Papers (1941-1945) including correspondence, letters regarding pay allotments, liberty, censorship, marriage, family difficulties, etc.
Franklin Warren VanWert was born in 1921 to Mr. and Mrs. E. J. VanWert of Key West, Florida. Warren VanWert enlisted on December 12, 1938. He, along with his brothers Charles and Albert, served in the United States Navy during World War II. Warren VanWert was assigned to the USS Breckinridge (D.D. 148) from November 1940 until September 1943 as part of the Naval Reserve in the Special Service Squadron of the Atlantic Fleet. Franklin Warren VanWert died in 2001.
Sources:
F. Warren VanWert Papers (#0704), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenvile, North Carolina, USA.
Franklin Warren Van Wert letters, 1940-1942, William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Correspondence includes letters to his mother and brother concerning ship life and duty, leaves, description of Cuban women, problems with new pay allotments, and an entry regarding the number of siblings in the Armed Forces (December 13, 1943). Of particular interest are descriptions of engine room duty and the desalinization process for boiler and drinking water (October 17, 1941). A December 7, 1941, letter describes his reaction to the scant information that he has heard about the attack on Pearl Harbor.
This collection also includes letters from Albert VanWert (brother) while in training at USNTS, Great Lakes, Illinois, and Len Dooren (brother-in-law) while serving in the Pacific Fleet aboard the USS PRENTISS. These letters include information regarding pay allotments, liberty, censorship, marriage, and family difficulties and concerns. Reference is made to their mother reentering the work force. A letter from Dolly (sister) includes a description of travel and housing difficulties for military families whose men have been shipped overseas (August 18, 1943).
Gift of Friends of ECU Library
Encoded by Apex Data Services; Updated by Nanette Hardison, June 2024
Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.
Franklin Warren Van Wert letters, 1940-1942, William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan USA.