About
Hello and welcome to this “blog” from World War II. Each post in this blog (except the Epilogue) is based on a letter that was written home by Vernald E. Mackliet during his time in the Army during WW II. The letters have been edited slightly to give the feel of a blogger during that period of time. Every attempt was made to preserve as much of the letter as possible.
In blog style, the letters are presented beginning with the most recent. But to get a better narrative, it would be best to start at the beginning, with In the Army Now.
To borrow from Seinfeld, these are “letters about nothing that are really something”. I think you will find that my father sprinkles wit throughout. One of my favorites: “I didn’t really do much of anything, but it took all of Tuesday night and the early morning of Wednesday to do it!” This is in the post from May 10th, 1945 that I have labeled ‘Festive Mood’ and it describes the goings-on in the aftermath of V-E Day.
My father spent most of his time in Northern Ireland at an Army Air Depot. Hopefully these letters will give the reader some idea of what life was like for my father during his time in the Army. I will update this site with links and images in order to give a better picture of my father’s experiences.
My father was not a “grunt”, and I realize that many of the fighting soldiers endured a very great hardship that is not in evidence here.
It would appear that my father wrote many more letters than just those presented here. In most cases, these letters stand on their own. There are a few “threads” where there are references to things that were likely introduced in letters that have not survived. I think that one can generally get the gist without the antecedent correspondence.
After WW II, my father (and his brother Cleon, who was in the Navy and who is mentioned from time to time in the letters) went to college on the GI Bill. After working briefly in Seattle after college, my father came to the Washington DC area to work as an economist for the CIA. In 1958, he married Marjorie Christine Reynolds. He retired from government service in 1976 and returned to Washington state in 1992. Vernald E. Mackliet died in 1998.
These letters have been posted to this site on November 11, 2008 – Veteran’s Day to honor both my father and all veterans.
Thank you dad and thank you all.
-Bruce Mackliet, Vienna VA