A SHORT 3 YEARS BEFORE HE JOINED THE ARMY

When I read this article I couldn't resist putting it in now.  The year is 1938 and it's Dad's last year of High School.  I'm not sure who wrote the article but it sounds very much like his sister Grace. Someone in the family might know.  A short 3 years after this and he was in the army.   

Letters Home WWII (3)

I have a feeling that this envelope does not go with the letter.  Dad didn't date all his letters.  The date on the envelope is two days after the last letter but the contents suggest that he hadn't written in a long time.  So glad Grandma wrote the date she received the letter on the envelope.  Oh well, so it's mismatched, they are still great to read.
I love Grandma's added bit at the end for Dad's sisters.

Letters Home WWII (2)

Some of Dad's letters to his parents are dated.  This one was written on 31st Dec 1943 and it was postmarked in San Francisco Jan 6 1944.  It seems almost incredulous that it only took 6 days to get to the US and during war time.  Dare I say that the postal service was more efficient then than now.  Not only did it arrive in the US in 6 days but each and every letter had to be opened and examined by the army examiner before being mailed to families.  Not sure if that took place here in Australia or in the US. 
At the end of the letter Grandma has written a comment before the letters were sent on to other family members. 

Letters Home WWII (1)

Dad had been stationed in Australia for about 10 months when he wrote this letter. It's postmarked 8 Sept 1942 just 3 days after meeting Mum for the first time.  Of course the mail was sent from here to San Francisco and then mailed from there so I have no idea when he wrote the letter or how long it took to get to the US.
The condition of the letter and envelope is perfect.  All his letters had either a censor stamp or seal on them.  So glad Grandma saved these letters.  Unfortunately the ones he received from Grandma and Mum have all been destroyed.

It's been over a year

It's been over a year since I last blogged and my return is due to my Dad once again.  He died 13 months ago and Mum and I miss him so much.  In an effort to declutter the house we have discovered so many hidden gems that Dad and Mum have refused to throw out over the years.  The treasures we have found include letters that Dad wrote to his parents during WWII from Australia, memorabilia from his school days which date back 82 years, newspaper clippings, old Western union telegrams and many more things.  My cousin Martha asked if I could post the letters on my blog and yes Martha I plan to do so.  I'm in the process of scanning them all into the computer at the moment.  This process could take awhile.  
While watching an old home movie that Dad had transferred to video many years ago and I have since had transferred to DVD, I managed to capture a still of Dad from the video.   I believe the home movie was taken in Ballarat Victoria Australia.  Dad was stationed in Australia and New Guinea during the 4 years of his foreign service.  I think he was about 23 or 24 here.  

Rest In Peace Dad

William Howard Frost March 1919 - Dec 2010

You can't take the boy out of the man even at 91 and a half

My Dad never ceases to amaze me.  He gave up his HO model railroad because he couldn't see well enough to run it anymore or to do repairs and now at 91 and a half (which he insists on emphasising) he's been  bugging me to find a www store so he can buy track to set up a model railroad in time for Christmas.  He still has an engine and some carriages.  He wants a train to go around the Christmas tree this year.  So last Wednesday Mum and Dad went out shopping and found 4 three foot lengths of track.  Guess who gets the job of putting it all together, yep me and you know I'm looking forward to it.  We had a garage sale last week and in cleaning out the garage I found Dad's model train control for running the trains, somehow it got overlooked when we sold his last set up. I'm looking forward to building something for his set up in polymer clay.  Not sure what yet but I'll be sure to post some pictures when it's done.  As I said he amazes me.  I guess age changes us all and illness certainly does and he is fighting back with his usual good humour and determination to enjoy what time he has left.  Some days he doesn't remember where he is or how he got here but his sense of humour pulls him through the void most times.  Just when I think that old age is nothing but a cruel joke I realise that I'm learning valuable life lessons from watching my parents and I'm so grateful to still have them in my life. It's no joke, cruel or otherwise just a palate of colours to be savoured no matter what the hue.