Sepia Saturday 702. Sixteenth in a series about letters from my dad’s brother Frederic Mason Charboneau while he was in the US Army during WWII.
About a month after shipping overseas during WWII, my paternal uncle Frederic Mason Charboneau finally received a letter from his mother (my grandmother) Mary (Owen) Charboneau.
From the tone of his reply (in italics below), Uncle Fred was thrilled to finally hear from his mom. He jumped right in with a family discussion – sounding as if he was just down the block rather than half a world away.
Letters at last
“Somewhere in England, September 25, 1942, Dear Mom, Received your V letter dated Sept. 15 on Sept. 23 and was very glad to hear from you. As far as I can remember you have received most or all of my letters to date, and I have received a letter from Owen dated sometime in August and also one, a V letter from him, the same time I did yours. I found out just the other day that they cut a part out of my letter. It wasn’t anything important in what they cut out, just the length of time my pass was good for in London.”
Owen was the oldest of Fred’s four brothers, and apparently he had also sent chatty letters reporting news from back home in Otter Lake, N.Y.
Uncle Fred mentions my dad
“Owen said in his letter that Hubert was having some trouble with his car? How is he coming along with it now. Was there very much the matter with it? I hope Norman likes Potsdam and college and that he gets through OK, but I don’t think there is any doubt but what he will get along.”
Hubert was the middle of the five Charboneau brothers. My dad, Norman, was the youngest brother — and it was fun to read Uncle Fred’s proud reference to him heading to Clarkson College of Technology in Potsdam, N.Y. (now Clarkson University).
Sept. 1942 USO Show
After Uncle Fred updated his mom on his status (“I am the same. I am gaining a little more weight, I think.”) he launched into a report on the USO show he had seen and described other entertainment at his base.
“Did I tell you about the movie stars that put on a show for us a couple weeks ago. There was Merle Oberon, Patricia Morrison, Frank McHugh, Ellen Jenkins, and Al Jolson. It was a very good show. They also have a stage show on every week that costs about twenty cents for one of the best seats which is usually very good. The other night, for a one-night stand, they had an orchestra, and they played a lot of our favorite tunes which we enjoyed very much.”
Searching for more information about this USO show, I was pleased to find a New York Public Library blog post titled “Frank McHugh: A Beloved Character Actor Who Played an Important Role in World War II,” which mentions this tour and includes many period photos of the stars who participated.
The blog says that McHugh “first toured England in August and September of 1942 in a USO tour, appearing in the American Variety Show with Al Jolson, Merle Oberon, Patricia Morrison and Allen Jenkins.”
How about that? The very show my Uncle Fred saw and wrote home about! And what’s more, there was a poster for the tour (shown above).
For now we will leave Uncle Fred tapping his toes to the music. The second half of his letter will appear in the next post. Please stop back! Meanwhile, please visit the other intrepid bloggers over at Sepia Saturday.
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