Bill returns from Ft Dix, NJ to continue training at Camp Van Dorn.
Anna and the family move from the house on Decatur St in Eaton, Ohio and rent a farm house (family members refer to it as the burnt house) located on the Quinn property a few miles outside of Eaton. There is now enough space for Anna to raise chickens, and the family buys a hog.
The house on Decatur Street was actually an abandoned streetcar. As Ruth Banis Nance recalls, “The house on Decatur Street was used for storage. Mom [Anna] was able to move the family there in exchange for clearing and disposing of the contents of the house.”
As Victor Banis recalls; “Why, I’ve been asked, do you call it ‘the burnt house’? But that one is certainly easy enough to answer (not all questions I am asked are so easy) – because that’s just what it was – a house in the country that belonged to a friend of my parents and had burned at some time in the past, and (perhaps uninsured) had never been repaired.
“So, there it sat, a maze of sooty walls, stairs that went nowhere, rooms with no ceilings – today it would be called a death trap, I’m sure – and no doubt it was – but within those burnt and crumbling walls there was still enough of a house that we – living before this in an abandoned streetcar – were glad to be invited to move into it and make our home there. Never mind the lack of electricity or running water. Never mind the stairs that ended in blank space – the space we got instead was open space –a yard to play in, a creek, a spring house, pastures – and, the icing on the cake, our very own ‘fun house.’
“People think of something like the burnt place as a hardship for children, but I assure you, that is not how we saw it. Children are infinitely malleable. For us, it was our very own amusement park, and the very real dangers frightened us no more than, say, a roller coaster at Coney Island might frighten a city child.
“I suppose what it really came down to was, we had a home. It’s very difficult to think of a streetcar in that way. But to children, poor, frightened by the world surrounding us, in desperate need of shelter, a house, even half a derelict house, could be a home. We were glad of it. ”
On the US Front:
- Inventor John C. Donnelly receives acknowledgment for his development of dehydrated foods.
- The Xerces Blue butterfly (Glaucopsyche Xerces) is seen for the last time and is presumed to have become extinct, its habitat in the sand dunes near San Francisco Bay having been destroyed by the growth of the California city.
- Food rationing begins in the United States following the March 12 announcement of limits on beef, pork, lamb and mutton, as well as butter, cheese and canned fish. Poultry was not affected by the order.
- The University of Wyoming Cowboys win the NCAA basketball tournament with a 46-34 victory over the Georgetown University Hoyas.
- Oklahoma!, the musical by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, opens on Broadway.
On the War Front:
- In the battle of the Bismarck Sea, U.S. and Australian naval forces sink eight Japanese troop transports near New Guinea over the course of three days.
- German forces liquidate the Jewish ghetto in Kraków.
- Convoy losses in the Atlantic reach devastating numbers due to increased U-boat activity.
- Seventy-six Allied POWs escape from Stalag Luft III in Sagan. This becomes known as the “Great Escape.” Seventy-three are later recaptured; of these 50 are executed, 23 are sent back to prison camps and three escape to freedom.
March 2, 1943 — Camp Van Dorn, MS
Dear Mom & All
Just a line to say hello to all of you. I received your package and it was wonderful. Believe me those homecooked cookies tasted like a million dollars. And some of these days I hope to be home. I should write to sis one of these days but I haven’t got time. I’m all through with my exams now. And I’ve passed them all. Boy was I tickled to hear you had some baby chicks. And two hundred of them.
It sure looks like I’ll be having some fried chicken one of these days. Here’s some news for you, but there’s a catch. I’m not sure but I think my furlough starts between the 15 and the 20th of this month. But I’ll have to borrow $15.10 or so from you to have enough for a round trip ticket. If you can afford to loan me that much. Let me now and if you can’t then I’ll try borrow it here somewhere. How are Dad and all the kids getting along these days. Tell them I’ll be seeing them soon. And I’ll show them what a good soldier looks like.
How do you like being on the farm by now Mom. What’s it like to be living in the country. Is it cold up there now or is it hotter than the devil like it is here. Still it rained today I ruined the only good uniform I had today walking around in the mud and water while I was in review.
Well I’ll be seeing you soon I hope.
Best of Love to all
Bill
March 18, 1943 — Camp Van Dorn, MS
Dear Mom:
Here’s a line to let you know I’m OK And was certainly glad to hear that you had moved. I was almost as excited as you were. And am I glad. This place is so dead it doesn’t even have a good show anymore. Anyway I haven’t got time to go to shows. We only spend a couple of nights a week sleeping in camp. Most of our time is spent out in the field.
Say I’m glad to hear you liked that picture. I didn’t know that I had changed though. Although I am gaining a lot of weight. And it isn’t fat either. But it isn’t any wonder that a person changes in here. Every time I turn around I’m taking a fast hike, which by the way means being able to walk 5 miles in 50 minutes with full field equipment (about 65 lbs) And if that kind of training doesn’t make men then nothing will. It certainly weeds out all the softies and I’m not one of those kinds of guys.
Well give Dad and all the Kids my best Love. And I’ll be seeing you one of these days.
Love Bill
PS: The girls sent me a package and boy was it swell.
March 24, 1943 — Camp Van Dorn, MS
Dear Mom & All:
Am answering your letter tonight while I’ve still got time. I sure was glad to hear from you. That picture of me didn’t turn out so good. Some of these days I’ll try to get you a better one. I got Dick’s letter the other day. And I’ll have to ans him sometime. You talk of rain. Boy it sure rains around here. Most of the time it pours. I got a letter from my old pal payton the other day. And he certainly is a hero. He was wounded in action down in the Solomon Islands. He was there about three months. I saw his picture in the paper. And he hasn’t changed much.
Say you should have me there to do your walking for you. I’m getting good at it. I should be that’s all I do anymore.
Well here I am again mom after three days relapse. I’m sorry I didn’t get around to finishing this letter sooner. Today we had a review parade early in the morning, then an inspection that lasted for 3 hours. And starting Monday we’ll have a review every morning for a week and be taking tests on everything we’ve done. Most of our time will be spent out in the field. So I’ll probably not be able to write until a week from now again.
Say here’s some good news mom. If I do get a furlough at all it will probably be during the next week or two so be on the alert. I may have to wire home for a little extra dough in case anything turns up unexpected.
I sure hope they don’t red-line me on account of your change of address. Because I’ll be flatter than a boxcar. Oh yes! I’m on K.P. again Monday.
You know I’m getting so I’m well acquainted with the cooks. I got a letter from Ruth today. Did I tell you that I got a phone call from Eve the other day. And I couldn’t hardly hear a word she said. Of all the rotten luck. I don’t know whether she heard me or not but I certainly did a lot of swearing. Here’s some more bad luck on my part, the guy that sleeps along sides of me has the measles.
Well give my Love to Dad and all the kids and tell them I’ll see them soon.
Best of Love
Bill
ww2letterproject 
Does any one in the family have a picture of the “burnt house?”
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very interesting
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