World War II Letters to Wilma
Wilma (Pemberton) Birge had four
brothers serving in the Army during World War II. She kept all their letters. Click below to see scanned in images of
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1940-04-23 Don
(page 1)
1940-04-23 Don
(page 2)
1940-04-23 Don
(page 3)
1940-04-23 Don
(page 4)
1940 - late, Victor enlists in the Army Air
Corps
Victor
was born in 1917. After Iberia Junior College
(1939) he went to business college in St. Louis. Jobs were
scarce in 1940 so he enlisted in the Army Air Corps. He was sent to Chanute
Field, near Rantoul, Illinois to join the headquarters squadron
where business his college experience proved to be an asset. Victor was assigned the job of
processing information about new recruits joining the Air Corps. From Chanute Field he was then
transferred to Jefferson Barracks near St.
Louis where he served through most of WWII. Victor did spend several months in West Texas, but did not see overseas service. Victor processed recruits into the service,
and then after the war ended he had to stay in for a few months to process out
the soldiers coming home.
He
was discharged in late 1945 as a Staff Sergeant. Victor died in 2001. (Don Pemberton,
November, 2009)
1940-xx-xx Victor (page 1)
1940-xx-xx
Victor (page 2)
1941-01-12
Lynn (page 1)
1941-01-12
Lynn (page 2)
1941-06-05 Victor (page 1)
1941-06-05 Victor (page 2)
1941-06-05 Victor (page 3)
1941-09-17
Victor
1941-12-07, Pearl Harbor attacked
1942-01-02, Don enlists in the Army Air Corps
Don
was born in 1919. By the start of
war, he had finished Iberia Academy then Iberia
Junior College and started studies at University of Missouri,
Columbia. When WWII began the appeal was really
out for all 1A young men to enter the service. Victor invited him to come to Chanute
Field, to look things over and take the preliminary tests. Based on this Don could make a decision
whether to join the Air Corps or wait to be drafted into the Infantry. The tests covered two days. Victor checked the scores and said the
results qualified Don for any of the tech schools offered by the Air Corps.
These tests also measured Don’s IQ and now Victor knew what that
was! Don went home for Christmas to
think it over. He returned to
Chanute Field on Jan 1, 1942 and volunteered. H took all the tests again, this time
for real. He selected the Weather
Observer's program and was accepted.
Don
was sent to Baton Rouge, Louisiana for Weather Observers
training. After several months he
was sent to Berry Field in Nashville
Tennessee for several
months. From there he went to Miami, Florida, the
Caribbean, and on to Natal,
Brazil for about
a year. As Chief Weather Observer in Natal his rating was Staff Sergeant. The next move was back to the states for
preflight training and eventually aerial navigation training. At completion of this training he
received a commission as Lieutenant in the Army Air Corps with the specialty of
Aerial Navigator. The next step was
crew training in B-17 bombers in preparation to go to the European war
zone. The war in Europe
ended before he was sent there, but the war in the Pacific continued. B-17s were not used very much in the
Pacific War Zone. So, after a month
of regrouping he was one of a few navigators selected to go to New Mexico for training
in B-29 bombers. The B-29 was
widely used in the Pacific. It was
a B-29 that dropped the atomic bombs on Japan and ended the war. WWII ended before Don’s training
in B-29s got started.
Don
was discharged as a Lieutenant in the Army Air Corps in September 1945. (Don Pemberton,
November, 2009)
1942 - summer, Lynn drafted
Lynn was born in
1915. By the time of Pearl Harbor,
he had graduated from college and was teaching school in Knoxville, Illinois. He was 1A in the draft, but was deferred
until the end of the school year.
During these few months he applied to enter the Army Air Corps Photography
School. Since he was an amateur photographer and
had done much work for the school paper and yearbooks his experience should
have some value. Before the Air
Corps could process his paperwork he was drafted into the Infantry. A few months later the paperwork caught
up with him and he was transferred to the Air Corps. He was sent to Harvard for special
courses in photography before being sent to China for about two years where he
was in charge of a photo lab for the duration of the war.
Lynn was discharged in December,
1945 as a Captain in the Army Air Corps. He died in 1995. (Don Pemberton,
November, 2009)
1942-11-13 Don to Jerry and Dick (envelope)
1942-11-13
Don to Jerry and Dick (page 1)
1942-11-13
Don to Jerry and Dick (page 2)
1942-11-13
Don to Jerry and Dick (page 3)
1942-11-13
Don to Jerry and Dick (page 4)
1942-12-11
Don (postcard front)
1942-12-11
Don (postcard back)
|
|
Sergeant Donald D. Pemberton, Chief Weather Observer, Natal Brazil,
1943
|
1944-08-161
Don (page 1)
1944-08-161
Don (page 2)
1944-12, Don
graduates from Navigation Training.
1945 - early, Harold drafted
Harold
was born in 1925. He was the 4th
brother to serve in the armed services during WWII. He was too young to serve in the early
years of the war, and then he was deferred for a while longer to help out on
the farm. In the last year of the
war he was drafted into the Infantry. Harold was trained in radio
communications and saw service at various bases in the US.
Harold
was discharged as a Private First Class in 1946. He died in 1995. (Don Pemberton,
November, 2009)
1945-05-08, VE Day
|
|
Barbara Ellen Jones
and 2nd Lt Donald D. Pemberton Summer, 1945.
|
1945-08-15, VJ Day
1945-09-18 Barbara (page 1)
1945-09-18 Barbara (page 2)
1945-12-01, Don and Barbara
Married