So, the next letter won't arrive until the 30th. Rather than allow the blog to remain inactive in the intervening time, I'm going to use my spare hours to research a little bit more and share my findings with my many, many followers (are we up to 3 now?).
In June 2nd's letter, Sgt. Diehl mentioned his experience of Memorial Day in the south, remarking on the lack of fanfare (compared to the typical celebration in Pennsylvania).
Currently, Memorial Day is dedicated to the remembrance of fallen US soldiers. It seems to have begun in the late 1800s as a day meant to honor those soldiers who died during the Civil War. There are conflicting opinions, however, as to which soldiers the day originally honored. According to Wikipedia, the day was meant for remembering fallen Union soldiers. According to usmemorialday.org, the day officially began with flowers being laid on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers in Arlington Cemetery. As authoritative as usmemorialday.org appears to be, I'm inclined to believe Wikipedia's version, due to one comment in the letter of June 2nd: "But you know this is the South and May 30th is a Northern Holiday. I think some of the Southern States have a Memorial Day some time in April." I suspect that our desire to believe in the unity of the US then and now may have caused some slight revision of history. It's difficult to say for sure.
That's my tidbit for tonight... I'll try to find other interesting bits to research and share.
A collection of letters written by Roy J. Diehl to his future wife, Stella, transcribed and annotated by her great-granddaughter...me.
The Letters of Roy J. Diehl (Jay Roy Diehl)
From 1917-1919, Roy J. Diehl, a railroad worker from Pennsylvania, wrote a series of letters to Stella Custer, his future wife, while he was enlisted in the 281st Aero Squadron. Most published letter collections consist of letters penned by men of education, rank, or fame. Roy J. Diehl was neither highly educated, highly ranked, nor famous, but his letters provide an interesting and valuable look at the life of an ordinary enlisted man, untainted by the notion that he may be writing to a wide audience or that anything beyond his relationship with Stella, his future betrothed, rests on what he says. Still, his letters display the usual characteristics of war-time correspondence; Sergeant Diehl omits potentially sensitive information about activities in his Squadron, treats probably disgusting or horrific situations with a certain amount of nonchalance, speaks in cliches of patriotism, and continually thinks of movement and distance.
Roy
Roy J. Diehl was born Jay Roy Diehl in Henrietta, Pennsylvania in 1890. He had three brothers: Edward, Asher, and Jim. Though one might imagine a man just out of his teens writing these letters to a sweetheart back home, Roy was actually 27 when he enlisted and had a career as a railroad worker under his belt. According to his daughter, Jean Dodson, he lived in both Chicago and Philadelphia before settling in Altoona, the town in which he enlisted on December 14, 1917. Shortly thereafter he went to Claysburg, PA, where “the boys” stayed until they were transferred to military bases across the country.
Roy was eventually transferred to Park Field Tennessee, a military base a few miles outside of Memphis. There, he worked as a truck driver, since his education prohibited him from becoming a pilot (Roy completed basic school but did not go beyond the 8th grade—surprising, considering his excellent writing skills). Before shipping out, Roy’s unit, the 281st Aero Squadron, stayed in Garden City on Long Island, New York. After that, it is difficult to determine where, exactly he was, because he could not say anything more than “somewhere in France” in his letters until after the Armistice. Gorrell’s History of the American Expeditionary Forces Air Service, 1917-1919 provides some information, however; according to the section on the 281st, Roy’s unit stayed in Brest, St. Maixent, Colombey-les-Belles, and Behonne. When the military lifted its harsh censorship following the peace agreement, the 281st was in Bar-Le-Duc. When all was said and done, Roy had only been in France for a little over a year and had seen little to no action. America’s late entrance into the war kept him from serious harm, but Roy’s experience certainly instilled a strong sense of duty and patriotism in him.
After he returned from the Great War, Roy worked for a car manufacturer. He and Stella married in 1923 and settled in Philipsburg, PA. They had one daughter: Jean Dodson (born Jean Frances Diehl). Unfortunately, Roy lost his job when the Depression hit, though he did get a very small veteran’s pension. Through the depression he worked out of his garage as an automobile mechanic, fixing neighbors’ cars in return for money and once, according to Jean, a case of bubblegum. The family eventually moved to Johnstown, where Roy worked for a garage as a mechanic until WWII, when he decided to go into defense work after being turned away when he tried to enlist. He moved to York to work in a defense factory, followed by his family a few months later when Jean graduated from high school. He stayed at the factory until the end of the war, when he got a job for Ford Motor Company as a garage mechanic. He worked there until Jean graduated from college. When she married, Roy and Stella moved to Roaring Spring to be close to their daughter and her young family. When Stella died, Roy moved in with his daughter’s family. He lived to the age of 93.
Roy was eventually transferred to Park Field Tennessee, a military base a few miles outside of Memphis. There, he worked as a truck driver, since his education prohibited him from becoming a pilot (Roy completed basic school but did not go beyond the 8th grade—surprising, considering his excellent writing skills). Before shipping out, Roy’s unit, the 281st Aero Squadron, stayed in Garden City on Long Island, New York. After that, it is difficult to determine where, exactly he was, because he could not say anything more than “somewhere in France” in his letters until after the Armistice. Gorrell’s History of the American Expeditionary Forces Air Service, 1917-1919 provides some information, however; according to the section on the 281st, Roy’s unit stayed in Brest, St. Maixent, Colombey-les-Belles, and Behonne. When the military lifted its harsh censorship following the peace agreement, the 281st was in Bar-Le-Duc. When all was said and done, Roy had only been in France for a little over a year and had seen little to no action. America’s late entrance into the war kept him from serious harm, but Roy’s experience certainly instilled a strong sense of duty and patriotism in him.
After he returned from the Great War, Roy worked for a car manufacturer. He and Stella married in 1923 and settled in Philipsburg, PA. They had one daughter: Jean Dodson (born Jean Frances Diehl). Unfortunately, Roy lost his job when the Depression hit, though he did get a very small veteran’s pension. Through the depression he worked out of his garage as an automobile mechanic, fixing neighbors’ cars in return for money and once, according to Jean, a case of bubblegum. The family eventually moved to Johnstown, where Roy worked for a garage as a mechanic until WWII, when he decided to go into defense work after being turned away when he tried to enlist. He moved to York to work in a defense factory, followed by his family a few months later when Jean graduated from high school. He stayed at the factory until the end of the war, when he got a job for Ford Motor Company as a garage mechanic. He worked there until Jean graduated from college. When she married, Roy and Stella moved to Roaring Spring to be close to their daughter and her young family. When Stella died, Roy moved in with his daughter’s family. He lived to the age of 93.
Stella
Stella Custer, to whom Roy writes in this collection of letters, was born in Johnstown in 1899. She was unlike her husband in that she really took to school. She finished her high school education, took up a job teaching 8th grade English after that, and taught until she married Roy. She had one brother—Howard—who married Betty Shaffer, whose mother ran a boarding house in Claysburg. Stella’s daughter, Jean, theorizes that this boarding house is probably where her parents met. After all, Roy stayed for a while in Claysburg before leaving for Tennessee, and probably needed a room to stay in while there. His letters also refer to the Shaffers frequently, suggesting that they are the mutual acquaintances by whom he met Stella.
At the time she met Roy, Stella would have been very young—only 17 or 18—with Roy nine years her senior. Knowing this, it makes sense that they waited until 1923 to marry. Though Roy was certainly old enough to be married by then, Stella was still a young bride.Once they were married, Stella quit teaching English—according to Jean, Stella wasn’t allowed to teach once she had a husband. Stella stayed at home and took care of her daughter, who describes her as a very smart, generous, and strong woman.
Though her writing isn’t represented here, Stella was a great correspondent as well. Jean has preserved all of the letters written to her by her mother while she (Jean) was overseas with her husband. Sadly, Stella died in 1962, many years before her husband, while Jean and her family were living on the other side of the world.
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You may have more followers than you realize. Your grandmother has told Beth and Madeline about your blog. Both think it is great. Does that take the count to five?
ReplyDeleteI found a web site with the proclamation that established Memorial Day in 1868. Though, according to this web site, both Union and Confederate graves were decorated, the proclamation referred to the Civil War as the "late rebellion," language not likely to have encouraged southern participation.
ReplyDeleteIf I may add my two cents, knowing my family in the south and a little bit of how they view things even today (no offense to the in-laws:)), I feel that despite an invitation, however diplomatic or lack thereof, southerners would buck this holiday. In a sense it reminded them how many of their loved ones were lost in vain (in their eyes) and just another way the northerners were telling them what to do.
ReplyDelete