skriba joseph (1 Ergebnisse)

Unbound. Zustand: Very Good. An archive of 95 letters written by an airman in India to his girlfriend in Chicago between 1942 and 1945. All items very good or better with tears from opening. Additionally included are 300 black and white silver gelatin photographs measuring between 1" x 1" and 3" x 4" without captions. A collection of letters written by Joseph Skriba to his girlfriend, and future wife, Helen while serving with the Army Air Force during World War II. Skriba was stationed with the Air Transport Command and was eventually sent to India while Helen was home in Chicago. His early letters begin in 1942 and discuss his basic training and constant moving around the country. In one letter he writes, "I wish Uncle Sam would make up his mind and let us stay put for a while." While still in the United States he was with a troop that's duties included, "help[ing] to start a school squadron either a parachute or glider school then, when it's fairly well established we shove off to start another." Although he knew it wouldn't be long before he was sent abroad writing, "I guess the next move is going to be overseas." By the end of 1943 he was in India with the A.T.C. and wrote to Helen nearly once a week. Most of the letters are flirtatious and don't include too much about the war, usually as a form of self censorship. In a letter about her brother leaving for duty he writes, "besides when it's all over [he] will be proud of his overseas experiences and wouldn't sell it for all the money in the world. And it can't be very long now, as things are looking better every day." Air Transport Command was a vital part of the China-Burma-India Theater after the Burma Road had been overtaken in 1942. The men of this outfit were charged with getting supplies from India to China which included "flying the hump" and going over the Himalayas. According to General Albert C. Wedemeyer, "Flying the 'Hump' was the foremost and by far the most dangerous, difficult, and historic achievement of the entire war." Although he generally keeps quite about his for censorship reason, Skriba describes a typical shift in a letter towards the end of the war; "It's not unusual to work 10 to 20 hours now. I've been on 3 flights to China last week and these take over 10 hours. Then there is at least 4 hours work before and after each trip." Skriba and Helen were both of Slovakian heritage and he writes about it throughout the letters. In one he discusses a town in Arkansas he visited while training there writing, "Slovak, Arkansas About 400 Slovaks settled here years ago can be found all around our camp." He also received a small medal from the First Catholic Slovak Union in gratitude for his service. Included here are numerous photographs from their lives together before, during, and after the war including their wedding. The couple settled in Illinois and had two children after the war. An interesting collection of letters and photographs documenting a man's tour of duty and his home life afterward.