One of the most important dates in American history is December 7, 1941 when Japan, in a surprise move, attacked the Unites States Pacific Fleet at its base at Pearl Harbor.
According to the website - https://www.history.com/news/why-did-japan-attack-pearl-harbor, "Before the Pearl Harbor attack, tensions between Japan and the United States had been mounting for the better part of a decade.
"The island nation of Japan, isolated from the rest of the world for much of its history, embarked on a period of aggressive expansion near the turn of the 20th century. Two successful wars, against China in 1894-95 and the Russo-Japanese War in 1904-05, fueled these ambitions, as did Japan’s successful participation in World War I (1914-18) alongside the Allies.
"During the Great Depression of the 1930s, Japan sought to solve its economic and demographic woes by forcing its way into China, starting in 1931 with an invasion of Manchuria. When a commission appointed by the League of Nations condemned the invasion, Japan withdrew from the international organization; it would occupy Manchuria until 1945.
"In July 1937, a clash at Beijing’s Marco Polo Bridge began another Sino-Japanese war. That December, after Japanese forces captured Nanjing (Nanking), the capital of the Chinese Nationalist Party ... they proceeded to carry out six weeks of mass killings and rapes now infamous as the Nanjing Massacre."
According to website - https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/why-did-japan-attack-pearl-harbor, "the USA was slowly awakening from its isolationism ...
"In light of such atrocities, the United States began passing economic sanctions against Japan, including trade embargoes on aircraft exports, oil and scrap metal, among other key goods, and gave economic support to Guomindang (Chinese Nationalist Party) forces. In September 1940, Japan signed the Tripartite Pact with Germany and Italy, the two fascist regimes then at war with the Allies.
"Tokyo and Washington negotiated for months leading up to the Pearl Harbor attack, without success. While the United States hoped embargoes on oil and other key goods would lead Japan to halt its expansionism, the sanctions and other penalties actually convinced Japan to stand it ground, and stirred up the anger of its people against continued Western interference in Asian affairs.
"When Japan occupied French Indochina in 1941, America retaliated by freezing all Japanese assets in the states, preventing Japan from purchasing oil. Having lost 94% of its oil supply and unwilling to submit to U.S demands, Japan planned to take the oil needed by force. However, striking south into British Malaya and the Dutch East Indies would almost certainly provoke an armed U.S response. To blunt that response, Japan decided to attack the U.S Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, hoping that the U.S would negotiate peace."
"To Japan, war with the United States had become inevitable, in order to defend its status as a major world power. Because the odds were stacked against them, their only chance was the element of surprise. In May 1940, the United States had made Pearl Harbor the main base for its Pacific Fleet. As Americans didn't expect the Japanese to attack first in Hawaii, some 4,000 miles away from the Japanese mainland, the base at Pearl Harbor was left relatively undefended, making it an easy target.
"Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto spent months planning an attack that aimed to destroy the Pacific Fleet and destroy morale in the U.S. Navy, so that it would not be able to fight back as Japanese forces began to advance on targets across the South Pacific."
The website - https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/path-pearl-harbor - reports that: "On November 26, 1941... the Japanese Imperial Navy ordered an armada that included 414 planes aboard six aircraft carriers to set to sea. Following a plan devised by Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku, who had earlier studied at Harvard and served as Japan’s naval attaché in Washington, DC, the flotilla aimed to destroy the US Pacific Fleet base at Pearl Harbor.
"To catch the Americans by surprise, the ships maintained strict radio silence throughout their 3,500- mile trek from Hitokappu Bay to a predetermined launch sector 230 miles north of the Hawaiian island of Oahu. At 6:00 a.m. on Sunday, December 7, a first wave of Japanese planes lifted off from the carriers, followed by a second wave an hour later. Led by Captain Mitsuo Fuchida, the pilots spotted land and assumed their attack positions around 7:30 a.m. Twenty-three minutes later, with his bomber perched above the unsuspecting American ships moored in pairs along Pearl Harbor’s “Battleship Row,” Fuchida broke radio silence to shout, “Tora! Tora! Tora!” (Tiger! Tiger! Tiger!)—the coded message informing the Japanese fleet that they had caught the Americans by surprise."
"... the Pearl Harbor attack looked like a success for Japan. Its bombers hit all eight U.S. battleships, sinking four and damaging four others, destroyed or damaged more than 300 aircraft and killed some 2,400 Americans at Pearl Harbor.
"Japanese forces went on to capture a string of current and former Western colonial possessions by early 1942 - including Burma (Myanmar), British Malaya (Malaysia and Singapore), the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) and the Philippines - giving them access to these islands' plentiful natural resources, including oil and rubber. "But the Pearl Harbor attack had failed in its objective to completely destroy the Pacific Fleet. The Japanese bombers missed oil tanks, ammunition sites and repair facilities and not a single U.S. aircraft carrier was present during the attack."
The following day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed Congress, asking them to declare war on Japan, which they did by an almost-unanimous vote.
On December 8, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed a joint session of Congress with his “Day of Infamy” speech and the country responded, beginning on that day, only 24 hours after the disaster in Hawaii.
Transcript of the speech to Congress.
"Mr. Vice President, and Mr. Speaker, and Members of the Senate and House of Representatives:
Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.
The United States was at peace with that Nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its Government and its Emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific. Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American Island of Oahu, the Japanese Ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to our Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. And while this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or of armed attack.
It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time the Japanese Government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.
The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian Islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost. In addition American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.
Yesterday the Japanese Government also launched an attack against Malaya.
Last night Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong.
Last night Japanese forces attacked Guam.
Last night Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands.
Last night the Japanese attacked Wake Island. And this morning the Japanese attacked Midway Island.
Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our Nation.
As Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense.
But always will our whole Nation remember the character of the onslaught against us.
No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory. I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us.
Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger.
With confidence in our armed forces—with the unbounding determination of our people—we will gain the inevitable triumph- so help us God.
I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire."
Immediately industrial production ramped up to produce trucks and jeeps, tanks, half-tracks, artillery, a variety of heavy bombers, fighter planes, and an array of ships ranging from gigantic aircraft carriers to small amphibious vehicles called Ducks (DUKWs – half truck, half boat). American industry armed not only U.S. Forces, but British and Russian forces. The world had never seen such huge output.
The website -https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/12/07/the-attack-on-pearl-harbor-united-americans-like-no-other-event-in-our-history/ - reports that: "Food and gas rationing, victory gardens, Civil Defense volunteers, scrap metal drives, paper drives, rubber drives - all these stood as tangible evidence of the unity of Amercians in the days after Pearl Harbor.
"Revenue from war bonds bought from every walk if life were flowing in, and donations for the war effort were staking up. Bonds were a popular Christmas gift, selling from $25 to $1,000 apiece. One man, too old to fight, donated $25 for the effort; another woman sent simply $5. A senior class at Baird High School in Texas used $37.50 planned for their class picnic to buy bonds instead. A man in Manhattan, George Herman Ruth Jr, wanted to buy $100,000 worth of war bonds - he was told that the maximum was $50, 000, so he bought half in December 1941 and half in January 1942. (You may know him better by his nickname, Babe.) Archbishop Francis Joseph Spellman of New York donated $1,000 to the Red Cross, and even gave 'one pint of ecclesiastical blood,' as Time magazine reported.
"Just four days before Christmas, Roosevelt declared that New Year's Day should be considered a 'Universal Day of Prayer' ... In a strong, meaningful call for unity and call for strength, Roosevelt said that 'the new year of 1942 calls for courage and resolution of old and young to help win a world struggle in order that we may preserve all we hold dear.
"Before Nov. 7, the Navy and Army were severely undermanned - but after December 7, 1941, 'enlistment and recruitment offices were full to the brim. Birmingham, Ala., had 600 men volunteer in the first hours after the attacks, many too young to even enlist. Boston's recruitment offices had hundreds waiting in lines for hours, bonding with their newfound friends. 'All recruiting records of the nation's armed forces were shattered ... as thousands of men attempted to enlist for combat duty in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps or Coast Guard,' reported the New York Times on Dec. 10. Brigadier General Louis B. Hershey, director of the Selective Service Administration, even floated the idea of enlisting women ... Indeed, many women wanted to do their part - from wishing to enlist to donating their silk stockings for war use."
In January, the first Americans arrived in England as the Blitz intensified in England and Germany. Meanwhile in the Pacific, the Filipino port city of Manilla fell to Japanese troops.
Also in January, 33 year old Carole Lombard died in a plane crash while on a tour to sell war bonds. She was married to Clark Gable.
Like so many other young men after Pearl Harbor, my father registered for the draft on February 16, 1942. His registration states that John James Manning Jr was residing at 11 Cedar Street, Mattapan, Boston, Suffolk, Mass - his mailing address was the same. There was no phone. He was 21 years old - was born Sept 11, 1920 in Boston, Mass.
Mrs Katherine Manning of 11 Cedar Street, Mattapan, Mass would always know his address. His employer was New England Rendering Company, Brighton, Mass. His place of employment was 39A Market Street, Brighton, Mass. John J Manning Jr signed the registration.
Mary C Welch was the registrar for local board 32 located at 344 Talbot Street, Dorchester, Suffolk County, Massachusetts.
Page 2 reports that my grandfather was white - 5' 8" - 175 lbs - with blue eyes and black hair where he wasn't bald - he had a dark complexion. He had no distinguishing marks. He registered 4/28/42 at Local Board 32 - I can't make out the number for Columbia Road in Dorchester.
I was surprised to see my grandfather working at the Abattoir where my father was working. I knew they worked there together but I thought it was after the war. As we just saw, the Boston directory listed my grandfather as a chauffeur. Did that mean that he was driving a truck picking up carcasses, etc? Did he get my father a job there?
"In 1873, the complex shown above was built in Brighton to house, slaughter, and render domestic animals, primarily cows, steers, bulls, sheep, and pigs.
"Brighton was home to a 'cattle' market since at least the late 18th century, when the Winship family provided meat to Continental soldiers during the Revolutionary War.
"Over time, the market grew considerably. By 1830 a hotel ... was built to serve the constant stream of drovers, traders, and various shady characters that hung around the market. The market traded primarily in animals from Massachusetts and New England."
"The Brighton Cattle Market, was founded in mid-1776 when Jonathan Winship I and II, father and son, put out a call to the farmers of Middlesex county urging them to slaughter their cattle and send the resulting meat supply to the village of Little Cambridge (later renamed Brighton) to help provision General Washington's soldiers. The British had just evacuated Boston, and the Army of New England, then headquartered in and around the liberated city, was in desperate need of provisions of all kinds. The Winship family, who held a contract from the U.S. government to supply meat for the army, soon realized, that there was more money to be made from doing the slaughtering themselves, which, of course, necessitated the establishment of a local slaughterhouse.
"The cattle and slaughtering trades, launched in 1776, quickly transformed the sleepy agricultural village of Little Cambridge into a thriving commercial center. The selling and butchering of cattle became the economic mainstay of the town for more than a century, profoundly influencing virtually every aspect of Brighton's economic, political, and social development.
"The first stockyard in Brighton was at the site of 201 Washington Street, about a quarter of a mile east of Brighton Center. The slaughterhouse stood at the southeast corner of Chestnut Hill Avenue and Academy Hill Road. By 1790, Jonathan Winship II was the largest meat packer in Massachusetts, putting up some 5,000 barrels of beef a year for foreign markets alone.
"By the 1820s the Brighton Cattle Market was receiving between two and eight thousand head of cattle every Monday. The average sale of cattle at the Brighton Cattle Market in the 1835 to 1845 period exceeded $2 million a year. Brighton was the chief market for livestock in New England and it was a common sight to see herds of cattle, and occasionally of sheep, driven through Brookline Village and up Washington Street to Brighton."
"After the construction of the Boston & Worcester Railroad in 1834, the railroad brought livestock to Brighton from all over New England. The stockyards moved to North Beacon St in 1884, next to the railroad, where it remained until they closed in 1967 and moved to Littleton, MA to the Farmer's Live Animal Market Exchange (FLAME) which is still operating today.
"Cattle were taken from the train to the stockyards. Later they were brought across Market St for slaughter and processing at the Abattoir."
In 1872, all slaughtering activities in Brighton were consolidated into a single facility, the Brighton Abattoir, situated on a 42 acre site on the banks of the Charles River, thus freeing up valuable land in the central part of the town for house construction. The Abattoir closed in 1957 to make way for commercial property, the Leo M. Birmingham Parkway and Soldier's Field Road.
The Brighton Allston historical Society has the following memories of R F Callahan: "I cannot say for sure the exact locations of the various buildings that were at the Abattoir. There were many, of course. I remember at the Market Street end almost across the street from the Plantation, a drinking establishment, a Squib or Squires Sausage Works building existed. It was just a ways down from the Nonantum Road entrance, which was then directly across from Lincoln Street. I stayed away from those places not wishing to follow in the footsteps of my father and other hard-drinking Abattoir workers. I hated the barrooms and all of what their way of life represented. The smoking, as well as the drinking of most of the workers, was not to my liking.
"The entire abattoir was demolished, buildings being removed and the land flattened out. This establishment was on the corner of Market and Arsenal Streets. It had been set up along the Charles River. If you lived in that northern section and sections of adjoining Allston, the windows were for the most part closed on the northern side as far as a half mile, the smell being that bad from the abattoir. We had the glue factory, the Fertilizer and fisheries canning, as well as the sausage plant. There was also the Tannery.
"The pollutants from these companies caused the Charles River to close all of the beaches along the river. Allston had its Pebble Beach which was close to the old Charles River Speedway. Further down into Cambridge we had the Magazine beach facilities.
"My father worked at the New England Rendering Company plant. Driving trucks for them, he worked out of Dorchester, Roxbury and Jamaica Plain, picking up bones, scraps of meat and fats from the butcher shops of those neighborhoods. He took me out with him one day on his route. He wanted me to see just what he did for a living. Fifty-gallon barrels were lined up inside the inner body of the flatbed, most all being full at the end of the day’s trip with separated fats in one barrel and the meats and bones in the others. I was not at all impressed and could not wait to get back home from that trip."
One last thing on the Abattoir from BAHS. The caption says "One of the gin mills favored by Abattoir workers was an establishment know, inelegantly, as the 'Bucket of Blood.' It stood at the intersection of Everett and Lincoln streets. R F Callahan explains the origin of the name as follows: "My grandmother, Maud Fraser, told me that back in the 30s she had to go down and get Uncle Dooley out of there from time to time, and that she said something one day while dragging him out of there, I'm getting you out of this 'Bucket of Blood,' and the name stuck from then on."
I remember my father talking about a Bucket of Blood and gin mills - I always thought they were generic terms - but maybe not!
My father registered for the draft on February 16 - these next pictures were taken almost a week later.
The Soldiers and Sailors Monument above looks like it has a tank perched in front of it.
The Soldiers and Sailors Monument above and below was dedicated in 1877 to the the soldiers and sailors of Massachusetts who died in the Civil War.
What street is that in the background below? Park Street? Tremont Street? Boylston Street?
Dad leaning against the fence at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument I think.
Dad looks tired? Surely not bored!
The happy couple.
Shortly after registering for the draft, my father went to work at Bethlehem Steel at Fore River in Quincy.
The website - https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-fore-river-shipyard/ - tells us that "The Fore River Shipyard started out as a farm in East Braintree, Mass., when Thomas Watson bought it. Watson had loaned money to his boss, Alexander Graham Bell, to help him develop the telephone. He was the same Watson who Bell had summoned through the phone with the words, 'Mr. Watson, come here, I want you.' Bell repaid his assistant with a 10 percent share in what would become the Bell Telephone Co. Watson sold the shares and bought the farm, where he started work on marine engines. His company, the Fore River Engine Company near the Weymouth Fore River, would give birth to one of the largest shipyards in the country, if not the world. Under Watson’s leadership, the company’s reliable, high-quality engine acquired a reputation that spread throughout the Eastern Seaboard.
"The depression following the Panic of 1893 turned out to be a godsend for the fledgling yard. The U.S. Navy awarded two contracts to build two destroyers, the USS. Lawrence (DD-8) and the USS Macdonough (DD-9). This boondoggle was augmented with an award to build the U.S. lightship LV-72. These would be the last ships constructed in East Braintree. In 1901, the yard moved to Quincy Point.
"The thriving Fore River Shipyard built and launched destroyers, submarines, merchant ships and four battleships. Bethlehem Steel, the main supplier for the yard, finally bought it to protect its interests in 1913.
"The yard then began to ramp up production in anticipation of entering World War I. In 1917, a 28-year-old Irish-American named Joseph Kennedy started working as an assistant general manager at the yard now known as Bethlehem Fore River, later Bethlehem Quincy. In that job, Kennedy got to know Franklin D. Roosevelt, assistant secretary to the Navy. Roosevelt later appointed him ambassador to the United Kingdom.
"The specter of World War II brought a surge of construction that started in 1938. Employment reached 17,000 in 1941. By 1943, the payroll at the Fore River Shipyard reached–in today’s dollars– $1.63 billion.
"James J Kilroy worked as an inspector at the Fore River Shipyard during World War II. He said he used the famous phrase, “Kilroy was here,” to mark rivets he had inspected as ships were built. Later, sailors would find the phrase in places like sealed hull spaces. Kilroy later won election as a Massachusetts state representative, and the phrase was engraved on the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C."
My brother Johnny told me that my father's job at the Fore River Shipyard was considered "essential" - naval ships for the war were being built here - this kept him from enlisting in the service sooner than he did.
In June the US wins the battle of Midway sinking 17 Japanese ships including 4 aircraft carriers.
My father's younger brother Tom registered for the draft on June 30, 1942. His draft registration stated Thomas Stephen Manning lived at 11 Cedar St, Dorchester, Suffolk, Mass. Mailing address the same.
Again no telephone which does surprise me. He is 20 years old - born April 30, 1922 in Boston, Mass. It looks like Catherine Manning was crossed out and replaced with John J Manning, 11 Cedar St, Dorchester. His employer was the Bethlehem Steel Co at Fore River, Quincy, Mass. Thomas S Manning signed the form.
I wonder if my father went to work there first and got Tom a job or vice versa. I didn't find Tom in any Boston Directories up to this point.
Page 2 reports that Tom is white, 6' 0" - 195 lbs with blue eyes, black hair, ruddy complexion. No distinguishing marks. Tom registered on June 30, 1942 at Local Board #32, 344 Talbot Avenue, Dorchester, Mass.
The first actual dormitories for recruits were Barracks B (1900) and Barracks C (1904). In addition to being dormitories, they were also used as training facilities. A second Barracks A, erected in 1906-1909, consisted of seven two-story buildings, five of which were used as dormitories. At times prior to World War I, whenever it was necessary to expand housing to meet the increase in the number of recruits, tent cities were created.
"With the outbreak of WWI in Europe, the Navy began to expand the facilities on the Coasters Harbor Island and began to use Coddington Point as well. Beyond the basic boot camp training, a Yeoman School, A Signal School, a Musician School, and a Firemen's School were established. By the time the US entered the war in 1917, the influx of new recruits and other students had required the erections of several thousand tents ... Most notable of the new buildings was a temporary mess hall that was built in fifty days and fed 5,000 men at each meal. In such facilities, the Naval Training Station trained, equipped, and sent to the fleet over 65,000 men during WWI.
"Most recruits were segregated from the general population for up to twenty-one days. This isolation aided in determining the presence of infectious disease and helped minimize its spread. In Newport, companies would number up to one hundred recruits. Berthed together, this crowding allowed for interaction and increased supervision with a limited staff who could enforce discipline.
"A slight increase in the recruit population occurred until 1939 when it was evident that trainees would need to be significantly increased to meet the threat of war. By 1940, the number was up to 11,648 and then, by 1941, it hit 16,000. There was a significant buildup of buildings and facilities to support the war effort beginning in 1940, marked most significantly with the expansion on Coddington Point, which was completed by the middle of 1942. Dozens of barracks and hundreds of Quonset huts for housing, instructional and administrative buildings, base fire and police buildings, medical buildings, and buildings for the new Naval Supply Depot accounted for some of the building contracts amounting to $10,000,000. Along with recruit training, the Navy established eleven different Class A and Class B schools that brought the total housing capacity on the base to 22,000 men and women."
So I wonder if my father was in Barrack B or C or in a Quonset Hut?
Page 2 of the registration clinched it - it reports that James McLoud was white - 5' 7 1/2" - 140 lbs - with gray eyes and red hair and a light complexion. He registered October 16, 1940 at Local Board #93, Court House, Malden, Mass.
In 1950 James McLoud was back at 13 Springdale Street living with his 77 year old mother - he was a sheet metal worker. His younger sister, Regina Scott, her husband and 3 year old daughter were also living in the house.
"The current flag semaphore system uses two short poles with square flags, which a signal person holds in different positions to signal letters of the alphabet and numbers. The signaller holds one pole in each hand, and extends each arm in one of eight possible directions. Except for in the rest position, the flags do not overlap. The flags are colored differently based on whether the signals are sent by sea or by land. At sea, the flags are colored red and yellow (the Oscar flag), while on land, they are white and blue (the Papa flag). Flags are not required; their purpose is to make the characters more obvious.
"The following 30 semaphore characters are presented as they would appear when facing the signal person.
"Numbers can be signaled by first signaling "Numerals". Letters can be signaled by first signaling "J".
"The sender uses the "Attention" signal to request permission to begin a transmission. The receiver uses a "Ready to receive" signal not shown above to grant permission to begin the transmission. The receiver raises both flags vertical overhead and then drops them to the rest position, once only, to grant permission to send. The sender ends the transmission with the "Ready to receive" signal. The receiver can reply with the "Attention" signal. At this point, sender and receiver change places." This is what my father had to learn.
The picture below shows a sailor on the signal bridge of the battleship USS Colorado using the flags to send a message and another sailor using binoculars to see the response.
"Sept 26 1942
Newport RI
Dear Ellen
Just returned from Captan's inspection on the big parade field. It was swell no kidding. We were in all our blues with neckerchief and all clean clothes, shoes shined and clothes brushed. We paraded to our positions and stood at attention while the Captain passed by noticing our haircut, our beard our undershirt our neckerchief our uniform in general our leggings and our shoes. Everything had to be right clean and neat. He then walked around the back of the line and noticed our backs heels hats and shoe heels. I heard the Captain tell our commanding officer that we were very good. The Captain is the head of the station, a real big shot. We feel real good as nobody made mistakes, even the civilian personnel on the island said we looked real well, and they know because they have seen plenty of them. I don't know what's on for this afternoon but we have a little rest period now so I am writing. It is getting to be a good company after what I said yesterday or did I tell you about all the mistakes we made in front of the big shots on practice parade. The athletic instructor complimented us this morning for our fine cooperation, not bad eh kid. We have lots of improving to do yet and I think we can do it.
I was looking over all the letters I have received since I have been here, sort of reminiscing. I save all the letters I can get and read them over (when) I get time. I received a letter from my pal in Jacksonville. it was addressed home but my mother forwarded it to me here. It was full of tips and helpful hints that will be of value to me later. He said he is getting married to a Jacksonville girl soon. I gave him some information of which I am full - of information I mean -. He is a good egg and I wouldn't want him to get tangled up with the wrong woman. My information this time was for the good of the service, our morale and spirit and stuff.
All the boys here are pouring over the Boston papers and discussing the points of interest. When things are quiet we argue, when we argue we swear and when we swear it isn't so good. The boys have a plan, now in effect in our barracks that anyone who swears drops a penny in the kitty, an old Fannie Farmer box, and the total will go to a big time when we reach Boston. The boys have cut down considerably in their swearing which is an asset to themselves and others beside. We were given a lecture on swearing and told to cut it out and swear only when circumstance permits. I joined the Navy to get religious but I am glad it is this way. We have exercises this afternoon I must prepare for it now. I also have to go to confession this afternoon, something I can't miss.
So with lotions of love I remain your boy in blue who to you will be loyal and true. POET
John
Love kid"
I suppose my father meant that he didn't join the Navy to get religious!
My father has mentioned Fanny Farmer candy in 2 letters - once saying that it was delicious and now saying that they used the old box to deposit a penny if they swore. I remember Fanny Farmer's penuche with/without nuts and milk chocolate turtles - and they were scrumptious!
The website - https://currently.att.yahoo.com/att/fanny-farmer-got-start-rochester-080013279.html - tells us that the company was started in 1919 in Rochester, New York and in its hey day had over 400 stores. I remember the one in Boston across from the Boston Common - it was on the corner of Tremont Street and was it West Street that led down to Filene's and Jordan Marsh? Once we - my cousins and/or my sister Patty - started going into Boston on our own, we never made a trip to Boston without stopping at Fanny Farmer's on our way home for penuche.
The company was named for Fannie Farmer who wrote several cookbooks and founded a cooking school - I still have one of her cookbooks that belonged to my mother or Johnny's Aunt Helen. The name Fannie was changed to Fanny because the candy store was not involved with the cookbooks or the Boston Cooking School. "During its heyday ... Fanny Farmer candy was the largest manufacturing retailer of candy in the country. The company was known for its tradition and its quality ... Fanny Farmer was gobbled up and bought and sold by other companies during its final years, mostly by a Chicago-based firm."
Sunday
Sept 27 1942
Newport RI
Dear Ellen
I just returned from my second mass of the day. I'm getting a bit religious don't you think, or do you. I went to confession last night and communion this morning. I went to the 6:45 and 10 o'clock Mass also. You have to go to the 10 o'clock mass no matter how many masses you go to. I said a prayer for you and one for myself to. I don't want to give away all my blessings I get so few you know. I got a beautiful letter from Blackie. She wants me to fix her and Hannie up with a couple of sharpies. I am trying but they are all attached at home and those that aren't, aren't good enough for those gals if you know what I mean. They're good kids but I wouldn't trust them with girls that I know. Most of the other kids are engaged and two I sleep with are married. So you see what I mean. I suppose you start your new job Monday - well good luck kid and may you some day own the joint. I am surprised that you don a uniform. I'll bet you look snappy. I got Hannie's letter too and I will write to her and Mary as soon as possible. My spare moments are getting scarcer and scarcer every day as we are really buckling down and when I get a few hours I have to scrub clothes. Now that you are working in Gordon Supply you can give me some tips on how to clean whites that are stained by tar oil and motor oil. I have one pair of pants, white, that are covered with oil and grease spots from running on an oily field.
I would appreciate all your tips and hints on cleaning whites. How did you type that one with one finger or did you use your pencil? It must have taken you an hour to write it, or are you adept at the art of punching the keys? Well I liked it anyway typed or written. I also got a letter from a kid in the army who is waiting to go to advanced training school in the army. All his friends have left already and he doesn't feel good being left behind. He sent me some pictures of himself and some of his buddies. I will send you a card or picture of part of my crowd, you can pick out the kids you know - the others you will not know but I have mentioned their names to you. If you will look close you will notice Joe Walsh. So bashful. Well it is near time for chow so take it easy kid and I'll see you soon.
Loads of love
John
Johnny Thibeault, - Joe brother - the Mole, MacClain the man of muscle and guess - Cunningham in rear.
I wish I had that photo that my father sent to my mother with Joe Walsh and my father's brother Joe. I wonder if that Cunningham is the same one Sis mentioned in a letter as liking to sing and dance?
I found a lot of John Thibeaults living in Fall River in www.ancestry.com but none in Boston or Dorchester.
I found 3 WWII draft registrations for McLains on www.ancestry.com. Two were brothers from 24 Pond Street in Dorchester which is near the old St Margaret's Church - off Columbia Road but near Dorchester Avenue. Colin McLain was 18 and was attending Northeastern University. His brother, 20 year old Willian McLain, was a member of Local 34 - a union for Hotel and Restaurant Workers - he was working part time in various Boston Restaurants - he was a student.
The other WWII draft registration was for George McLain - he was 20 years old and working for the Commonwealth Ice & Cold Storage Company on the Fish Pier on Northern Ave in Boston. He lived at 2209 Dot Ave in Dorchester which is near St Gregory's Church and across from the old St Gregory's School - now part of St John Paul II Catholic Academy.
I don't know if any of these McLains is the one mentioned by my father - but George McLain lived in the neighborhood.
There was a WWII draft Registration for a Joseph Gerard Cunningham of 419 Geneva Ave, Dorchester not far from Fields Corner. He was 20 years old and was not employed when he registered February 15, 1942 at Local Board 30 at 1441 Dorchester Ave, Dorchester.
There was also a Joseph Francis Cunningham of 68 Van Winkle Street in Dorchester - this is not that far from Ashmont Station. He was 18 and working for Thorndike & Gerrish Co at 3 Commercial Street in Boston.
I don't know if either of these is the Joe Cunningham my father and Sis was talking about. They lived a little further out from Cedar Street.
This is all of the letters for September 1942. Let's see in the next blog what October 1942 brings.
