ARTIFACTS

Clockwise from upper left: The outside, front end-paper inscription, and back
end-paper notes inside the New Testament my grandfather and father
carried in two world wars.

2 wars, 3 generations & 1 Bible changing hands

It arrived in a padded envelope around the time my cousin Beth was moving from across town in Noblesville, IN, back to where she was raised near State College, PA. The enclosed note said she found this pocket New Testament in some of her mother's things (my aunt had recently passed away) and thought I should have it. 

Beth's mother, Elizabeth, was my dad's sister. My Grandmother Clark lived with her family in her later years, and my aunt was executor of her estate. The front end papers of the book include an inscription from my grandmother that the New Testament was a gift to my grandfather when he left for World War I. Though he did not serve overseas, he carried this reminder of his wife's love and his creator's comfort.

When my father left for World War II, his mother gave him this same New Testament to carry with him--her own little token of protection. The pages are dog-eared and the bindings are worn. The back endpapers carry some notations in pencil that appear to be train connections. I've wondered if my dad wrote them there after he was demobilized and sent back stateside. He most assuredly wrote his name in the front, under his mother's inscription, as well as his serial number, 33413297.

I remember my dad's olive drab cap, some embroidered emblems, a mess kit, and an Army cot from my childhood. But all have since disappeared. My mother said dad let us play with that stuff, as well as his medals, and it got destroyed. All of which makes me doubly glad to have this New Testament. Thank you, Beth!

The soldier's bibles & my dad-in-law

A pocket Soldier's Handbook and a Guide for Basic Trainees
used and preserved by my father-in-law.

Some of the illustrations and information used on this blog were taken from The Soldier's Handbook and Basic Field Manual and Guide for Basic Trainees. I'm lucky enough to have my very own copies of the World War II editions of these guides thanks to my father-in-law, Tec Sgt. Beauford W. Lawson, who saved his.

Beau didn't serve overseas, but he did play a critical role in the war effort. He worked for Allison Engines (a division of General Motors) in Indianapolis, both before and after the war, as an aircraft engine test mechanic. During the war, he was stationed at Wright-Patterson Army Air Force Base near Dayton, OH, doing that very same work, exclusively on military aircraft.

In truth, Beau was the mechanic who tested the engines on a Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber dubbed the Enola Gay and made sure it was in tip-top working order before it set out on its mission to drop the first atomic bomb--nicknamed "Little Boy"--on Hiroshima, Japan.

WPAFB passes for Cpl. and Sgt. Beauford Lawson.

He didn't know then what the plane's mission was, but he knew it was mighty important based on stepped-up security. He was himself escorted everywhere to and from barracks and chow, as well as surveiled while he worked.

At the time, Beau had already received orders he would be deployed to the Pacific theater some six weeks hence. But once Japan surrendered, those orders were rescinded.

Thanks to Beau for his service, for saving so many artifacts from his war, and for providing my gentleman husband, Chris, with such a stellar model. We lost you in 1996, but you're still in our hearts.

By the (rationing) book

Examples of World War II ration books and cards
saved by my father-in-law.

Though the US never experienced the dire shortages Europeans suffered during the war and in its aftermath, many materials were in limited supply and rationed to ensure the soldiers at the front had what they needed. 

My father-in-law Beau, stationed at Wright-Patterson AFB, kept quite a few ration books, stamps and registration cards, a few of which are shown at right. 

Items in particular shortage were rubber, metal, clothing, fuel, sugar, meat, cooking oil and canned goods. Whatever a person needed to buy required turning over to the grocer the right ration stamp. 

If you ran out of stamps for the month, you were out of luck, so feeding and clothing your family and getting them where they needed to go--to work or school--took careful planning.

I'm always amazed when I look at these that Beau had so many left over!

Our tribute to our dads

Read more about other World War II memorabilia of my father and my husband's and see how we display it in my husband's office on my decor blog, BoHo Home.

Marching to a love song

World War II gave birth to the term "pin-up girl," and it was entertainer Betty Grable whose iconic bathing suit pose looking over her shoulder became synonymous with the term.

Grable wasn't the first pin-up girl (that was Dorothy Lamour), but her image is hands-down the most circulated, celebrated and remembered to this day. It's even been named one of the 100 photos that changed the world.

This particular snap of Betty was found among my father-in-law's war memorabilia. It has her name written on the back in his handwriting, though none of us know whether he bought it or they were distributed to all the guys. I like to think maybe it inspired him as he tested aircraft engines for the Army Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB. 

Grable never traveled overseas during wartime, but she did appear at many war bond rallies stateside. Here's a video of her singing and dancing in chorus to "Marching to a Love Song" at a rally hosted by Bob Hope:

Not the Any Gum Chum?, but way cool

A restored half-track outfitted with antiaircraft/automatic weaponry
from all sides, showcased at "Tanks in Town"
near Mons, Belgium, summer 2019.

These photos of a restored World War II half-track, outfitted with the same anti-aircraft automatic weapons as my dad's unit were sent to me by my Belgian friend, Max (read more about Max). The vehicle appeared at an event called "Tanks in Town," held in the summer of 2019 near Mons, Belgium. 

The guns were fired using foot pedals. My dad sat on the right, controlled gun elevations, and fired two 50-caliber guns simultaneously with one foot and one 30-caliber gun with the other foot. This isn't his half-track, of course, whose name, the Any Gum Chum?, was painted on the side, but it's way cool anyway. Thanks for the look-see, Max! There are war-time photos of my dad's half-track in Chapter 5: Life Among the Brits.

Sands of time

Sand from a Normandy, France beach.

A tiny bag of ordinary sand it's not. My cousin Faye brought me this souvenir of the Normandy beaches after she and her husband Chip visited there.

I've always dreamed of walking the length of Utah Beach and imagining dad arriving there on the morning of June 6, 1944. But alas, this is probably the closest I'll come.

Faye gave me this at my dad's funeral, and I asked her for an extra packet, which I tucked into dad's suit coat pocket to carry with him on his next journey. This one I keep tucked in that New Testament. Thanks, Faye!