My Father and His Father: An Analysis of World War II Correspondence

Abstract

This paper considers the transition from “boyhood” to “manhood” through an examination of my father's World War II correspondence and related material. My father, born in 1925, served in the final battles of the war in Europe. During his time in the army, he wrote many letters home, and the 302 letters saved were used as the basis of this analysis. My father's transition from boyhood to manhood was conditioned by his depression-era childhood, by his experiences in basic training and battle, and by his father's sudden death in 1945. Through these experiences, my father developed a belief about what it means to be a man that was rooted in the overarching concept of responsibility – to self, to family, to values, and to others.