Tuesday, June 18, 2013

World War II in my Dad's Journals #TBSU

When my father died in 1982, we found the journals he kept through World War II. He wrote almost daily through the whole war, and included hundreds of sketches and photos. My sisters and I have always meant to publish his journals, but never seemed to get around to it. Now is the time!

My father, Louis Joseph Moran Jr., got a pass out of high school in order to enlist. He became a repairer of radios for fighter planes, and was stationed in England. Here he is with some of his fellow soldiers. Louie is on the left.


Dad included almost 200 sketches in his journal. I had the images photographed with a process camera to get the highest possible resolution. These are the unretouched originals. What do you think? Should I clean them up for publication, or do the lines, hole punches, and handwriting make them feel authentic?


One of the things I love best about my Dad's journal is that it presents such a different view of army life. A favorite pastime for him and his colleagues was collecting dictionaries! You can see the Webster's on the shelf in the upper left.


When they visited a town, they made a beeline straight to the... museums! Not the pubs, contrary to expectation. Remember that my Dad was an ordinary guy, not even really a high school graduate. In the boring times between fixing radios, he and his fellow soldiers took correspondence courses.


My Dad recounts some painful stories in the journal. Fighter pilots were a tough breed, sometimes bordering on crazy. Many didn't make it back to base. Commanders could be admired, indifferent, or a**holes. But in the middle of the boredom and the horror, my Dad also saw and recorded the beauty.


Louie recounts many funny stories in the pages of the journals. He remained in the army through the occupation, and he and his buddy asked to drive a command car, leading a convoy into Germany. Granted permission, they realized as they climbed in that each had thought the other knew how to drive!

Over the next few weeks, I hope to type up and assemble my Dad's journals for publication. I'll continue to share snippets, if people are interested. Were you or a family member in World War II? What stories have you heard? My Dad never talked about his army years, except to share the occasional funny anecdote. Only after he died did we learn about his journals. Do you have family treasures you are thinking about publishing? I look forward to hearing your thoughts in the comments.

I don't really have any related posts, but you might like these:


Three great blogs, presented here in the grand tradition of The Blog Scratchers' Union! #TBSU

8 comments:

  1. What amazing pictures! I'd love to see more! I have a small suitcase of letters my Grandad wrote to my Granny during WW2. They recount his time away in Bristol where he was sent to work ( he was a steelworker) and my Granny was home in South Wales with the baby. He talks of his love for them but also about hearing the drones at night and the fear of being bombed as he slept. They are beautiful emotional and historical documents. I may base a novel on them one day! :-) xx

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    1. Wow, Molly! The letters sound fantastic! Why don't you write about them on your blog? That would be a great post! Sounds like a lovely novel, too.

      I'm glad you like the images. I have literally hundreds, and am getting really excited about compiling everything into a book. Woohoo! My Dad's dream was to be a published writer, and he put it aside to provide for us four kids. Maybe I can make it happen!

      Hugs,

      Carole

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  2. I saw your tweet about your blog and hopped on over. My dad also served in WWII (his name was Lou White, Jr.). He served in the Philippines. He never wrote a journal, but he had a photo album that he refused to talk about. He only showed it to us once, many years ago. He passed in 1995.

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    1. Hi Regina,

      Thanks for stopping by. War is clearly traumatic to everyone involved, even those not on the front lines. My father almost never talked about it, maybe two or three times in my life. We had no idea he had kept a journal.

      Do you have your Dad's photo album? That would be a valued keepsake.

      Hug,

      Carole

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  3. Oh, please leave the holes and foxing as it is. Cleaning them up won't do them justice.

    You've got a real treasure, something to pass down through the generations.

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    1. Thanks Maria. When I see the images here, I think the same thing. It's an authentic soldier's journal, and it looks it! You're right—it's a family treasure.

      Hugs,

      Carole

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  4. I think you should leave them as is, too. They are more authentic that way. :-)

    I'm so happy that you have this treasure from your dad, especially one you never knew about. I was with my father as he was looking through his filing cabinet for an official document, just a few days before he died, and happened to notice the title on one of the folders was "Songs and Poems". I asked him if it was a collection of lyrics to pieces that he particularly enjoyed, and he told me that they were songs and poems that he'd written. I was shocked... I had no idea that he had ever done any such writing before. No one did.

    I have that folder now, and haven't had a chance to go through it thoroughly yet. But I have read some of them, and it's such a fascinating insight into my father's mind at 21 years old. It really is a priceless treasure to have these pieces of him still here.

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    1. Hi Nathalie,

      Thanks for stopping by! What a treasure to find songs and poems by your father! My Dad was about the same age when he wrote the journals. How wonderful that you have such personal mementos to hold onto in these difficult days.

      Hugs,

      Carole

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