Frances
is my father's sister. She remembers bits and pieces of the war, and she's
given me permission to put some of them here.
It must have been in July. We were out of school and while we were in Lawton, we went swimming at Doe Doe Park and watermelons were coming in at the corner store. We checked the prices every day so we could buy one when they got below about 3 cents a #. Ma (Law) wouldn't let Mary (Lovett) & me wear shorts or go swimming on Sunday.
We stayed a long time it seemed, but I guess the trip out took several days and then back but I'm sure she didn't stay more than a week or so. She rode a troop train, I know, and some of the soldiers helped her. Some were sick she said. That was a hot summer, and I didn't want to go home when we did. Has Roy checked with a N. S. Mathis;F 1/c; Co. 4 cl 3; N T S (diesel) from Cleveland, Ohio??
I asked who N.S. Mathis was:
N.S.Mathis is a man that was with Daddy prior to Nov. 17, 1944. He sent Momma a postcard with his address and asked her to forward it to Daddy. "Dear Audrey, W.D. wanted my address and asked me to send it to you. Will you send it to him next time you write. Please! N.S.Mathis F 1/C (probably Fireman 1st class), Co 4 Pl 3 (probably Company 4 platoon 3) N.T.S. (Diesel), Cleveland, Ohio"
I remember that little girl who's Daddy was a reporter for the Tulsa newspaper and he got a deferment, and she said "Ha Ha -my Daddy didn't have to go and yours did." I beat her up and she didn't say that again.
I remember our landlord coming to our house on Gentry (street) and telling Momma that she didn't have to pay her rent, because it was war time and Daddy was serving. She said she knew that but she'd do it anyway and she did.
All the stores had signs about selling cigarettes to minors, but any store would sell to Glen because everyone knew he bought Mom's groceries, his Daddy was gone, and Mom needed any help she could get.
I remember letters coming from Daddy with free marked in upper left corner because servicemen got postage free, I don't know if it was airmail or not. Daddy got home before Christmas when the war was over, because I remember telling my teacher that my Daddy was coming home for Christmas.
That was all I wanted.
She'd asked the class what we wanted for Christmas.
I remember Momma trading coffee stamps for shoe stamps, and Robert crying when the train went through town because Daddy left on the train.
I remember the rumor that the people that lived in a big house down the street was hoarding sugar. Probably not true, but you know small towns.
When Daddy boarded the Kliensmith, he was coming home. The War dept. had a point system to determine which men went home 1st. # of dependents was the biggy, and I guess length of service, hazardous duty that sort of thing. Daddy had 3 kids, and Robert was sick a lot, Daddy even came home one time on emergency leave because Robert was so sick with pneumonia, he had it a lot (they gave him sulfa then).
When the ship docked in the states (San Francisco, but don't remember that very well, maybe Seattle) the Red Cross and the Salvation Army were on opposites sides of the dock, and the Red Cross sold coffee and doughnuts to the returning men, but the Salvation Army gave it away. I thought that was terrible after Daddy had risked his life. I still can't bring myself to give to Red Cross or United Way because of that.
When Momma wanted to go to Seattle to see Daddy, she went to the Red Cross for help and they would loan her the money at a higher interest rate than the bank, so she borrowed from the bank. That was why Glen & I couldn't go because she didn't want to borrow more than she could pay back.
I remember when Momma got the letter out mailbox, I think from Aunt Gladys, that Tom was missing, I remember the mailbox, seems like she was crying when she came back across the road reading a letter I guess. Anyway she had paper in her hand. I think that was the same place we live (way out in the country) when Glen and I watched the sheet of rain coming, rained right up to our place, it was like a curtain. Coyotes got one of Glen's dogs there. Boy that was a long time ago.
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