ww2letterproject

Al (Abe) left Boston in April, 1945, on a 60-day leave and returned to Richmond, Indiana, where he was reunited with his wife, Judy (Velma), and his two sons, Bill and Ben. A reporter from the local paper interviewed him.

“The first thing I told my wife when I returned home is that I wanted a good cup of real coffee and I didn’t want any soup.

…It is wonderful to be home.”

─Al

When Al’s leave ended he traveled to Miami, Florida for reassignment. He then reported to Camp Atterbury, Indiana and on July 6, 1945, was discharged from the US Army. Within weeks Japan would surrender and WWII ended.

 

Al was a civilian.

“I worked on a farm for a while.”

Then Al, Judy and the boys moved near Eaton, Ohio and lived with his parents and his younger brothers and sisters.

“[We] lived briefly at the farmhouse.”

Al and Judy left the farmhouse and bought a house on Somers Street in Eaton.
That summer (1946), Ron, Al’s and Judy’s third child was born.

“I… went to work for the telephone company in Eaton where I worked for 10 years.”

Al worked as a lineman for the telephone company setting phone poles by hand and stringing line, initially earning $15 per week. It was the post war economic boom. Everyone was adding phone service.

The family continued to grow; and in the spring of 1947, Don was born. The following spring of 1948, Judy Ann, their only daughter, was born.  Gary was born in 1950.

As the family grew, Al supplemented his income with part time work. He worked in the evenings at a local grocery store and had a Sunday newspaper rural route. His wife Judy also worked.

The house on Somers Street was comfortable, if a bit crowded. Al and Judy slept in one bedroom, and all the boys slept in another bedroom. Judy Ann had her own, very small room. At first the boys shared a bed, then, using some of his money earned delivering papers, Ben bought an army surplus bunk bed to accommodate the growing boys.

A pot-bellied stove usually fed with coal warmed the house in winter. Al installed electricity and plumbing to the house on Somers Street. When Eaton laid a sewage line near the house, Al hand dug a trench and connected the house. He added a bathroom to the house and the luxury of indoor plumbing.

Gary Banis remembers that one Christmas there was the possibility of few, if any, Christmas presents for the kids. His older brother, Ben, contributed money earned from delivering newspapers to help buy gifts. Because of Ben’s generosity, Gary was not only able to pretend to be the Lone Ranger but looked the part with his new cowboy hat, mask, holster and six-shooter.

Even though working full and part time jobs, Al found the time to be a Boy Scout Master. His oldest son, Bill was in the troop as was his youngest brother, Pat.  In 1951, Judy was pregnant and contacted German measles. Tom Banis was born in 1952 but suffered from health issues.

The family numbered nine.

It was life in a small Midwestern town in the 1950s. The Banis family did not have a TV. In the summer there was camping and fishing. Occasionally there was a trip to the local A&W or Dairy Queen. Ron recalls that there were frequent trips to the farmhouse where Al’s parents lived. Don says that the kids on many hot summer days, left the farmhouse and trekked across nearby fields to swim in a creek. In the fall it was back to school. On Halloween eves, Al and Judy escorted their children as they collected their “goodies.” In the spring, they would take their children to the county fairgrounds for the annual Easter egg hunt.

Al’s oldest boys, Ben and Bill spent much of their free time during childhood with their uncle Pat, (Al’s youngest brother) who is just a few years older than they are. Their pranks became family legends:

One evening Pat approached Al’s and Judy’s home and noticed that the lights were on in the bathroom. Pat quietly approached the outside of house, and then he suddenly yelled while thrusting his arm through the open bathroom window. Al who was “occupying” the bathroom was at first startled then angry. He ran from the bathroom, gathered his shotgun and raced outside to confront the intruder. A terrified Pat, sensing his brother’s anger, quickly scrambled up a nearby cherry tree and remained there cowering until his brother, armed and angry, was out of sight.

Ben recalls that “We were poor and it seemed like dinner was usually cornbread, beans and fried potatoes, but then every once in a while, Mom would change things up, and we would have fried potatoes, beans and cornbread.”

On rare occasions, Al and Judy would enjoy a childless evening. Victor Banis, Al’s younger brother, remembers that he and their mom would join Al and Judy and go to a night club in a nearby town where the four of them would dance, smoke and drink beer.

In 1954, Al’s father, William Banis died.

The family took a vacation to San Antonio in 1955 to visit Judy’s parents and Al’s sister, May, who had recently moved there. Ben says that “Dad would stop at a roadside park and rest on a bench while we played. After a short nap, it was back on the road again.”

Tom Banis struggled with health issues, twice suffering from pneumonia. The family doctor recommended that the family move to a dry and warm climate. After the school year ended in the spring of 1957, Al quit his job. He and Judy packed up the seven kids and left Eaton in a Chevy, pulling a trailer containing all of their belongings and drove to San Antonio, Texas.

When asked years later about the trip Don recalled, “I don’t remember much about it except that the car seemed small and it was really crowded.”

Judy Ann Banis remembers that when they arrived in San Antonio, her dad applied for work at the local phone company, hoping to be hired by as a lineman, a position for which he had 10 years of experience, but the phone company informed him he was too old.

Not one to stand idle, Al soon found a job.

“[We] moved to San Antonio, Texas, where I drove a milk truck. …Then [I] worked for the San Antonio zoo.”

Al and Judy were always generous and welcoming. Judy Ann recalls that on several occasions she vacated her room as “Dad would bring home someone who had just moved to town and found a job but didn’t have any place to stay.” The visitors were welcome to stay until they received their first paycheck and could find a place to rent.

Ron remembers that “We spent a lot of time with May [Al’s sister] and [her husband] Glade on their farm & ranch on the weekends, doing cattle drives and working the fields. This was the best time we had as kids.“

Al changed jobs again and in 1961,

“…[I] worked for Remsco Corp. making AC parts for autos and trucks.”

In 1962 Al and Judy bought a house in the San Antonio neighborhood of Valley Hi. Within a few years their neighbors would include, Bill, Ben, Ron and Judy Ann and their families.

At the age of forty-something, Al trained and became a licensed electrician, and in 1965, he,

“…Went to work for Southwest Research Institute as an electrician until I retired after 19 years.”

In 1968 Al started another part time job becoming a deputy sheriff.

Ron says that Al never saw much action as a deputy but, “He did tell me one story of coming across a guy and woman parked …in the county and he said he never saw a woman get a dress on over her head so fast. He then ran into her at the local grocery store and she totally ignored him.”

Al was a Shriner then a Mason and eventually a Grand Master of his Masonic lodge.

In 1975, he finished high school and attended classes at a local college.

One day in the 1970s, Al bought a bag of butterscotch hard candies and announced he was quitting smoking. Al was a heavy smoker for decades. When asked why he quit smoking, Al responded, “It was too expensive.”

By the mid-1970s all of Al’s kids had left home, taking with them the work ethic and values their parents had instilled. All married, raised families and were successful. Ron and Ben continued a family tradition and served in US armed forces.

In 1984 Al retired from Southwest Research. Al and Judy bought an RV and a small boat with an outboard motor.

Their travels included the occasional trip to Las Vegas. As Ron recalled, “Mom liked to play the slots.” Judy Ann recalled that even though her dad wasn’t very enthusiastic about gambling, he did develop a system for beating the Vegas slots: “Mom and Dad would return to the RV in the evening. Then at about 3:00 AM, dad would get up and go to the casino and play the slots because he was convinced they paid off better at that time of

day.”

Mostly Al and Judy visited family and went fishing. Fishing trips to the Gulf of Mexico were common usually with some grandchildren in tow.

In the early 1980s Al’s mother, Anna, became increasingly ill. She moved from Eaton, Ohio and Judy and Al lovingly cared for her until her death in 1984.

In 1991, Don and the family held a 50th anniversary bash for Al and Judy. Many of Al’s brothers and sisters attended.

In the next few years Fanny Banis Kisling traveled to San Antonio and spent time with Al, her brother.

Nearly 50 years had passed since WWII. Al had stayed in touch by mail with some of his war buddies from the 30th Division including ones who were fellow POWs, but he rarely mentioned the war to his family. Now Al detailed his war experiences to his sister. She carefully recorded and organized Al’s comments and those notes would become the basis of this blog site.

In the mid-1990s, Al was diagnosed with lung cancer. Over the next few years he would undergo numerous chemotherapy sessions. A few years later it was discovered that the cancer had spread to his brain. He underwent surgery and radiation treatments.

Al died at home on Sunday, November 19, 2000.

He was survived by his wife Judy, six children, 30 grandchildren and 41 great-grandchildren.

Judy passed away in 2012.

 

 

Al was a hard worker. He had a temper. He was fearless. He was stubborn. He was generous. Al was a great father and an involved citizen. Maybe it was growing up in the Great Depression that taught him to take nothing for granted and to work hard. Maybe it was the war that taught him that life was precious and should be lived to the fullest.

The world is a better place because of Al Banis.

Ben: “Dad was a man’s man, honest and fair.”

Don: “Dad was a good man; he never turned anybody away who was in need.”

Ron: “When you are a child you don’t realize the sacrifice your parents made to keep our nation free for a good life for their families. Dad was a hard worker.”

Judy Ann: “Everybody liked him, the kids and grandkids loved him.”

Gary: “Dad never talked much about the war, but he did tell me ‘War is hell.’”

 

The shutter clicked, and in that instant in 1955 we were all together. More than 60 years have passed. Of the 26 people in the photo, nine have passed away. Al and his family moved to Texas less than two years after that photo was taken, and I would see my Uncle Al only a few more times.

Al’s story was common for his generation. It is a wonderful story about growing up in a simpler era, suffering thru the harsh economic years of The Great Depression and then the tragedy and sacrifice of WWII.

Through the efforts of posting this story, I got to know my Uncle Al better. If we make the effort, our children and our children’s children will learn something about these wonderful and special people. One thing I learned and will never forget about my uncle Al was best said by his only daughter, Judy Ann:

“Dad was a hero.”

End of Chapter Teaser: