WW2

August 26, 1943 – Merton’s War Diary

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Aug 26, 1943
Gave eskimo woman a suit of long underwear and two cakes of soap to do my laundry.

An Inuit family (1917) – “AN ESKIMO FAMILY. Tenderness and responsibility in their treatment of children is a virtue of the Eskimo which binds them closer to the brotherhood of civilized peoples.” [1]National Geographic Magazine, Volume 31 (1917), page 564 – Wikipedia Link

In reading this entry of Merton’s journal, I could only picture the poor woman leaning over into the frozen river with a washboard.  Probably a far cry from the truth but good for those ‘cold wash only’ items.

This is an interesting case in how learning about the past brings an ‘Ah Ha’ moment to the present.  There are a few ‘chores’ that if I could avoid them, laundry would indeed be one of them, though I believe that my wife would think that I would choose to avoid ALL of them.  Perhaps two chocolate cakes might do the trick.

The flip side to this argument however, is that my Mother loves to do laundry… and ironing.  I guess I take after my Grandfather more than Mom.

 

 

 

Notes   [ + ]

1. ￪ National Geographic Magazine, Volume 31 (1917), page 564 – Wikipedia Link

August 22, 1943 – Merton’s War Diary

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Aug. 22
Slept ashore for first time in sleeping bags on the rocks.

I can remember as a kid missing out on Cub Scout camping trips for one reason or another but to make up for it, Dad and I would ‘camp’ in the slightly wooded back yard.  There was a slight hill and the sleeping bags would slowly slide down the plastic tarp we would place on the ground to keep the moisture out.  We didn’t have a tent and it was just open air.

View on Scoresby Sund, East Greenland – by Hannes Grobe, AWI[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Scoresby-sund_view_hg.jpg  Interestingly, the metadata for this photograph shows that it was captured on August 25th, 2007 so we are looking at the same time of year as the diary entry.

Later in life, Sue and I would go camping on some of our reenactment trips.  I used to enjoy the experience a lot and we had many convenience items such as air mattresses hidden away in our very non-authentic tents.  Sleeping on ‘the rocks’ sounds like it would be the opposite of fun.  Well, it just so happened that one night in July (possibly August,) while on a camping trip in Wahnapitae Ontario, Sue and I learned just how uncomfortable the air mattress could be when a cold front came in.  Like a Thermos, the air mattress retained all of the cold air and ‘insulated’ us from any warmth the ground could offer.  The remainder of the weekend we ended up in a hotel with the hopes of warming our bones.  I do hope for my Grandfather’s sake, the rocks and bag provided some form of comfort.

In 1943 and 1944, my Grandfather, Merton Young, traveled to Greenland while working for the Merritt-Chapman & Scott Company. He wrote a brief diary of his journey and this is a piece of that story.

Notes   [ + ]

1. ￪ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Scoresby-sund_view_hg.jpg

Two new books – Letters from WW2 and DNA

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Two new books arrived on my shelf this week, both courtesy of the wonderful Deborah Sweeney, author of the blog at GenealogyLady.net and our guest from Episode 1.

books

The first of which is Deborah’s latest book, ‘Lots of Love, Daddy: The World War II Letters of Roscoe and Gladys Yegerlehner: October 1942 – December 1942 (Volume 2)’.

This book contains more letters written during World War Two, between Deborah’s Grandparents.  It is an amazing glimpse into the daily lives of a Naval Doctor stationed in the Pacific, and his Wife at home in Indiana.  Historians will appreciate the small details that these letters will often divulge from bank account balances, cost of living, meals, mail schedules, and more.  Deborah has slipped numerous footnotes throughout the book, as well as some great family photographs as well as photographs of several of the letters themselves.

Most of the letters have a very day to day ‘diary’ feel to them;  Today I went to the store, traveled to Lafayette, 3 bunk mates moved out and 2 moved in however one letter from Roscoe to Gladys written  October 30, 1942 stuck out.

… My tent mate asked me the other day while I was writing a letter if I told you I loved you and I said “no” she knows that and really it isn’t necessary because you are well aware of that fact and know that it will always be that way. It’s not the beer that is affecting me because I’ve only had two bottles, and that won’t affect me that way. You know how much you are missed and I know that the same is true in this direction and that makes things easier, but when one goes to bed at night and thinks it really makes one yearn for home. And sooner or later will be there. So much for that…[1]Deborah Sweeney, Lots of Love, Daddy: The World War II Letters of Roscoe and Gladys Yegerlehner: October 1942 – December 1942 (Volume 2), (Self Published – CreateSpace and Amazon.Com Company, 2016), p.118

I will have to skip ahead now to find when Gladys receives this letter to see how this all plays out.

Among the letters between husband and wife are a few from other relatives and neighbors as well as a very special Radiogram from the American Red Cross to Roscoe – announcing the birth of his son David.

For more information on this book, and where to find it, check out GenealogyLady.com/publications [2]For the sake of transparency, I did assist Deborah in the design and creation of the cover of both this book, and Volume 1

The second book Deb sent me is ‘The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy’ by Blaine T. Bettinger.  While I have not had a chance to read through this book yet, chapters include; genetic genealogy basics, ethics, selecting a test, the various types of tests, and analyzing the results.

Like other Family Tree Books I have seen, this one is full of color diagrams and illustrations which (should) make the subject of DNA testing easier to understand.  Sue has had her DNA tested through Ancestry.com and we have barely scratched the surface of the results and I am hoping to do mine by the end of the year.

For more information on ‘The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy’ by Blaine T. Bettinger – check out ShopFamilyTree.com

Notes   [ + ]

1. ￪ Deborah Sweeney, Lots of Love, Daddy: The World War II Letters of Roscoe and Gladys Yegerlehner: October 1942 – December 1942 (Volume 2), (Self Published – CreateSpace and Amazon.Com Company, 2016), p.118
2. ￪ For the sake of transparency, I did assist Deborah in the design and creation of the cover of both this book, and Volume 1

August 13, 1943 – Merton's War Diary

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August 13, 1943
Started first building on mountain for weather station.

Weather stations on the East Coast of Greenland were very important installations.  This was the day before Doplar and Satellites.  The weather fronts from Greenland would routinely make their way on to Northern Europe and these stations could report and forecast so that the troops stood a better chance on the front.

The weather station Knospe in operation during World War II. (Image: Svalbard Museum)

It seems as if the German’s also had stations on Greenland and there were numerous expeditions to find and secure them.

This fascinating short documentary on ‘The Sledge Patrol’ by Sandra Skibsted can shed more light on the subject and is the tale of Greenland’s first ‘Army’

If you are at all interested in the current weather in Kulusuk Greenland, follow this [Link] to The Weather Underground.  This year on August 13 it was a balmy 47 °F (8 °C).

In 1943 and 1944,  my Grandfather Merton Young traveled to Greenland while working for the Merritt-Chapman & Scott Company. He wrote a brief diary of his journey and this is a piece of that story.

Next Entry – Aug 16, 1943

August 5, 1943 – Merton's War Diary

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August 5, 1943

Arrived at #2, met Capt. Shriffin who was stationed in Hyannis for long time.

Bluie East Two was a minor United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) airfield at Ikateq, East Greenland. It was operational from 1942 to 1947. ¹

I would be curious to find out who Capt Shriffin is.  Did Merton know him ahead of time or was the simple fact they were both in Hyannis the common denominator.  When researching Merton’s history on the cape, be it newspapers or other items, I will keep a look out for the Captain.

In 1943 and 1944,  my Grandfather Merton Young traveled to Greenland while working for the Merritt-Chapman & Scott Company. He wrote a brief diary of his journey and this is a piece of that story.

Next entry – Aug 10 ²

¹ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluie_East_Two

² Note – I will catch up soon – I promise

July 31, 1943 – Merton's War Diary

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July 31, 1943
Went into #7, loaded coal, saw more Eskimos, and a man being taken off a ship in a strait jacket.

#7 was the base at Kangilinnguit, right near Ivigtut.  Merton last mentioned that he was awaiting transfer to #7 on June 6th.  It surprises me that it took this long.  Perhaps it took the other man even longer which is why he ended up in the strait jacket.

In 1943 and 1944,  my Grandfather Merton Young traveled to Greenland while working for the Merritt-Chapman & Scott Company. He wrote a brief diary of his journey and this is a piece of that story.

Next Entry – Aug 3, 1943

July 30, 1943 – Merton's War Diary

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July 30, 1943
Arrived at bay near Ivictut

Ivictut aka Ivigtut which is now known as Ivittuut, is located on the western side of Greenland.  I’ve written about it before way back on June 3rd [Link]

I found a video on YouTube by user ‘cputb1’ of his father’s days in Ivigtut Greenland during the late 1940’s.  The photographs encompass work, life and play and show a great cross section of what conditions must have been like.  I hope you enjoy.

In 1943 and 1944,  my Grandfather Merton Young traveled to Greenland while working for the Merritt-Chapman & Scott Company.  He wrote a brief diary of his journey and this is a piece of that story.

Next Entry – July 31, 1943

July 28, 1943 – Merton's War Diary

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July 28, 1943

Left #1 on the Iris, a Norwegian freight and passenger boat.

image

The Iris - from www.sjohistorie.no

#1 was the code name of the base that Merton had been staying at.  I believe there were 7 in total.

The site warsailors.com has a great page on the history of the Iris including a crew list and convoy records. She rescued several sailors from ships sunk to U Boats over her carrer.

It is these old photos and documents that bring these journal pages to life for me.

The Norwegian site www.sjohistorie.no has another great photo of the ship as well.

In 1943 and 1944,  my Grandfather Merton Young traveled to Greenland while working for the Merritt-Chapman & Scott Company. He wrote a brief diary of his journey and this is a piece of that story.

Next Entry – July 30, 1943

July 2, 1943 – Merton's War Diary

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July 2, 1943

Went to work in mess hall and had to shave off beard.

It has been almost a month since Merton’s last entry and I have to imagine that nothing important happened.  I believe that I read that the U Boat patrols have decreased due to the high number of Allied patrols searching for them so I believe the waters to be safer.

We all picture soldiers peeling piles of potato’s but what were they really eating?  While not Greenland specific – this short and informative video about the WW2 Mess hall produced by the U.S. Army Heritage Education Center gives an idea of what it may have been like.

In 1943 and 1944, my Grandfather Merton Young traveled to Greenland while working for the Merritt-Chapman & Scott Company. He wrote a brief diary of his journey and this is a piece of that story.

Next Entry – July 8, 1943