Call Number:

3940

Repository:

Historical Society of Pennsylvania

Extent:

1.6 linear feet (; 4 boxes)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Cite as: [Indicate cited item or series here], McCracken and Sonet World War II correspondence (Collection 3940), The Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

Date:

1944-1945 (bulk) and 1942-1946 (inclusive)

Creator:

McCracken, Paul J. and Sonet, Helen C.

Donor:

McCracken, Paul J.

Form:

Correspondence.

Abstract:

This collection contains approximately 370 love letters between Paul J. McCracken and Helen C. Sonet during World War II. The letters are divided into Paul’s letters to Helen and Helen’s letters to Paul. Each group has been arranged chronologically from 1942 until 1946, with the bulk dating from 1944 and 1945. The two married on 12 October 1946, and lived in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Helen died on 22 April 2013.

Paul J. McCracken, from New Castle, Delaware, was a private in the United States Army Air Force during World War II. He served primarily with the 16th and 17th Bomb Squadrons, which were based in Geneva, Nebraska. During his service (March 1943-February 1946), McCracken was also deployed to bases in Texas, Mississippi, California, and Michigan. He was deployed to Guam during the spring of 1945. Helen C. Sonet, a Philadelphian, met McCracken during the time when he was in the Army Specialized Training Program at New York University.

In Guam, the 16th Bomb Group was assigned to the 15th Bomb Wing VH (Very Heavy). In Paul’s words, “our task was always to fly missions to the oil refineries located throughout the entire Island of Japan. The 315th Bomb Wing was awarded the Presidential Citation Award for destroying 99% of all the oil refineries in Japan. I was a Sargent in charge of an Engine Maintenance Group and many times, we worked through the day and night to ready our B-29s to fly to Japan.”

While most of these letters are typical of young love separated for long periods during wartime, those Paul McCracken writes on 12 August 1945, 13 August 1945, and 14 August 1945 have some interesting observations about the end of the war with Japan. On August 12, he writes “Was very much up in hopes over the fact of Japan’s surrender- hope we accept their surrender.” On August 13, in three or four days the war should be over. Japan will either surrender or “we’ll really give them something they’ll never forget.” On August 14, “The best news yet has been received today – Japan’s surrender! Our radio station here on Guam picked up the Jap broadcast. We were the first to know about it. The news was received at 3:58 PM today. Of course, it has to be made official in Washington.”

In addition to the letters, there are portraits of Paul J. McCracken and Helen C. Sonet taken in 1943.