Читать книгу Home Front to Battlefront - Frank Lavin - Страница 15

At Lehman High School on Monday morning, the mood was electric. Students were assembled in the auditorium to hear President Roosevelt’s address to Congress. America was going to war, and all the boys wanted to be part of the action.¹

Carl was a little bit chagrined because he wouldn’t be turning eighteen until April, over four months away, and everyone believed the war would be over by then. Carl was disappointed he would not get a chance to fight.

Time seemed to slow down after the initial rush of excitement. Carl still had high school to finish. For the moment, Carl’s contribution to the war effort was limited to a small poem in the school paper.

“Answer to Goebbels”

Then have

You seen our men

As they walk home from work

Each clean and dirty, weak and strong?

You will.

The immediate optimism after Pearl Harbor faded with a string of Allied defeats and setbacks. With the fall of Hong Kong in December 1941, the fall of Singapore in February 1942, and the Japanese sweep across the Philippines, historian Paul Fussell noted that early 1942 was “close to the nadir for the Allies.” Time magazine declared the week of February 23 the “worst week of the year.” US radio stations were forbidden from using the transition phrase “and now for some good news.” That week President Roosevelt used the perseverance of Washington at Valley Forge as a theme for his Fireside Chat radio address.²

Carl joined the discussion when he entered the essay contest sponsored by the Canton Repository. On the same day as Time’s pronouncement, Carl won second prize in the City Division for his essay, “Right or Wrong,” urging Americans to buck up:

We have been told again and again that this will not be an easy war and that we must expect many defeats before final victory, just as we have been asked to have faith in the capacity of our leaders, our factories and soldiers, and our allies.³

Hometown Canton adjusted to wartime. The Hoover plant was producing hand grenades instead of vacuum cleaners.⁴ Diebold was making armored cars and airplane and anti-aircraft parts. Republic Steel manufactured armor plating, ordnance, and bombs. Hercules Motors churned out engines. And Timken—whose gun barrels and bearings were vital for the war effort—went from eight thousand employees at the beginning of the war to eighteen thousand by the end.⁵

These industries made Canton part of the war effort, but Timken Bearings was the talk of the town. The fact that most of America’s ball bearings were made in Canton meant the Nazis knew it as well. Everyone knew this meant Canton was number 11 on the list of German targets in the United States. Or maybe it was number 17. Anyways, it was up there.⁶

In April, Carl turned eighteen and registered for the draft. Lehman also adjusted to the war. Civics and history classes had radios for the latest war news. Defense stamps were sold every Thursday. Knitting clubs were organized.

But the seriousness of the war did not stop small-town eccentricities. The most quirky Lehman tradition for senior year was in the math department. The math teacher made a pact with the seniors at the beginning of every school year. If they could cover the entire year’s requirements in the first semester, the teacher would then use the time allotted for math class during the second semester to read Victor Hugo’s entire novel Les Misérables to his students. Carl’s class, like the preceding classes, accepted the challenge. It wasn’t so bad listening to and discussing the great novel as winter turned to spring.

The senior class gift was an ambulance, a converted 1940 Packard donated to the City of Canton, with funds raised through a scrap metal drive. The ambulance was presented at the June 5 graduation. The commencement speaker’s theme was the need for people of all races and backgrounds to work together.⁷

That fall it was off to join elder brother Fred at the University of Miami, just north of Cincinnati. Leo had not gone to college and was not too keen on Carl attending, but he agreed to send Carl under two conditions: that the college be in Ohio and that Carl major in business. So Miami it was, notably the Ohio college farthest from Canton.

As a freshman in the fall of 1942, it was difficult for Carl to take school too seriously. He was expecting to be called up at any moment, and he joined the army reserve program on campus, the Enlisted Reserve Corps (ERC).⁸

When Carl discussed the ERC with his mom and dad, they didn’t quite get it. They asked, “Can’t you just wait until you are called up?” Dorothy and Leo wanted Carl to stay out as long as he could. The draft was there and everyone was going to be grabbed sooner or later. There’s no point in going in any sooner. Take your time, they said. Those words of caution might have been just what prompted Carl to join. For as soon as he arrived at Miami, he hitchhiked to Columbus to sign up for the ERC at Fort Hayes.⁹

Albeit a reservist and still a student, Carl had officially signed up with the army. Throughout his life, Carl could recite his army serial number with a bit of pride: 15140578. It started with a one, which meant he was a volunteer. The draftees’ serial numbers all started with a three.

When the school year began, everything was near perfect. Carl was cheerful and proud of his accomplishments. It was good to be in college and nice to be on his own, though Carl did get homesick. Signing up for the reserves meant Carl was doing his part, at least until it came time to really do his part. Fred, two years older, was able to get into the V-12 program, the officer training school for the navy.

But for Carl, not much happened in the ERC. There were no monthly drills. At first, there was not even a uniform. In many respects these months had a peacetime aura to them.

Still, America was at war; talk of gas and meat rationing had begun;¹⁰ and while Carl sent chatty letters home, some tweaking his family, Dorothy must have been worried about her younger boy going off to war. In the fall of 1942, Dorothy began saving Carl’s letters.

. . .

November 30, 1942

Dear Mom,

It’s probably a good thing I didn’t write you last week. I spent all my time studying for the nine week exams (sounds good anyway) with these results: Business—incomplete (missed the test and took it later but I don’t know my grade yet—I believe it is an A); Math, A; Geology, A; English, A; and history, A!—Honest, it was three times as much a surprise to me as it is now to you! The very worse I can have is a 3.8 average and it’s probably 4.0. Whoppee!—but don’t go expecting it every time now. I was just darn lucky.

Yes, a yellow scarf and gloves would come in very handy. And how about sending down some more ties. I need them very badly, about 10 or 12 of them. Just pick out the clean ones I’ve got and send’em along. AND SEND ME THE DAILY REPOSITORY [the Canton newspaper]—right now!! Please!!!

I’ve been waiting for it for at least two or three weeks now.

I told the guys down here about your having those tickets on the Canton-Massillon game 50 yard line and not going—they didn’t say anything—just ran around in circles on the ceiling!¹¹ But I suppose the excitement down here was nothing like it was in Canton—and I also suppose that you’ve talked about it so much that you’re tired sick of hearing about it.¹²

By the way, my roommate is now about three food shipments up on me. Why don’t you send some more down before Xmas vacation? It’s cold enough for orange juice to keep—and we could use some more cheese, and some meats, and some dates, and some fudge most of all—also anything else you can think of would be greatly appreciated.

Love Carl

P.S. Any big dances going on this Xmas?

Tell me what’s going on between the U.S. govt. and the Sugardale Prov. Co., willya?

Got drunk a couple of weeks ago to see what it was like—fine, but I don’t think I’ll try it any more.

I went to Cinci last week and had a lot of fun—behaved myself too. Don’t bathe Spitzy [the family dog] any more this winter—she can’t take it. How’s the gas up there?¹³

. . .

Sunday 12/13/42 only four, 4, more days (to Christmas break)!!

Dear Mom,

I hope by this time you have sent down the 25 or 30 dollars we will need in order to buy the tickets and get ready to come home. We are leaving at 8:15 from Oxford on a special to Dayton. From there we take the Cleveland train up to Crestline where we change to the Canton train. We will get in some time between six and ten o’clock, and perhaps later if we are held up so much that we miss a connection at Dayton or Crestline.

I’m not sending any of my soiled clothes home because I only have enough room for some suits and pants, and I think I’ll bring home a Hudson Bay, too, because I don’t need it here and I have an idea you’ll be needing it there with us coming home.¹⁴ However, I’ll hang all the soiled stuff up and give it an airing out while I’m home.

I’m getting a lot of sleep these last two weeks so don’t tell me I look like a fugitive from Molly Stark [mental institution] when I get home. I’m going to have a good time when I get home because this will be the last time us kids (we kids) will be together.

I’m awfully anxious to get home. Just thinking about it gets me all excited (pant, pant). The only thing I don’t like about it is going around saying “hello” to everyone. Why don’t all you mamas get together and work out some kind of a system whereby all that will be done away with?

By the way, ask Daddy if he knows any way of finding out about all the different kinds of services in the army and how they differ. I’d like to decide pretty soon what branch I want, because I probably won’t be here after this semester. Love –Carl

. . .

Carl was back at school after the holidays. As the school year went by, the boys were disappearing; classes were constantly dwindling in size due to enlistments and call-ups. Indeed, in the course of the war, some five thousand Miami men and women served in uniform.¹⁵

Carl’s enthusiasm of the first semester gave way to a sober pragmatism. War or no war, he needed money and food.

Figure 1-1. Carl’s Miami transcript, with a strong first semester and a devil-maycare second semester. Author collection.

. . .

Jan. 1943

Wed.

Dear Mom,

Here I am, back again in the old grind. Everything’s just the same here—except that some of the guys aren’t around any more.

I didn’t get my laundry yet. I hope you sent some pajamas along. I only have one pair. My pecuniary supply is also alarmingly low. When are you going to start sending the remittances? And don’t forget the $2.00 raise—due to the increase in the cost of living down here.

We arrived in Oxford at 3:00 instead of 6:00 and didn’t have to wait at all in Lima. Just after we got there a train came in going to Hamilton—so we took it and we came into Oxford on a bus.

Nothing exciting happened on that trip except that I lost my hat.

I narrowly missed serious injury yesterday from a violent explosion. I opened my mailbox and the door almost blew off under the concentrated pressure of two weeks of Repositories. When is that supply shipment coming? This is the first time in three months that we haven’t carried at least something in the larder. The whole third floor is complaining. I started off the new year here with a complete new leaf. I shifted the beds and chairs around until now we have an entirely different floor plan. Charming effect—charming.

Well, s’all now. I’ll be waiting to hear from you—in several different ways.

Love –Carl

. . .

In January, Carl all but stopped serious academic work. As he explained later, all the guys were waiting to be called up, so they mainly played poker all day. The view was “it’s going to happen any day” so students just didn’t go to class. This wasn’t something that Carl’s mom liked to hear, but Carl, being Carl, wrote about it anyway.

. . .

February 1943

Dear Mother,

I can see that everything is going along very nicely back home. You seem quite serene, in fact. I think that what you need is a good war job. You need something to take care of all that spare time. I can just see you every day trying to look busy. It’s bad for you to just sit around. You start thinking up ideas—such as buying stock. I’m surprised that daddy let you buy all that much and especially at that price. The market is about normal now but after the war it will go way down. If it gets around nine you’d better sell it. And don’t buy any stock from my savings. That means “do not.”—in other words, no. I am trying to convey a negative impression in regards to your buying more (RCA) stock for me. I trust it registered. But don’t sell it either—unless it gets over eleven. By the way, I bought it at 5-1/2, not 4-1/2. Why don’t you just buy bonds with all that surplus money? If you’ll remember, every time in the past twenty years that you’ve had money you’ve invested it. Every time you’ve invested in, you’ve lost it. All of which leads to one conclusion.

I am now a pledge at Zeta Beta Tau [Jewish fraternity]. We have only six pledges this year. It’s a lot of fun and I think I’ll go active if I have the chance.

I still don’t know when I’m going into the army. But I’m doing very little work and cutting a lot of classes, so it had better be before grades come out again. I don’t have much to do with myself and I’m really enjoying it down here. Maybe I’ll come home the week-end of the 20th. But don’t expect me. I probably won’t.

I just got the worst haircut of my life. I look like an egg-head now. It’s a combination of a bowl and a butch. Gives a rather startling effect.

I’m not dating the gentile girl any more. It was her idea, but I guess it was all for the best.

Could you please send quite a lot of extra money? There’s a prom coming up—lot of things are doing that week-end. Since you’ve got so much you don’t know what to do with it, I’ll help you spend it. Really, though, I need it—Soon as possible.

Our supplies are running pretty low, too. Please don’t send any Swiss cheese this time. Don’t we have American anymore? And tell me, what all has Sugardale cut out, and what’s going on there, and what’s been changed? Please tell me.

Has Spitzy gotten any older? Give me some more home town news.

All my Love –Carl

. . .

Sun, Feb. 21, 1943

Dear Mom,

Well, here it is Sunday—and everything’s all over. I went through more complications just getting Alice down here (for the prom). Stop worrying so much.

I needed the extra ten dollars to join Phi Eta Sigma, the freshman’s honorary.

What prompted that heavy barrage of character-building? I don’t know what I said but it must have been something—I was probably joking about something. Anyways it was unnecessary. If you’ll remember while I was at home going to Lehman, and had the benefit of innumerable lectures, I stood at about the middle of my class. While here, where I am on my own, I am doing considerably better.

And now for your question: Meteorology doesn’t interest me—I don’t intend to get stuck in some boring hole for two years. When are you sending some more food? I also need towels and handkerchiefs.—Love Carl

P.S. The prom was pretty good. Had a swell time this weekend.—Still nothing definite about the E.R.C. I’ll let you know as soon as something happens.

. . .

The army called Carl up in May.

. . .

Ft. Hayes, Columbus

Sat. May 22, 1943

Dear Mom,

Got my uniform Thursday and will probably get transferred to a permanent base around Tuesday. The chances are that I will get in the administrative branch of the service or Supply or Air Corps, but of course that is very indefinite. So far Army life has been quite nice. I live with mostly E.R.C. men, so it’s pretty much like college to me. Bye. Love Carl

. . .

Pine Bluff Ark

May 28, 1943

Thu.

Hi Maw,

Left Columbus Wednesday morning at 10:30 and made St. Louis in 8-1/2 hours (420 miles). Then we went the next 110 miles in 11 hours. It is now 10:30 P.M. and we are waiting here in Pine Bluff, Arkansas (pop. 52,000) until 1:15. So far the army has been a lot of fun. And this trip has been no exception. Just finished riding for a couple of hours with Don Curtis. His dad is a lodge bro. of pop’s. I’ll write when I get to the base.

. . .

His youthful confidence notwithstanding, Carl did not know when, or if, he would ever be home again.