Joy Neal Kidney's Blog, page 84

Aloe Field, Victoria, Texas–August 1945

P-40 pilots Ralph Woods and C. Junior Wilson, Aloe AAF Base, Victoria, Texas

What an endearing letter from Junior’s friends at the base. They called him C.J. He’d recently started signing his letters the same.

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Combat Flying Equipment: U.S. Army Aviators’ Personal Equipment, 1917-1945

The Book

A thorough and fascinating work.” – Air Power History

“It takes more than a flight jacket to outfit an aviator. This book describes the development and characteristics of every item of personal equipment used by Army pilots from World War I through the end of World War II.” -Air Force Magazine

Personal anecdotes give meaning to the absorbing background story of research, testing, laboratory work, and combat experience. Why parachutes were issued to German airplane crewmen in World War I while none were available to Allied pilots? Who really was responsible for the design of the first modern, free-fall, back-type ripcord-operated parachute? What the secret wartime antigravity developments were that gave American fighter pilots an advantage over Axis flyers? What caused the failure of the AAF full-pressure suit program in 1943 and what ingenious alternative was successively introduced?

Over 160 photographs illustrate the myriad types of oxygen equipment, parachutes, armor, pressure suits, and other flying equipment and survival gear. A detailed glossary, comprehensive index, and extensive notes make this book a definitive reference work packed with facts and information. Flyers, historians, aviation buffs, veterans, and aviation-memorabilia collectors will find Combat Flying Equipment an indispensable source.

The Author

A consultant to the Air Force on flying clothing and personal equipment, C. G. (Glen) Sweeting was the curator of flight material at the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, from 1970-1985.

My Thoughts

Published by the Smithsonian Institute Press, this book is a delight for historians, collectors, and preservationists interested in military aviation.

With my dad and four uncles involved in aviation during World War II, I was especially interested in the items they were issued.

[image error]Among Lt. Dan Wilson’s effects. The ID number was before his commissioning.

It’s amazing what it took to attempt to keep air crews flying and as safe as they could be even when in combat and in emergency situations. Oxygen equipment, parachutes from well before WWI, armor, anti-G and pressure suits, vests, rafts (plus what they could carry), parachutes and emergency kits, survival and sustenance kits, even signal pistols.

One of my uncles and other P-38 pilots enjoyed their signal pistols on New Years Day 1945 at their base at Triolo, Italy.

The book also includes notes, a glossary, bibliography, and an index.

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Junior Wilson: Tick City, Texas

Clabe, Leora, and Doris began visiting the cemetery every Sunday to put flowers on Junior’s grave. It still didn’t seem possible to any of them.

A letter arrived from Nordheim, Texas:

—–

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Wilson,

     My name is O.A. Stirl. I’m a farmer from Nordheim, Texas and I witnessed your son’s plane crash. I felt it my duty to send you the information I have because of the supreme sacrifice your son has paid for his country.

     Your son’s plane was in a three-plane formation. One of them left a smoking trail. A flame appeared and the plane began to circle downward but seemed like it was under control. Between 500 and 1000 feet, a terrific explosion tore the plane apart.

     The nose of the plane was buried nearly five feet in a cornfield and the rest of the plane was in flames. Help arrived in just a few minutes. I did not see a parachute, but I assumed that your son had bailed out in time until I learned of his death in the local paper. 

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Here is the clipping:

The Nordheim View: Army Plane Crashes at Tick City

     “Flight officer Claiborne J. Wilson, 20, of Perry, Iowa, was killed Thursday when his P-40 training plane crashed on a combat training flight 10 miles southwest of Yorktown, near Nordheim. The accident occurred at approximately 10:15.

     “The son of Mr. and Mrs. C.D. Wilson of Perry, Iowa, Flight Officer Wilson graduated from Aloe Field in class 45-A.

     “A board of officers have been appointed to determine the cause of the accident.

     “Residents of Tick City, Nordheim residents, and Boy Scouts assisted Army officials from Aloe Field in the search for the body of the young flyer which fell about a hundred yards from the crash.

     “Gus Pargmann found the body in a thicket not far from the crash.” 

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Leora’s Letters: The Story of Love and Loss for an Iowa Family During World War II by Joy Neal Kidney, with Robin Grunder, is the story of the Wilson brothers who are featured on the Dallas County Freedom Rock. Five brothers served. Only two came home. 

Also on Audible as an audiobook.

Junior Wilson: Funeral

Junior’s funeral took place at 2:30 in the afternoon August 14, 1945, at the Workman Funeral Home in Perry, Iowa. The forty-eight-star flag from the casket was ceremoniously folded. Lieutenant Woods presented the grieving parents, Clabe and Leora, with this symbol of their son’s service and sacrifice. 

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Claiborne Junior Wilson was the first in the family buried in Perry’s Violet Hill Cemetery. 

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President Truman announced that Japan had agreed to unconditional surrender. The day after the funeral, the town of Perry joined the rest of the country in celebrating VJ-Day (Victory over Japan) with bells and sirens. 

[image error]Leora’s diary

I was a toddler underfoot. I just cannot imagine how they got through this day. Even young Ralph Woods. He and Junior were buddies at the airbase.

Combat Flying Clothing

The Book

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Published by the Smithsonian Institute Press, the book traces the development of flying clothing and surveys the flying suits, including problems, beginning in 1917. The experiments and developments for the Air Forces branch of the United States Army were mostly centered at Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio.

It also includes appendices, a glossary, notes, a bibliography, and an index.

The Author

A consultant to the Air Force on flying clothing and personal equipment, C. G. (Glen) Sweeting was the curator of flight material at the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, from 1970-1985.

My Thoughts

With my dad and four uncles involved in aviation during World War II, I was especially interested in the clothing they were issued. Two flew bombers–the B-25 in New Guinea, and the B-29 with a date set for Saipan. The New Guinea missions were low-level, but they had to get across the treacherous and lofty Owen Stanley Mountains, with their own set of problems for clothing needs. Somewhat the same for Saipan, where it was hot but the missions were high-level.

Dad’s brother flew C-47s over “the Hump,” or the Himalayas, so would need insulated uniforms. And one of Mom’s brothers flew escort missions over the Alps in the winter, so needed the same.

An amazing detail is that the number of bombers able to go on a combat mission was determined by having enough adequate clothing than any other factor.

On the right, it looks like Lt. Dan Wilson is wearing Type A-6 shearling “flying shoes. Both he and Lt. Tomlinson are wearing helmets and goggles.

Lt. Dan Wilson with his P-38, Triolo, Italy. Winter 1944-1945. Their runways were made of Marston mat.

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Combat Flying Clothing would be especially useful for collectors and preservationists, but I appreciated having a better understanding of what it took in one corner of history to win World War II.

 

Junior Wilson: Yet Another Telegram

Perry, Iowa

August 1945

The Wilson Acreage

Another telegram arrived with more news about Junior:

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At Aloe Field, Lt. Ralph Woods received a message from the chaplain asking if he would accompany Junior’s casket home to Iowa. He was nervous and sad, but honored to be chosen. He and Junior had bunked together, played basketball, and shared stories about their families. 

—–

Delbert would arrive at 4:30 the next morning. The Wilson house was so tiny, Doris and her toddler slept in a closet so Ralph Woods and Delbert could share the extra bed. 

Decades later, Ralph remembered that he’d noticed the railroad removing the casket at the wrong station and stopped them. He also was self-conscious about a button being off on his shirt.

[image error]Sam Scar, Delbert Wilson, Ralph Woods, Clabe Wilson. Perry, Iowa

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Junior Wilson’s P-40 Warhawk Explodes

Perry Acreage

August 1945

August 6 brought the shocking news that, after weeks of firebombing Japanese cities, the United States had dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, Japan. 

The world news also started to hold some hope, bringing an expectant feeling in the Wilson home. On August 8, Russia entered the war against Japan. Americans believed the war would be over soon. Clabe and Leora held on to hope that they would receive word from Danny and Dale.

The next day, August 9, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Japan, this time on the city of Nagasaki. 

The Wilsons’ mail had already been delivered, but later that day their mailman, Oscar Daniels, returned and knocked on the door. 

Movies always depicted this kind of moment with two men in uniform coming to the door to deliver a telegram with the news. In rural Iowa, this was delivered by your own mailman. Clabe and Leora expected news about their sons Dale and Danny, who were both Missing in Action. Doris went to the door while her parents retreated to their bedroom in tears.

She opened the envelope as the words in front of her began to swim.

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The telegram didn’t say Danny. It said “Junior.”

But Junior was safe in Texas. It couldn’t be Junior.

In tears, Doris reluctantly showed the unbelievable news to her folks. They wept together. After several minutes, Mr. Daniels knocked on the door. “Is there anything I can do for you folks?”

The Wilsons were still on a waiting list for a phone, so Doris drove into Perry to make phone calls and send telegrams about the unbelievable news.

 

[image error]P-40 Warhawk

The Good Shepherd, adapted as the film Greyhound

The Book

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A convoy of thirty-seven merchant ships is ploughing through icy, submarine-infested North Atlantic seas during the most critical days of World War II, when the German submarines had the upper hand and Allied shipping was suffering heavy losses. In charge is Commander George Krause, an untested veteran of the U.S. Navy. Hounded by a wolf pack of German U-boats, he faces 48 hours of desperate peril trapped the bridge of the ship. Exhausted beyond measure, he must make countless and terrible decisions as he leads his small fighting force against the relentless U-boats.

The Good Shepherd has been adapted into a major motion picture, Greyhound, scripted by and starring Tom Hanks.

The Author

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C. S. Forester (1899-1966) wrote several novels with military and naval themes, including The African Queen, The Barbary Pirates, The General, The Good Shepherd, The Gun, The Last Nine Days of the “Bismarck,” and Rifleman Dodd. But Forester is best known as the creator of Horatio Hornblower, a British naval genius of the Napoleonic era, whose exploits and adventures on the high seas Forester chronicled in a series of eleven acclaimed historical novels. Over the years Hornblower has proved to be one of the most beloved and enduring fictional heroes in English literature, his popularity rivaled only by Sherlock Holmes.

Born Cecil Louis Troughton Smith in Cairo, Egypt, Forester grew up in London. At the start of World War II he traveled on behalf of the British government to America, where he produced propaganda encouraging the United States to remain on Britain’s side. After the War, Forester remained in America and made Berkeley, California, his home.

My Thoughts

Thirty-seven ships carrying supplies to Britain in a convoy, with only two destroyers and two escorts to guard then, come upon a wolfpack of U-boats. This is the story of the captain of one of the destroyers, the son of a minister and graduate of Annapolis, who is untested in battle. It’s the account of a harrowing twenty-four hours, following the captain’s thought, even Scripture verses he’d memorized, decisions made following military training and demeanor even without meals and enough rest.

This remarkable story is the basis for the Tom Hanks movie “Greyhound.” Hanks adapted C. S. Forester’s book for the film.

Junior Wilson: Transition Training

Junior Wilson graduated from Army Air Forces Advanced Training and received his wings at Aloe Air Force Base, Victoria, Texas, with the Class of 45-A in March 1945.

He got a furlough home and had his photo in uniform taken by Edmonsons Studio in Perry.

And his mother took a snapshot of him before leaving for Texas again.

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Transition Training

Randolph Field, Texas

While the Army Air Force decided what to do with the new graduates, Junior flew the AT-6 and BT-13, not pursuit planes as he’d hoped, during March and April. Junior thought That Randolph Field was was the prettiest field he had been on yet. 

Dear Mom and Dad,

     I hope we get some good news from Dan soon. I sent my graduation announcement to him, but it was returned. I heard that the U.S. forces and Russians have met and cut Germany in two. Austria must be in Allied hands by now. They’ll get Danny out of there.

     I got a letter from Donald. He’s still pounding the Japs. I hope he comes back and stays back. He’s seen enough action.

     How’s everything going on the ranch? I suppose the corn planters are clicking all over the land. Don’t work too hard at the neighbor’s, Dad. You’re independent on the little ranch, so take the highest bidder! Ha!

Love,

Junior

Foster Field, Victoria, Texas

Aloe Field, Victoria, Texas

Junior finally got to fly the Curtis P-40 Warhawk at Foster and Aloe Fields at Victoria, Texas, through the summer.

[image error]USAAF photo

With the war in Japan also obviously winding down, the pilots at Aloe AAF were getting in flying time, but were in limbo.

Junior still hoped for a chance to go overseas.

 

The Snyder-Wilson Connection: WWII and Today

The Roy Snyder family lived along the main road (now Minburn Road) west out of Minburn (near #6 on the map below) in the Raccoon River valley of Dallas County, Iowa.

The Clabe Wilson family lived south of the main road, half a mile on what is now Lexington Lane (near #7).

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During WWII their sons enlisted in different military services. After Delbert and Donald Wilson were married and attending a Naval School on the East Coast, Harold Snyder was in the Coast Guard was based in New York City. He’d met a girl at a roller skating rink in Brooklyn, and he married her. Harold hauled military freight up and down the Atlantic coast, so stopped in Washington, DC, to visit with the Wilson brothers, which they all wrote home about.

The summer of 1945, the Harold Snyders, with their one-year-old son, came home to see Harold’s folks.

The Wilson brothers’ sister, Doris, had married Warren Neal, and they also had a toddler. When Warren was sent to a base where families couldn’t go along, Doris and Joy returned to Iowa to stay with her parents, Clabe and Leora Wilson near Perry.

But they still visited with their former Minburn neighbors, the Roy Snyders.

One day they took photos of us toddlers together. Mom (Doris) had told me about the visit, that I’d lost my balance while holding a wooden block and hit the little Lee Snyder boy on the head.

Decades later, Lee’s wife Deanette sent me tiny copies of precious photos taken that day.

Photos taken at Snyders’ place, summer 1945. The two grandmothers are at the top right, Mrs. Snyder with her arms folded, talking with Leora Wilson.

 

The Snyders had two sons, Lee and Paul, who married two sisters, Deanette and Carolyn Ritzman, whose father Dean also served in the Army Air Corps during WWII.

Decades later Deanette and Lee Snyder made sure the Wilson family is remembered with a poster in the Forest Park Museum south of Perry (and north of the acreage which Clabe and Leora bought after all their sons had left to serve).

[image error]Deanette and Lee Snyder
[image error]Lee Snyder fabricated the stand for the Wilson family timeline display board when it was installed at the Forest Park Museum in 2018. Cousins’ widows, Elizabeth Wilson and Chris Scar, visited Forest Park Museum in 2019.

The two Snyder couples (both brothers served in the US Marines) were instrumental in making sure the Wilson brothers are remembered on the Dallas County Freedom Rock, which was dedicated at Minburn in October 2019.

[image error]Carolyn and Paul Snyder, Deanette and Lee Snyder with Paul and Carolyn’s granddaughters. Paul and Lee are both Marine Corps veterans.