World War II and the Making of a Journalist

Abstract

World War II and the Making of a Journalist Owen V. Johnson (bio) and Jon Paul Dilts (bio) In early 1945, Sgt. Ralph Holsinger, in a reflective mood, wrote to the editor of the Piqua (Ohio) Daily Call to tell him what the war was like "in the rain and mud and mountains."1 We captured Naples, he wrote, and: had come to expect an advance of 25 miles every week. And then in November, in the mountains, around Venafro, something happened. Maybe the rain was heavier and the mud thicker, maybe the mountains were higher and more rugged, maybe the Germans were tougher. . . . Whatever it was, we made no more weekly moves of 25 miles. As a matter of fact, many weeks passed and we made no moves at all. We ate our Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Year's dinners in the same muddy olive grove on the side of the same hill overlooking the same valley. While we were there the rains turned to snow and the mountains became white-capped. On New Year's Day a terrific blizzard swept through the valley, blowing down all our tents and covering the mud with six inches of ice cold slush. It was a miserable day.2 [End Page 28] Ralph had started writing to his hometown editor after hearing some of his letters home were being shared and occasionally published. He had written hundreds of letters since he was drafted—letters to his parents in Ohio, to his friends from school, and, more recently, to his hometown newspaper. He wrote about the war, the tiredness, the boredom, the dead, the fighting at Salerno and Anzio. Many of those letters today can be found preserved in the archives at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, where Ralph spent his later years teaching. They tell the story of a young soldier from Ohio, a story of a life-changing adventure, a story still best told in Ralph's own words. ________ The writing of letters was at its peak during World War II.3 Advances in communication and postal delivery gave letter writing a boost at the beginning of the twentieth century. High school curricula began to include the how-tos of letter writing. The first US war that saw extensive writing of letters was World War I.4 While the use of telephones was growing, the cost of long-distance calls was prohibitive of extensive use until the 1960s or later. Troops were encouraged to write home often, a process facilitated by the use of V-Mail.5 Dozens of articles and books of World War II letters have been published, but many of them are of significant interest only to the soldier's family and a small circle of friends. Some constitute collections of letters by multiple individuals.6 Among the more interesting collections are those that have appeared under the auspices of university [End Page 29] presses, state and local historical societies, or reputable trade publishers.7 A few publications focus on the letters of well-known individuals.8 ________ Ralph was six months into his first job out of Ohio Wesleyan University when the war came. The Radio Corporation of America (RCA) Victor Company had brought him to Camden, New Jersey, to the center of American technology, and to the Nipper Building. For Ralph, the RCA job meant a future of stability and security. The Holsingers of Covington, Ohio, had survived the Depression because Ralph's father, Fred, was good with his hands and Ralph's mother, Mary Vannas Inman Holsinger, was smart and careful. Ralph was the oldest of four children, two boys and two girls. Mary brought Ralph into the world during the Great War in 1918, Evelyn came the following year, Perry arrived in 1922, and Thelma June was born in 1927. Together, they learned the values of thrift, grit, self-discipline, and positive thinking. They believed that if one worked hard, [End Page 30] stayed focused, calculated risks, and took care of friends, good things were bound to happen. And they mostly did for the Holsinger family. Ralph finished high school and went to work for his father as a carpenter's helper...