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Imagine yourself in 1944. Your loved one is in Italy, in the military, called to duty in World War II. You know that he is thinking of you, while you are worrying about him. How can he express his love for you at a time when there is no Internet, and few other means of available and affordable communication, except for mail grams? Why, he sends you textile “souvenirs.” In this brief article, we will look at four such items bestowed upon Louise Traunstein by (the late) Russ Traunstein, who served in the Air Force.

1944 Pillow Souvenir from Italy

The first piece is a pillow cover, complete with a lavender back with part of the right hand side left open so that stuffing could be slipped in. The “writing” and most of the motif work is rendered in rayon thread and a continuous, machine-made chain stitch. We see two facing (abstract) birds in the center, and a star composed of simulated filling knots and an orange circular center filled with orange knots. Light blue rayon threads look like today’s meander quilting. (There is nothing new under the sun).

The writing at the top says in English, “Souvenir … Italy,” while “1944″ appears, almost illegibly, at the bottom. Within the center is a number, perhaps “15.” If anyone knows the significance of that number, I would love to know!

Lace that appears to have been made by machine and which has a sheen to it, as if it, too, is rayon, features a simulated hemstitch effect, closest to the pillow top. The background may be cotton velveteen. It has a low nap and is soft to the touch.

Two Italian souvenir, ochre color, hankies in rayon, with chain stitching in variegated, rayon thread, and differing lace edge treatments

These two small hankies, (design area approximately 4″ square) have writing that I cannot discern. Rayon not a practical fiber for a hankie because the fibers are not absorbent. Clearly, these were made only to be “souvenirs.”

This bright pillow cover is amazingly cheerful with its bright orange flowers, again rendered in chain stitch; and their yellow “stems.” The words “Souvenir” and “Italia” are worked with variegated, rayon, chain stitch, by machine. The wide lace is romantic, dreamy, and enchanting … and also made by machine. On the back, the lace extends beyond the seam, sewn with white thread, in machine stitches, about 1/4″ to jet over the green acrylic background.

This is a very pretty piece, as are the others. Sixty-five years after it was acquired, it is showing a few stains, perhaps from storage in a wooden drawer, without a barrier of protection from wood acids.

Aluminum foil could be used to prevent damage of this kind.

Nonetheless, these pieces are remembrances of a time of uncertainty. They represent a period of wistful longing for home and hearth, as well as the love felt by military men for those left at home, those they knew were wishing and praying for their safe return.

I would like to thank my friend, Louise Traunstein, for sharing these pieces with us. The good news is that Russ came home from the war, and they lived many years together as man and wife, until his death in 1997. A poet, he published a volume of his poems that is currently out of print.

Mrs. Traunstein is heavily involved with writing the newsletter for the Groton Historical Society and has made significant historical contributions to her “adopted” town. A former teacher for more than 30 years, she is always willing to share information! Thanks, Louise!

All photographs by James Cummings

Letter to the Editor:

Hi Pat,

The photos of the souvenirs came out lovely and yes they were stored in wooden drawers. Amazing what you don’t know about environmental effects on materials, if not an expert.

The 15 represents the 15th Air Force. I don’t know what this means in regards to the total Air Force.

He served in the 99th Bomb Group … the 346th Bombardment Squadron.

Jim might know how the 15th fits into the total. I believe the 15th started its journey in Africa and then worked its way up toward Germany.

Russ was based in Foggia and in Florence, Italy. Served about a year and a few months longer.

Thanks for the acknowledgment.

Take care,

Louise

Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications – where there are many more articles about “Sweetheart” and “Mother” pillows, from World War II

In life, WWII correspondent Ernie Pyle wrote dispatches from the front lines that riveted a nation consumed by war. In death, his own sacrifice underscored the anxieties of a nation steadfast in its resolve, yet increasingly weary from the war’s mounting human cost.

Ernie Pyle, WWII war correspondent

Ernie Pyle’s columns reached 26 million faithful readers each week. His inimitably plain-spoken – yet profoundly eloquent – descriptions of ordinary GIs brought the war home in a way no other writer’s words did.

“Ernie Pyle was basically America ’s first embedded reporter,” said Mark Foynes, director of the Wright Museum of WWII History. On Thursday, August 13 at 7 p.m., the museum will host a dramatic performance based on the correspondent’s life and writings.

“When the Army marched, Pyle marched,” Foynes said. “And his writings bore a level of authenticity and tangibility unmatched by his journalistic contemporaries.”

In North Africa, Pyle observed soldiers on the march: “The men are walking. They are fifty feet apart, for dispersal. Their walk is slow, for they are dead weary, as you can tell even when looking at them from behind. Every line and sag of their bodies speaks their inhuman exhaustion.”

While Ernie was much admired by the servicemen whom he lived among and wrote about, he was keenly aware of his role. “The front-line soldier wants it to be got over by the physical process of his destroying enough Germans to end it. He is truly at war. The rest of us, no matter how hard we work, are not. … His blood is up. He is fighting for his life, and killing now for him is as much a profession as writing is for me.”

After covering the war in North Africa and Europe, Pyle set out for the Pacific in 1945. While embedded with the Marines on the small island of Ie Shima in April, he was killed by Japanese sniper fire. The news of Pyle’s death stunned the American public still mourning the recent death of President Roosevelt. Phone lines at news organizations across the country were jammed as grief-stricken readers called to confirm the awful truth.

Said soldier-artist, Bill Mauldin, whose droll, irreverent GI cartoons had made him nearly as famous as Pyle, “The only difference between Ernie’s death and that of any other good guy is that the other guy is mourned by his company. Ernie is mourned by the Army.”

Celebrated in life and revered in death, Pyle’s own words presaged how he would be remembered, “War makes strange giant creatures out of us little routine men who inhabit the earth.”

“Pyle had a need to be where the action was,” said Gary Morrison, a writer, actor, and theater director who will be portraying Ernie Pyle in the August 13th presentation of “Hi, I’m Ernie Pyle” at the Wright Museum. “In a way, though his untimely death was tragic, it is befitting of who he was in life.”

The August 13 fundraiser event at the Wright, which begins at 7 p.m., will feature a performance of Morrison’s “Hi, I’m Ernie Pyle.” In addition, there will be a one-night-only display of Ernie Pyle artifacts. Among them is a very rare photo of Pyle, taken after he was killed. The photo is one of only three copies known to exist; the U.S. War Department had ordered the destruction of the negative and all known prints – a measure taken to protect morale on the home front and among America’s servicemen.

Written and performed by Gary Morrison (who was born the day the correspondent was killed), Hi, I’m Ernie Pyle is a poignant – and occasionally humorous – look at the stark realities of war. The play, performed in honor of all veterans, captures the period in Ernie’s life when his articles were the most widely anticipated of any war correspondent. Morrison has performed the play across the Midwest and the East Coast at venues such as the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, VA.

Admission to “Hi, I’m Ernie Pyle” is $25 and $10 for museum members. Tickets are available at the Wright Museum gift store, or by calling 603-569-1212. Payment may be made over the phone by credit card, or attendees may R.S.V.P. and pay at the door. All proceeds from this important fundraiser will help support educational programs offered by the museum.

The Wright Museum of WWII History is a non-profit educational institution whose vast collection of fully-operational military vehicles and extensive exhibits relating to the American home front bring the past to life. The museum is a member-supported national treasure located right here in New Hampshire. In the words of filmmaker Ken Burns, “The Wright Museum’s work to preserve and share the stories of the WWII generation is vitally important. I am proud to support its efforts to educate present and future generations about the triumphs and sacrifices of America ’s Greatest Generation.”

Mark Foynes
Executive Director
Wright Museum of WWII History
P.O. Box 1212, 77 Center Street
Wolfeboro, NH 03894

603/569-1212
Visit www.wrightmuseum.org for frequent updates!

This press release is brought to you as a public service by Quilter’s Muse Publications

On June 28, 2007, we had the pleasure of hearing film maker, Ken Burns, speak at the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord, NH. With an attentive and appreciate audience on hand, including veterans of World War II, and active duty and retired military members, Burns shared film clips from his new film, “The War.”

In all, the audience previewed about one hour’s footage from his new, seven part, 13.5 hour series about World War II, a film that was six years in the making. New Hampshire Public Television will begin running the series on September 23 at 8 p.m. http://www.nhptv.org/

Burns explained some of his reasons for making the documentary. First of all, he was influenced by the example set by Tom Brokaw and his book, The Greatest Generation. He also realized that one thousand World War II veterans are dying every day in America. Time is running out to gather information from oral interviews. In addition, the wish to educate the current generation was a motivating factor after Burns found out that, in one survey, high school graduating seniors seemed to think that Americans and Germans fought on the same side, during the largest armed conflict of the twentieth century.

I came away from this event more mesmerized than ever before by this period of history. With an estimated 50-60 million casualties during the war, one wonders when “enough” killing and brutality will be “enough” for mankind. We continually become engaged in armed conflicts. Usually our youngest, our bravest, and our strongest are sacrificed. World War II has been referred to as a “necessary” war, and after seeing the film, you will begin to know why.

What an amazing experience!

Patricia Cummings