Tuesday, February 10, 2015

LETTER #80 - 21 JUNE 1945





MY LITTLE NOTES:  Well he finally made it to Baer Field.  This is his final stop before going on a mission to the Pacific Theater.  In May 1945, Baer Field became an assembly station for deployment for servicemen going to the Pacific Theater.  This ended in December 1945.  Also, now his letters are being censored.

LINK:  Preparing C-47s for War (Baer Field) by Lou Thole

Welcome to Baer Field now Fort Wayne International Airport.
The house on the left is the summer home they bought in Long Lake, IL after WWII.   This picture was taken about 1958.  Note the shutters with squirrels on them!   My parents bought the house from them when they married in 1955. This was my childhood house. 

The house on the right is the house they lived at in Chicago while Uncle Louie was in the Service.  My grandfather is holding a large mushroom he found while on one of his walks in the nearby forest preserves (circa 1963).  Note the shutters that Uncle Louie is referring to.
Different angle.  You can see the crests he put on the shutters and on the garage door.  
I guess he was pretty proud of that mushroom! (1963)

Thursday, January 8, 2015

LETTER #78 - 14 JUNE 1945 and LETTER #79 - 16 JUNE 1945








































Last letter from Pope Field to his kid brother (my Dad) Tommy:  



MY LITTLE NOTES:  These are the last two letters (written just 2 days apart) from Uncle Louie while stationed at Pope Field in North Carolina.  Next stop, Baer Field in Fort Wayne, Indiana and closer to home!  I think some time between these 2 letters, he must have had a short leave to see his family.  He will mention this again in the next letter.  Also, now he earned a new stripe and is now a Sergeant.

Blinker Lights:  History of Blinker Lights/Flashing Morse Code