A drill sergeant picking apart a recruit seems to be a common vignette on military-themed comic postcards of this period. Though, I have to imagine that while the postcards are vivid, they would have been out-shown by the colorful language of the real drill sergeants of past and present. Breaking down the individual and building him back up as part of a team has long constituted the basis for basic American military training.
On this card, we meet Joe, a Private who uses this postcard image to relate his experience to a young lady in Pennsylvania. He is stationed at Hendricks Field in Sebring, Florida, a large air base where bomber crews were trained for service on B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators.
Pvt Joseph R. Mackey
452 Sch Sqd Sp
Hendricks Field Sebring, Fla.
Hello Jean. This may give you some idea what I have to go through as I’m the guy that is that way sometimes. How is school going & when will it be out? Here would be a good place for you to play in the sand. Joe.
Unpacking this postcard has been a fascinating journey including a long-forgotten Army Camp in Central Louisiana and the famed 101st Airborne Division. The image depicted, its caption, the writing style of the sender, his assigned unit, the location of the postmark, and content of the message all have much to offer.
Let’s start with the arrival depicted here. The linen postcard image is a color-enhanced photograph of new soldiers arriving by rail car and transferring to trucks at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana. The installation was primarily used for basic training and artillery practice. Camp Claiborne was also notable for the Claiborne-Polk Military Railway, a rail line spanning 50 miles including 25 bridges which connected the camp to what’s now Fort Polk, Louisiana. The railway was used to simulate rail repairs and test methods for derailing trains. Though Camp Claiborne was returned to civilian use right after the war, it had birthed one of the most decorated units of World War II – the 101st Airborne Division, which was activated there in August of 1942.
Our sender, Sgt Arthur L. Ward, was assigned to the 801st Ordnance Company. The military post office, APO 472, listed with his unit on this card indicates he was attached to the 101st Airborne Division. The division moved to Fort Bragg, North Carolina and then conducted a readiness exercise in the Tennessee Maneuver Area during 1943 (ScreamingEagle.org). Tennessee was selected to host such Maneuvers because of its topographical similarity to the European Theater and explains the Nashville, Tennessee postmark stamped in June of 1943. Middle Tennessee hosted hundreds of thousands of troops preparing for the invasion of Normandy and beyond.
In his message, Sgt. Ward mentions visiting Springfield, a town north of Nashville, TN. His capitalization and punctuation are rather unconventional, yet endearing and admirably consistent.
Dear Va
[Wont] have time for a letter. Rec. your letter. Was real glad to hear from you this Father Day. I hope[?] you ate supper at home. I didn’t hear from mam all last week and the kid are doing fine. I went over to Springfield, but didn’t have time to do anything. It’s dark, so I will stop. With good nite.*
Brother Arthur
*This transcription has been corrected for capitalization and punctuation to improve legibility.
To: Mrs. Ralph Scott | Morrisville, NC
From: Sgt Arthur L. Ward – 801 Ord CO APO 472 – Nashville, TN
Postmark: June 21, 1943 – W. Nashville, Tenn.
Published by Red River News Co., Alexandria, LA.
Camp Claiborne, Louisiana
This reel from 1941 shows soldiers on their rail journey to Camp Claiborne.
The above 6 and half minute archival clip describes the highly technical and under-sung competencies of the rail technicians of the Army Transportation Corps.
I never cease to be amazed by the veritable explosion of construction projects and mass movement of personnel that characterized 1942 and 1943 across the United States. The creation of Camp Breckinridge in Morganfield, Kentucky near the Illinois state line provides a textbook example of this furious pace of military activity in many rural corners of the country. A testament to the swift construction of Camp Breckinridge, the buildings here were built in such haste that they were not properly insulated, a fact not lost on our sender who keenly felt the cold in December of 1942.
In this card, we meet Pvt. Louis Featherston who hails from Durham, North Carolina. His note recounts get-to-know-you conversations like so many of us have had when we’ve moved away and our hometown falls outside the list of top 25 most populous cities in the country. They go like this:
A: “So, where are you from?”
B: “Somewhere, USA”
A: Looks puzzled.
B: “… yeah, it’s near Important University, and the home of Large Corporation.”
A: Nods with recognition. “Oh, yeah.”
This is exactly what happened to Louis. He rang some bells for his hometown of Durham, NC by mentioning Lucky Strike Cigarettes and Duke University. Ironically, he sent this card to a friend at The American Tobacco Company in Durham, maker the Lucky Strike cigarettes which had sparked recognition of his hometown. When he wasn’t studying or freezing his ass off, I do wonder how much money Louis may have won over a hand of cards from that Major in the cartoon image.
Finally, I am happy to report Camp Breckinridge’s heritage survives as an event venue and museum. Read more about it below.
Hello Eugene, I hope you haven’t been Drafted by the time you get this card cause I’m so far away that the people here never heard of Durham. You have to mention Lucky Strike Cig & Duke U., then it all comes back to them. Wish you’d write & let me know how you all are getting along & all about the Y.B.M.C,– Leon Harris & Vostal[?] Taylor & a lot of boys you know are here. Have been so busy studying etc. that I haven’t had much chance to write. It is cold as HELL! here & snow is on the ground. See you later, Louis
To: Mr. Eugene Andrews | The American Tobacco Co. | Durham, North Carolina
From: Pvt. A. J. Featherston | Hq Co. 1st Bn. 391 Inf. – 98th Division
Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky
Postmark: Camp Breckinridge, KY – December 6, 1942
Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky
The James D. Veatch Breckinridge Museum & Arts Center preserves Camp Breckinridge’s remaining structures and the history of its impact on the region. Their website does not seem to do justice to the jewel of a structure that remains from the military post, the former NCO / Officer’s Club. It lives on as an event venue and features beautiful pastoral murals painted by a talented German POW while imprisoned here during World War II. The amateur video below gives you a taste of this installation’s glorious past and present.
When it comes to spending your time in the Service on a remote island during World War II, I would wager that most folks first think of the Pacific Theater. However, the American military boasted a robust presence in the Atlantic as well, including places like Bermuda and the Azores. Based on his handwriting, it appears this sender served as his own censor before sending this postcard to Delaware in mid-1941. The Lend-Lease policy would have been the dominant policy at the time, prior to the Attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States’ subsequent official entry into World War II in December of 1941.
American military presence in Bermuda was established as a naval operation in 1918 during The Great War, World War I. Being part of the British Commonwealth, Bermuda hosted American installations in conjunction with British military bases during World War II as well, and an entirely new American naval base was built in 1941. The island’s remote location in the Atlantic, more than 600 miles of the East coast of Cape Hatteras, NC, lent itself to use as a stopping point for land-based (as apposed to Naval) aircraft, and Kindley Field was operated by the U.S. Army Air Corps in Bermuda for that purpose from 1943 to 1948. As the flight range of aircraft increased in subsequent years, the need for the stopover point diminished, and what was then known as Kindley Air Force Base closed in 1970. Use of Bermuda by the U.S. Navy continued until much more recently, but Naval Air Station Bermuda (NAS Bermuda) also closed in 1995. (Source: Wikipedia)
A nice place for you to stay when you come to Bermuda.
Lt. L. M. Dobson
Postmark: American Base Forces A. P. O. 802 – August 14, 1941 (Bermuda)
To: Mr. and Mrs. Harry Hudson, Georgetown, DE
U.S. Military in Bermuda
Footage of aircraft and watercraft filmed in Bermuda in 1941.
The aerial photo below shows Bermuda in 1970, at the time Kindley AFB was closed.
Kindley AFB as U.S. Naval Air Station Bermuda, 1970 (Wikipedia)
Based on how it’s referenced in this note, I can only imagine how the stationary Virginia used in her previous correspondence to Bernice must have looked. Apparently duty in Fort Myers, Florida is not all sun-bathing and nights on the town. Working Kitchen Patrol all night, which is what I can only assume the sender means by K.P., does not sound like a pleasant way to pass the time. It seems Bernice survived the nighttime duty though. I hope he did get a glimpse of a bathing beauty before leaving the Sunshine State.
The place of origin for this card, expansive Buckingham Army Airfield located near Fort Myers, Florida was in operation from 1942-1945. Known for its “Flexible Gunnery School,” the installation provided a variety of new technologies for training aerial gunners including sophisticated gunnery ranges, dummy target aircraft, dummy ammunition, and high-altitude training. If you want to learn more about all of the fascinating military training methods that were pioneered at this airfield, I highly recommend the Wikipedia page. (Source: Buckingham Army Airfield Wikipedia)
For better or worse, little remains of the hundreds of buildings and runways that constituted Buckingham Army Airfield. It was closed immediately after the war, was purchased by a land developer, and became a residential area.
Two of the 8 runways survive as a private airfield called Buckingham Field.
Hi There Va.,
Here I am again and a very sleepy chap at that. I just got up after working K.P. all night so you can guess how I feel.
That was some stationary you wrote on the other time. Where in the world does a person think up things like that. It’s straight stuff though. Here is the picture of the bathing beauty but she surely must be in some other part of Fla. I haven’t seen her yet.
Be good.
Bernice
Postmark: Fort Myers, Florida – August 7, 1943
To: Virginia Andrews | 410 Elizabeth Street | Durham, NC
From: Pvt. B. A. Smith, 712th F. G. H. S.
B. A. A. F. Fort Myers, Fla.
Buckingham Army Airfield, Fort Myers, Florida
“Photo of the motor pool showing E5 turret training trucks with mounted aircraft turrets used for training.” (Wikipedia)
“A formation of four AT-6 aircraft wing their way along the Caloosahatchee River above east Fort Myers to the Buckingham Flexible Gunnery School’s range over the Gulf of Mexico (ca 1945). The plane on the right carries the tow target. The gunners shoot from the rear seat of the planes.” (Wikipedia)
Apparently Leonard’s department store was quite a place to see in its heyday. This store, located in Fort Worth, Texas, was a modern marvel before its time, even including at some point an indoor monorail. I found out about Leonard’s by way of Pvt. Luis France who sent this from Texas to a friend in Durham, North Carolina.
Leonard’s is now home to a museum about its spectacular history.
Hello Ruby,
I am on my way back to camp from furlough. I am sorry I didn’t go through N.C. I wished I had gone by that way. Was fine being home again. I had a swell time.
Will write later.
Love Luis
Postmark: Fort Worth, Texas – Jan 28, 1944
To: Miss Ruby Lou Atkinson | 515 Chapel Hill St. | Durham, N.C.
Correspondence between a Private First Class (PFC) and a Private (PVT), this comic postcard from the 1940’s was sent not once, but twice! And, there are 2 postmarks and 4 separate locations involved:
It would be interesting to know whether or not Harry did end up in a desert theater, once he was deployed overseas.
Dear Homer,
How did it feel to get back to army life after your furlough. I expect it was lot of fun. I am learning to be a soldier now and maybe I’ll make a good one sometime. It is hot down here and so I ought to be able to stand desert service after this training is over.
Answer soon. Harry
Sent to: Pfc. Homer E. Baugh
1590th 318 [?] S. G.
Barksdale Field, Louisiana
Sent by: Pvt Harry Hawkins
Battery B 195 A. A. A. A. W. Bn.
Camp Stewart, Georgia
Postmark: Camp Stewart, Georgia – June 28, 1943
2nd Postmark on the front: Harding Field, Baton Rouge, Louisiana – July 5, 1943
This postcard was sent during the Korean War by what I assume was a junior enlisted sailor. He gives us no details about his assignment other than what we can see from the the San Diego, CA postmark. Carl writes such an endearing note home to his parents in Tennessee. The handwritten names on the cartoon are my favorite part.
Dear Mother and Daddy
How are all of all there fine I hop. I went to church today. It not much to do here today so I thought I would write you a line. I will send you a picture this next weekend. by for now
Carl {?}
To: Mr. Mrs. J. T. Knight
308 Madison St. N
Nashville 8, Tenn
