10 A Hot, Humid June in Indianapolis

Jack and Alice at Monument Circle in downtown 
Indianapolis

Allison V-1710 Engine[1]

Four months at Aircraft Maintenance School in Dallas prepared Jack and his buddies for work on airplanes, but they didn’t know which ones. Their next assignment narrowed their options. One month at the Allison Engine School in Indianapolis, Indiana, would introduce them to the engines then used in over sixty percent of the U.S. Army Air Corps’ pursuit aircraft. The Allison V-1710 powered the famous P-38 Lightning, P-39 Airacobra, P-40 Warhawk, and the early P-51A Mustang. The engines were tough and resisted machine-gun fire well.[2] The planes needed pilots, and they needed trained mechanics. That’s what Jack would learn at Allison. He was also on the lookout for a good time. Alice’s arrival would help.

P-38 Lightning[3]

Getting Alice Settled in Indianapolis

That [second] night [in Indianapolis, about 3 June] we got our passes & Bob & Derrick & I went to town to see if I could find a room for Alice. After sending her several telegrams I got an answer that she would arrive Sunday.[4]

Not alone this time, Alice took a train from Texas to Indiana with her new friend Betty Hahn. Betty’s husband was from Evansville, on the way to Indianapolis, and Alice stayed a few nights with her there.[5]

                                                                            

Barracks at Allison Engine School where Jack lived

June 2, 1943
Dear Jack:

  I received your message this afternoon.  I can hardly wait to get started.  Betty and I got our tickets this morning $18.91 & we insured ourselves for $10,000 for 25¢.

  I did not have room for my fur coat in the suit case, so I am sending it home.  I will insure it for $150.—

  I will send you a telegram when I arrive in Evansville.

  With all my love & lots of luck to you darling.

    Your wife, Alice.[6]

June 5, 1943

Dearest Jack :

  Betty and I had rather a hard trip, as we didn’t have a seat when we got on the train.  Betty [then pregnant] got one soon after & I took turns with soldiers. Got a few hours sleep anyhow. It was so hot until we got to St. Louis, then it rained. 

  Today it is so warm after the rain yesterday. I am still so sleepy.

  Will write again tomorrow, hope to hear from you soon

  I love you honey

      forever & ever[7]

The Hudsons at home

A Welcoming Landlady Found the Way to Jack’s Heart

Jack: I had found Alice a room by going from door to door near the school. After a long search I found a room at Mrs. Hudson’s but had to do some tall talking to get her to rent it to her. Later she was glad she had rented it. They are really very nice people.

Mrs. Hudson asked me to sing in their church one night which I did. I liked their church and the people there were very nice. Mrs. Hudson made ice cream one Sunday night & treated us to it. One Sunday she had us out for Breakfast.

Mrs. Hudson asked me to sing at their church again and I did. After church they had a large dinner in the church basement. We were guests of honor & treated like kings. We ate heartily & the food was well enjoyed.[8]

Alice at the Kresge Lunch Counter

Kresge, Indianapolis
Imagine Alice looking out at the folks at the bus stop.

Jack: Wherever we went Alice had a job. She was busy helping out to make money.[9]

At Indianapolis she worked for Kresge’s [five and dime store]. Because she had worked at Kress’s in Santa Rosa, she had good experience. They were glad to get her down there, and hated to see her leave. [10] 

Who would hire a woman who likely would only be around one month while her husband was in school?

Jack: They wanted help then, boy. Everybody’s going into the service or the airplane factories.

Alice, animated: They were darn glad to get me, I tell you! I just went in to Kresge’s, and they put me on cosmetics. They also had a lunch counter. I got all the under stock straightened out for the cosmetics counter, then one day the lunch counter girl didn’t show up for work. “Mrs. Kellar can you fill in at the lunch counter? I’d sure appreciate it.” I don’t remember what I got paid. It didn’t matter. I had a job, and I had my lunches out. I can remember standing at the lunch counter, and it’s so hot, just humid and hot. There were people getting on the bus with their umbrella. I guess I bought an umbrella there. That rain just really came down when it started, but what a relief! [11]

Fun Together in Indianapolis

Jack: The school was fine and being with Alice at night really improved things a lot. We spent a lot of our time at Maplehurst dairy & fountain where they sure had swell ice cream. We saw “Shadow of a Doubt,” the picture made in my home town Santa Rosa. One Sunday we went to church at Roberts Memorial Church built in 1876. Then we went out to the Indianapolis speedway with Bob. We crawled under the fence & took some pictures as all of the gates were locked. We went to the amusement park at Riverside and went on the tunnel of love, Chute the Chutes, & many other rides. We ate wienies & had a swell time.

 Back: Erwin Derrick, Bob Azevedo,
Bob Rehbein; Front: Wallace Winkler,
Floyd K. Anderson, Leo A. Dregier

School was nearly over now and we went thru the Allison factory. It was most interesting altho we did not have enough time to see all we wanted to. At least we saw the main & important things. We graduated on a Tues about June 29.

The best news came when we heard we were to be sent to Hammer Field at Fresno California. California! That seemed too good to be true.[12]

But before I could go, I had to have everything done on my teeth. I had fourteen fillings, some on the front teeth. That was the orders of the day that everyone will have their teeth checked and everything checked physically.[13]

Teeth fixed and ready to go, the trip back to California would be an easy one. It proved to be different from what Jack and Alice expected, though, and one they laughed about the rest of their lives.

Jack's Allison Engine School Class, June 1943
Jack is seated, far right.

 

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[1] “Allison V-1710 Engine 1.jpg,” photo, Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Allison_V-1710_Engine_1.jpg : downloaded 18 January 2018), by “Highflier” (Self-made, taken at the USAF Museum; Dayton, OH) [GFDL CC-BY-SA-3.0].

[2] “Allison V-1710,” Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allison_V-1710 : accessed 18 January 2018), “Supercharger,” paragraph 3. Also “Allison V-1710—USA,” Larry Dwyer, The Aviation History On-Line Museum (http://www.aviation-history.com/engines/allison.htm : accessed 18 January 2018).

[3] “P-38 Lightning (U.S. Air Force photo),” U.S. Air Force (http://www.af.mil/News/Photos/igphoto/2000592992/ : accessed 16 February 2018) > News > Photos. 

[4] Jack J. Kellar, “My Life in the Service,” diary, 22 October 1942–July 1943, excerpts; held and transcribed by Judy Kellar Fox. The diary is a preprinted fill-in book, My Life in the Service (Chicago: Consolidated Book Publishers, 1941). Jack began the section titled, "The Following Pages Contain the Diary of My Life in the Service." He completed about eight months of narration, often at long sittings, not daily.

[5] Jack J. Kellar and Alice (Streeter) Kellar, interview by Judy Kellar Fox, December 1993; cassette tape recording and transcription held by the author.

[6] Alice Streeter Kellar (Dallas, Texas), letter to Cpl. Jack J. Kellar (Training Det., A.A.F.T.T.C. (Allison Division), Indianopolis [sic], Indiana), 2 June 1943, excerpts. A.A.F.T.T.C. was the Army Air Force Technical Training Command. See United States Department of Defense, United States Air Force, Air Education and Training Command (http://www.aetc.af.mil/ : accessed 20  January 2018) > About Us >  History >  Significant Events > 1940-49 > 15 Mar 42.

[7] Alice Streeter Kellar (Evansville, Indiana), letter to “Dearest Jack” (Indianapolis, Indiana), 5 June 1943, excerpts. Also, for Betty’s pregnancy, see Jack J. Kellar and Alice (Streeter) Kellar, interview by Judy Kellar Fox, December 1993.

[8] Jack J. Kellar, “My Life in the Service,” diary, 22 October 1942–July 1943, excerpts.

[9] Jack J. Kellar, “Autobiography,” 1998; two ninety-minute cassette tape recordings; held and partially transcribed by the author.

[10] Jack J. Kellar, interview about his first years after high school by Judy Kellar Fox, 12 April 1993; cassette tape recording and transcription held by the author.

[11] Jack J. Kellar and Alice (Streeter) Kellar, interview by Judy Kellar Fox, December 1993, excerpts.

[12] Jack J. Kellar, “My Life in the Service,” diary, 22 October 1942–July 1943, excerpts.

[13] Jack J. Kellar and Alice (Streeter) Kellar, interview by Judy Kellar Fox, December 1993, excerpts.

9 Friends: The Same and Different

Neither Jack nor Alice had traveled outside of California. Their friends and family centered around Sonoma County where Alice was born and Jack had moved as a child. The trip to Dallas was a big one for both of them, both in distance and in exposure to new people and ways of life.

Alice and Jack on their first anniversary
5 April 1943, Dallas

Bonnie and Joe Carson

Jack’s fellow students came from all corners of the U.S., the majority from California, New York, and Michigan.[1] Some brought their wives, and soon Jack and Alice had a “gang” of compatible folks of the same age and in the same circumstances. Some would become lifelong friends.[2]

One of the wives remembered, “Before the men would report back to classes, five or six couples would gather in front of the cafeteria, sit on the iron railing surrounding it, soaking up the sun most of the time, and this is how we really became acquainted.”[3]

Rocky and Margaret Mitchell, Nick and June Radsky, Alice

Bonnie Carson, Betty Hahn, June Radsky
A sunbathing day in early spring

Newlyweds Ike and Marion Kurland

The wives enjoyed practical jokes, too, and joined their husbands in a wedding night prank.

Marion and Abe [Ike] were getting married and came [where the wives were living] for a room. Mrs. Taylor told them the only room vacant was very small and a very small bed. They told her, “That’s all we need.” We fixed the bed up with rice and hung the cow bell under the bed. You [Alice] and Jack, June and Nick, Betty and Ralph, Bonnie and Joe and Pat and I [Betty] gathered in one of the rooms closest to theirs and waited half the night for them to come in. When they finally came in we didn’t hear a thing! The bed was pretty saggy, and with their weight in it the cow bell must have hit the floor. The joke was on us![4]

Living in Texas brought unexpected cultural differences. Jack and Alice had had little contact with people of other races and ethnicities. Their Dallas experience opened their eyes. They enjoyed going to the show together and took advantage whenever they could. Once they arrived at the theater to find two lines, so naturally they stood in the shorter one. They soon became aware that people were laughing at them. But why? They learned that they were in the “Colored” line, so they quickly moved to the correct line for them, the one for whites.[5] Alice and her friends made the personal acquaintance of the U.S.O. janitor Maas, an older black man who commented that they were the nicest white folks he knew.[6] He was probably the only black person they knew.

Marion Kurland, Maas, June Radsky

One of Jack’s closest buddies, Leo “Ike” Kurland, joined Jack in teasing instructors, and he and his new bride Marion were part of “the gang.” As school ended and members of the group were readying to go their separate ways, Jack made a thoughtless joke that struck Ike at his core. It was a simple rhyme, meant to be funny, but Ike’s response must have been unexpected, as Jack noted it in his journal.

The last day we gave Ike a royal send-off by giving a squadron 3 boos for Ike the kike. This made him quite angry.[7]

Ike was Jewish, and kike is an extremely offensive term for Jew. It’s generally used in a hostile, contemptuous manner.[8] Jack probably didn’t realize the actual meaning and power of the word. He used it lightly, unwittingly hurtful and disrespectful to his friend. His diary doesn’t say what happened next, but given Jack’s sensitive nature, he probably apologized to Ike.

Bob Azevedo, Jack, Vasil Voikides

We turned in our books and school in Ds. A. S. was over. We were promoted to Private First Class now & we drew four dollars a month more Ha. After several days of laying around we left for Indianapolis. It was terribly hard to leave Alice again, but I knew she would be with me again soon. Voikides and Bob & Ike & I were split up now. Ike was going to Gunners & Voikides went to his home town [Detroit] to school. Bob & I were on our way to Allison Engine School at Indianapolis.[9]

Jack and Alice enjoyed their Dallas stay immensely. At the same time, they were certainly aware of U.S. involvement in war. American forces, ships, and planes fought in Germany, Italy, China, North Africa, the Solomon Islands (northeast of Australia), the Aleutian Islands (Alaska Territory), and the Philippines.[10] Jack’s enlistment in the Air Corps meant he might go anywhere. His next assignment would narrow the options.

Top row: 1 Willard Gilmer, c/o Jackson City Police, Jackson, Michigan; 2 Ray Haller, 3746 17^th Street, Detroit, Michigan; 3 Jim Standefer, 2563 Ulric St., San Diego, California; 4 James A. Kissock, Salem, Mo., Route I; 5 W. Ray Long, 2926 S. Smedley St., Phila., Pa.; 6 Jack J. Kellar, Santa Rosa, California; 7 Rocco J. Mitchell, 253 Mascy St., Duryea, Pa.; 8 [blank]; 9 Leo I. Kurland, 54 Peacevale Rd., Dorchester, Mass.

Middle row: 1 Nick Radsky, 65 Central St., Hallowell, Maine; 2 Ralph J. Freeman, 16 Apple Grove St., Ecorse, Michigan; “Eddie” Ten Eyck, 149 So. Second St., Mechanicville, N.Y.; 4 Marvin L. Cox, Plush, Oregon; 5 Charles P. Simmons, 115 Patchen Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y.; 6 John T. OBrien, 45 So. So. Carolina Ave., Atlantic City, N.J.; 7 Wm. A. Tisserand, 765 N. Raymond Ave., Pasadena, Calif.; 8 Ugo Alfaro, Route 2, Box 11, Mt. Airy, N.C.

Lower row: 1 Barney Katzman, 289 East 95^th St., Brooklyn, New York; 2 Elmer E. Cox, Rt. 4, Box 339, Hanford, Calif.; 3 Robert J. Azevedo, 1004 Irwin Street, San Rafael, Calif.; 4 Vasil T. Voikides, 13565 Hasse St., Detroit, Mich.; 5 Jack H. Larson, 126 Jefferson St., Helena, Mont.; 6 Robert W. Rehbein, Post Engineers, Camp Cooke, California; 7 Aaron Binderoff, 544 Williams Avenue, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Not pictured: F. B. Fieseler, 17 Belleview Ave., Ossining, New York.

“Class A-2—’43,”class photo, Dallas Aviation School, Artcraft for U.S. Army Air Corps, spring 1943, verso

Many thanks to friends and family who graciously helped shape this post: LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson, CG®, Miriam Weiner, CG®, Joanne Kellar, and Larry Fox.

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[1] “Class A-2—’43,”class photo, Dallas Aviation School, Artcraft for U.S. Army Air Corps, spring 1943; held by the author. Jack’s classmates inscribed their names and addresses on the back of the photo. See photo above.

[2] Personal recollections of the author, who accompanied her parents on visits to visit buddies in Maine and Indiana in 1962.

[3] June Radsky (Hallowell, Maine), letter to Alice Streeter Kellar, March 1982, on the occasion of Jack and Alice’s fortieth wedding anniversary.

[4] Betty Hahn (Evansville, Indiana), “Happy Number 40,” letter to Jack and Alice Kellar, 25 March 1982.

[5] Personal recollection of the author, who heard this story several times during her lifetime.

[6] Alice Streeter Kellar, comment to the author when talking about a photo of Maas, 1990s.

[7] Jack J. Kellar, “My Life in the Service,” diary, 22 October 1942–July 1943; held and transcribed by the author.

[8] Dictionary.com (http://www.dictionary.com/browse/kike). Also, Merriam-Webster (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kike). Also, Collins Dictionary (https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/kike). All dictionaries were accessed 6 February 2018.

[9] Jack J. Kellar, “My Life in the Service.”

[10] “Timeline of World War II (1943),” Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_World_War_II_(1943) : accessed 8 February 2018), February 1943–May 1943.