can get them for forty five cents an hour for eight hours and you are allowed 50¢ per prisoner for going after them and taking them back you have to have them back in camp by 7 oclock, they were good workers, one could talk pretty good English, so we got along pretty good.  They were captured in Africa last Sept.  I ask one of them if he would rather be in Africa or in this country, he said in Africa, in Africa we are free men, in this country we a prisoners, he said. I went after them and took them back, there was no guard with them."

-- Letter from my grandfather, Bloomington, Kans., to my father, Notre Dame, Ind., Sunday, August 6, 1944.  

Thu, Aug 3, 1944: a little peeved

"I think the girls are a little peeved at me because they wanted to go fishing with a bunch of kids the other evening after the 4-H meeting.  It was 10:30 P.M. when they were asked to go along and I thought it was too late since Barbara had to plow the next day. I think the other kids aimed to fish until daylight.  So consequently they think I've abused them although they have been to the picture show, horse back riding, swimming two or three times, Sunday school, to Augusta all day and intend to go swimming to-day."

-- Letter from my grandmother, Bloomington, Kans., to my father, Notre Dame, Ind., Thursday, August 3, 1944.  Barbara Jean O’Neil was visiting my aunt Barbara that week.