20 Homer

Homer

Words of longing, loneliness, and hope overflow from Jack’s letters to Alice. Nearly all read like this one:

  Oh honey the more letters I get from you the more I miss you and want to be with you more every day. Gee we are going to be so very happy when we can be together again. I miss you so very much. Winkler says that he thinks he is homesick. He said he sure gets lonesome at times. I too get lonesome honey but when I can write to such a dear wife as you it helps me to relieve my mind and makes me feel better. You are so perfect in every way and I love you from the bottom of my heart.[1]

Some local English children provided a great antidote to loneliness. Jack and fellow crew chief Tony Haley bought a dog from them for eight dollars.[2]

Jack's English friends

England, March 19, 1944

Dearest Alice,

  The other night some of our little English friends were here, and I asked them if they could find me a little puppy. They were just here and said they had located one. They are going to try and bring it over for me to see tonight. If I like it I may buy it. We need a mascot around here anyway. They say he is black & white & his mother is a terrier. I’ll tell you more about him after I see him. He could sure be a lot of company to me here.

  One of our little English friends is only two years old, and he is quite a guy. I just gave him a Life Saver and he sure knows what to do with it. The rest of them are about 6 to 8 years old.[3]

Jack, Homer, and two crew buddies

 

Jack got to ride with one of the pilots: Yes honey it is quite thrilling to go up in a plane, especially a fast one like we did. It sure was exciting.[4] It was so exciting he applied to Cadet School, a prerequisite to Pilot School. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Aviation Cadet Training Program was overwhelmed with applicants.[5] Jack hoped to be accepted, become a pilot, and then return home as soon as he had flown the required number of missions. He anticipated that would be sooner than his normal enlistment period. In March he wrote Alice, I haven’t heard anymore about Cadets but am just keeping my fingers crossed.[6]

Wallace Winkler, Homer, and Jack

England, March 29–44

Dearest Alice,

   “Homer” is getting cuter every day and is starting to play quite a bit now. I have so darn much fun teaching him & playing with him.[7]

A dog was someone to talk to, to confide in, and to play with. You could tell him everything the censor would cut out of your letters home. You could pet him and hug him when you missed the touch of your loved ones. In the darkest times he could make you laugh.

England, April Fools Day

Dearest Alice,

  Homer is having quite a time in the barracks tonight. He is chewing up paper & wood & having a great time. He sure is a lot of company. Gee I don’t have a chance to write you letters like I want to because I am so darn tired at night and have my mind on my plane. Boy these long hours are sure hard to take. Yes, Honey, the largest part of the fellows here have been out with the girls over here, and most of them have really had some wild times Don’t worry, Honey, I don’t want any part of them.[8]

Fellow Sonoma County
crew chief Erwin Derrick and Homer

England, April 4, 44

Dearest Alice,

  The loud speaker has been playing some music for the first time, and can you imagine what the first piece they played was—Anniversary Waltz. Gee and here two years ago tomorrow we were married. Tonight reminds me of the swell nights in Dallas after it got warm. You, anniversary waltz and the Eve of our anniversary, boy we sure had a good time. Didn’t we have fun?[9]

England, April 5, 1944—2 years—

Dearest Alice,

  Here it is after 12:00 midnight, and I just got thru work and cleaned up. That makes about 18 hours today. I am so tired I can hardly keep my eyes open. Honey I have a little bad news or maybe it’s good news, all I know is that it is God’s way, and that is that my Cadet papers have been returned as they are not accepting any more. I read in the paper where they had turned back thousands in the states, so I was looking forward to getting mine back too. It kind of makes me feel sort of low as I did want to learn to fly, and also we would have been together sooner, but I guess God’s way is always best, so that’s that.[10]

Jack and Homer

 So that’s that, and Jack would continue working and writing home and playing with Homer. One day he saw his plane take off, and the inevitable happened.

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[1] Jack J.Kellar (England), letter to “Dearest Alice” [Alice Streeter Kellar], 14 February 1944, excerpt.

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

[3] Jack J.Kellar, letter to “Dearest Alice,” 19 March 1944, excerpt.

[4] Jack J.Kellar, letter to “Dearest Alice,” 14 February 1944, excerpt.

[5] “Aviation Cadet Training Program (USAAF),” Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aviation_Cadet_Training_Program_(USAAF) : accessed 3 May 2018) > Aviation Cadet Program (USAAF), 1940–47 > 1941–47.

[6] Jack J.Kellar, letter to “Dearest Alice,” 19 March 1944, excerpt.

[7] Jack J.Kellar, letter to “Dearest Alice,” 29 March 1944, excerpt.

[8] Jack J.Kellar, letter to “Dearest Alice,” 1 April 1944, excerpt.

[9] Jack J.Kellar, letter to “Dearest Alice,” 4 April 1944, excerpt.

[10] Jack J.Kellar, letter to “Dearest Alice,” 5 April 1944, excerpt.