WW2 Appendix - Additional Photographs (Post 1 of 6)

Franklin in August 1943, one week before leaving for the service

Shortly after completing this story, another box of old photographs was discovered at the lake house from the time of the war. The photos had been taken by Franklin's family during his last few months at home, during his leave from training, and during the time that he was away. The original photos were in black and white and were only about 2 x 3 inches in size.

Most of the photos had been taken by Franklin's father, who seemed to have a good eye for photography. As an engineer, he also appeared to be especially good at adjusting his camera to the various light conditions and then developing the photos in his darkroom.

Papa's darkroom on South Street where he developed his photos

After development, Franklin's mother would carefully write the subject of the photos on the back in pencil before enclosing them with their letters to him overseas. As possible, Franklin would then return the photos to them along with his own letters.

The following appendix contains 52 of the additional photos from that time. Where possible, I have noted the chapter numbers for the corresponding events taking place in the preceding story.

Bob Bristol
March 26, 2019
East Haddam, Connecticut

WW2 Appendix - Additional Photographs (Post 2 of 6)

Photo #1: Franklin's regional high school hockey team (see Chapter 3).

Photo #2:  With his hockey team (second row, second from left).

Photo #3:  Franklin's high school baseball team.

Photo #4:  Graduation from Loomis High School with his family. Franklin and many of his classmates would soon be drafted into the war.

Photo #5:  Franklin racing a Snipe on Lake Quassapaug during the summer of 1943 (boat number 4, marked FB).

Photo #6:  Formal photo with Franklin Sr., Dave, Phyllis, and Franklin Jr.

Photo #7:  Franklin expanding his chicken coup, summer of 1943.

Photo #8:  Dave would be taking care of the chickens while he was away.

Photo #9:  Sailing on Lake Quassapaug with Dave and his parents, August 15, 1943, one week before leaving for service.

Photo #10:  With Dave on Lake Quassapaug, one week before leaving for service.

WW2 Appendix - Additional Photographs (Post 3 of 6)

Photo #11:  Dave with "Rochester."

Photo #12:  "Ready for Christmas" at home on South Street.

Photo #13:  Camp Roberts in California, December 24, 1943. While waiting for Franklin, his father was somehow allowed to tour the facility and take photos of the men in training (see Chapter 9).

Photo #14:  Men resting at Camp Roberts.

Photo #15:  Machine gun training at Camp Roberts, December 24, 1943 (see Chapters 11 and 13).

Photo #16:  Browning M1917 machine gun used in training. Some of these photos were probably not shown to Franklin's mother!

Photo #17:  Barracks at Camp Roberts, December 24, 1943.

Photo #18:  Franklin waiting in mess tent.

Photo #19:  Postcard from hotel where Franklin and his father stayed during his Christmas leave (Chapter 10). Because the hotel did not hold their reservation, they had to share a bed in a Red Cross storage room.

Photo #20:  Franklin's father would write home about their hotel room: "I wish you could have seen it. Heaps of trunks, duffle bags, helmets, gas masks, canteens and equipment of every kind."

Photo #21:  With his father on Christmas day, 1943.

WW2 Appendix - Additional Photographs (Post 4 of 6)

Photo #22:  Back home on leave after completing his four months of basic training, 

February 1944 (see Chapter 17).

Photo #23:  With his mother during leave, February 1944

Photo #24:  With his sister, February 1944.

Photo 25:  Packing chicken eggs with Dave, February 1944.

Photo #26:  Making a paper airplane(?) from instructions in a magazine.

Photo #27:  Easter flowers sent by Franklin, April 1944.

Photo #28:  "Shake hands, Pete!" May 1944.

Photo #29:  Franklin's father mowing the lawn, May 1944.

Photo #30:  Dave mowing the lawn, May 1944.

Photo #31:  "Thank you for these beautiful flowers. You were a very dear 

son to remember me." Mother's Day, May 1944.

Photo #32:  Nancy at her high school graduation, June 1944 (see Chapter 22).

WW2 Appendix - Additional Photographs (Post 6 of 6)

Photo #45:  Franklin's mother feeding the chickens.

Photo #46:  Franklin's mother in their Dodge truck.

Photo #47:  Dave with Pete at the lake.

Photo #48:  Dave's chalkboard drawing of the war.

Photo #49:  Nancy at home on South Street.

Photo 50:  "Will your Snodgrass ever learn to keep his hair combed!" (see Chapter 86).

Photo #51:  Dave (kneeling) and friends flying a home-made kite. The kite is marked with a number 4, similar to Franklin's sailboat.

Photo #52:  Dave at home with Pete and Blackie (see Chapter 90).

WW2 Chapter 1 - Introduction




Franklin with his brother Dave

While looking through some old boxes, I discovered that my grandparents had saved many historical items from World War II, during the time that my father Franklin Bristol III had served in the Pacific. The items included some 250 letters that he had written back home to his family, along with dozens of photographs and other personal items. Based on the condition of the envelopes, the letters had probably not been read in almost 70 years.



250 Letters from 1943-1946 (click on photos to enlarge)

Franklin's mother making scrapbooks in his bedroom

Along with the boxes were four large scrapbooks with newspaper clippings that described the historical events that were taking place during the Pacific Campaign.

 



Scrapbooks

Although the veterans of World War II have sometimes been called the “greatest generation” they often claimed that the real heroes were those who didn’t make it back. Like many, my father had almost never talked about any of his experiences during that time of his life. My daughter Chelsea and I therefore became engrossed with these new-found treasures. We spent many hours reading through the letters and other documents, while slowly piecing together what Franklin and his family were going through during those difficult times.



Chelsea with Grandpa Frank, 2011


To tell Franklin’s “story” throughout that period, I have arranged the information into 96 short chapters, spanning from his graduation from high school in the spring of 1943, to his entry into the army in August 1943, to his entry into combat in October 1944, and finally to his safe return home in February 1946.

Rather than attempting to "narrate" Franklin's experiences, however, I have mostly used his own words and those of his family to describe them first hand. Each of the chapters includes copies of letters and other items that are intended to be representative of his many experiences, along with the historical events that were taking place during those times.

I hope you appreciate this story as much as we have.

Bob Bristol
March 22, 2015
Moodus (East Haddam), Connecticut

WW2 Chapter 2 - Historical Background

Before beginning this story, some historical background information may be helpful:

You may recall that the U.S. entered World War II in December 1941 after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. During that time, the Nazis were taking over Europe while the Japanese were taking over Asia. By June 1942, the Japanese had invaded much of the southern Pacific, including Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, much of China, and several other nations, while launching attacks against Australia and India.

(Click on image to enlarge)

After losing several battles, the U.S. finally beat the Japanese navy in June 1942 during the Battle of Midway, which became a turning point in the war. The U.S. and its allies then went on the offensive, taking back territories one at a time in fierce battles, including Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Leyte, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa, among others. Although each of these battles resulted in thousands of casualties, each time the Allies were able to take back an island, they were able to use it as a strategic launching pad for taking back other territories and cutting off the shipment of oil and other supplies critical to the Japanese military.

Although most of the world's attention has nearly always been more on Nazi Germany and the European campaign, the Japanese military was known to be especially ruthless during the war. They considered anyone who was not Japanese to be sub-human, committing numerous atrocities and killing over 25 million civilians. Further, because the Japanese did not follow the Geneva Convention, an Allied prisoner was reported to be 7 times more likely to die in a Japanese prisoner of war camp than in a Nazi one. Countless other prisoners (both soldiers and civilians) were simply tortured and killed upon being captured.

During combat, the American soldiers quickly learned to "kill or be killed." Because the Japanese considered it dishonorable to be captured, they would fight to the death rather than surrender, making them extremely dangerous adversaries.

Although victory in Europe was achieved in May 1945, the Japanese did not surrender until September 1945, after the U.S. dropped a second atomic bomb on mainland Japan. When the war was finally over, most of the men just wanted to get back home to a normal life.

WW2 Chapter 3 - Graduation from High School (Spring 1943)

Franklin went to high school at Loomis, a private boarding school in Windsor, Connecticut. Although he often claimed he was not a very good student (except possibly in math), I recall him speaking fondly of the school and his time there.

  

As noted in his year book, he was active in team sports, playing soccer, hockey, and baseball. Like the other students, he was required to participate in military drills. He was probably given his nickname "Atlas" because he was taller than most of his classmates (6' 3.5"). During this time he also started listening to jazz (despite his mother's objections!).

A typical letter home to his family (shortened where noted ~~~), after returning to school:

4/11/43

Dear Mother,

     Just as I got onto the bus, I remembered that I had forgotten my toothbrush -- thanks; but there's not much toothpaste left!

     ~~~

     Athletic awards were given out the other day -- I got another letter -- for hockey.

     ~~~

     Saturday, I spent the day in Hartford. One of the fellows that went with us lives in West Hartford. He asked us out to his place for breakfast -- so naturally we accepted. After that, we went back to Hartford, and rode up and down a few times on the escalators in G.E. Fox and Co. Then at about 11:45, we went to a show. We got out at about 3:30 -- after having seen a few pictures, and also Gene Krupa's orchestra on stage.

We then decided to have dinner -- so at about 4:00, we were enjoying a delicious meal of fried chicken and French fried potatoes. We got back to school just in time for supper -- after which we saw a movie that was playing here at school.
~~~
Love,
Franklin

Home on South Street, 1939

At this time, his sister Nancy was 16 and his brother Dave was 8. They were living on South Street in Middlebury, Connecticut.

In June 1943, Franklin and his classmates graduated, knowing that most of them would soon be drafted into the war. At that time, however, they had no way of knowing where they would be sent or the experiences they would encounter.