January 26, 2025 • 15 mins
Pvt Orin J. Wheeler, US Army served in the Cannon Co of the 7th Infantry. At just 20 years old he ws part of the Battle of Anzio in Italy.
Pvt Wheeler hailed from my home state of Massachusetts, and returned their after the war to raise his family.
During WW2 women were deployed throughout Europe and the Pacific and their only means to communicate home was through letters, handwritten notes to assure those at home they were alright and waiting for letters from their loved ones to provide semblance of support and normalcy. Over the years I have collected letters with the intention of returning to family - but first I’d like to share who these men were, where were they from and the context of where the soldiers were and what role they played in the War.
Please sit back and get to know these members of the greatest generation. Please visit me on Facebook, or email me at warandfamily@outlook.com and help me get the letters home
Thank you for listening!
Pvt Wheeler hailed from my home state of Massachusetts, and returned their after the war to raise his family.
During WW2 women were deployed throughout Europe and the Pacific and their only means to communicate home was through letters, handwritten notes to assure those at home they were alright and waiting for letters from their loved ones to provide semblance of support and normalcy. Over the years I have collected letters with the intention of returning to family - but first I’d like to share who these men were, where were they from and the context of where the soldiers were and what role they played in the War.
Please sit back and get to know these members of the greatest generation. Please visit me on Facebook, or email me at warandfamily@outlook.com and help me get the letters home
Thank you for listening!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Welcome to Warren Family Letters Home. I'm your podcast host
Lauren News. This podcast we talk about letters written home
by US servicemen and women during World War II. My
mission is to return World War II history to families,
one letter and one story at a time. It's my
(00:45):
hope that someone will hear the podcast, recognize some family connections,
and contact me because these letters, well, they belong home.
And I found today's letters at auction. Please join me
for this story. And here this Soldier's Letters Home fifteen
(01:13):
and the letters for this week's podcast were written by
Private Orn J. Wheeler, US Army Cannon Company, seventh Infantry.
Orrin James Wheeler was born January fifteenth, nineteen twenty four,
(01:36):
in Hubbardston, Massachusetts. He was the only child born to
Daniel and Gladys Wheeler. In nineteen twenty, Daniel was recorded
as a laborer for a chair shop, and in nineteen
thirty Orrin is six years old and his father was
employed as a laborer doing odd jobs. On the nineteen
(01:57):
forty census, Daniel is working for the town on driving
a truck and his son Oran is sixteen years old
and now he's working at the chair making factory. On
June thirtieth, nineteen forty two, Oran went to Local Board
number seventy of Wister County and registered for the draft.
(02:17):
He's described on his registration cards eighteen years old, six
foot tall, one hundred and fifty eight pounds. He had
blue eyes, brown hair, and a light complexion, and he
notes that his dad is the person that will always
know his address. At the time of the registration, he
was employed at Wister Press Steel Company. On March twelfth,
(02:42):
nineteen forty three, Orrin Wheeler, at age nineteen, was called
up to serve in the US Army, and I find
him in the cannon Company of the seventh Infantry. The
infantry cannon company was an indirect or a direct fire.
They differed from the field artillery battalion in that the
(03:03):
Infantry company cannons manned the lighter and shorter range M
three howitzer. While cannon companies could be effective against area targets,
they were more often intended to be used against point
targets of opportunity, such as enemy automatic weapons, anti tank guns, mortars,
(03:23):
troop concentrations, roadblocks, pillboxes, and armored vehicles. On January of
nineteen forty four, Private Wheeler would have been taking part
in the landing at x Ray Beach on the coast
of Netuno, which was about six miles east of Anzio.
(03:45):
Backing up a little bit in history, which were the
events leading up to the Anzio invasion? In early September
nineteen forty three Allies landed at Calabria and Taranto and Salerno,
which brought about the unconditional surrender of Italy. The German
forces had quickly disarmed their former allies and begun a
(04:07):
slow fighting withdrawal to the north. As they moved to
the north, the Germans set up two fortified belts of
defense stretching from coast to coast of Italy, and ultimately
formed a third called the Gustave Line, which was a
formidable defensive line of interlocking positions on the high ground
of Italy's narrowest point. The Germans settled in and intended
(04:31):
to fight for every inch of this line. They chose
this position due to the fact that they had the
Apennine Mountains which loomed above rain soaked valleys filled with
rivers and marshes, and this terrain did not give the
Allies a very good approach with their armored vehicles. The
first few letters I have from Private Wheeler were written
(04:54):
in late December of nineteen forty three, as his unit
was winding down there involved in the Naples Fogia battles
and preparing for the Anzio invasion. December eighteenth, nineteen forty three.
Dear Mom and Dad, I miss you and Dad very much.
Just a line to let you know that I'm fine
(05:15):
and hope you and Dad are well. How have you
and Dad been feeling these days? I hope very well.
I received your letter today and was very glad to
hear from you and Dad. I was surprised to hear
that Barbara was engaged. She's a very nice girl, and
I hope that she'll be very happy when they get married.
(05:36):
How is Graham and Ralph and Aunt Gracie, Ronald and
Grandma Wheeler. I hope they're all well. I wrote Sarah
a letter and told her how much I love her.
Ha ha. Will you please send me a tobacco pouch
with a pipe inside. Well, take good care of yourselves.
We'll write soon, With love, your son. December twenty fourth,
(06:01):
he wrote another letter and in part wrote, I hope
you and Dad and all of the folds. Have a
good Christmas this year. I wish I was there, but
I'm doing my job this Christmas. I hope to be
home next Christmas if everything goes all right. On January fourteenth,
(06:22):
nineteen forty four, just eight days before he would be
taking part in the Anzio invasion, Private Wheeler wrote home,
my dearest Mom and Dad, How are you and Dad
been feeling these days? I hope all right. How is
everything going in the old town these days? I hope
very well. I wish the damn war would be over soon.
(06:44):
Then all of the boys could come back home. Then
everyone would be happy again. How's Dad's car running these days?
Is Dad still working at Camp Devin? I hope so well.
Take good care of yourself. Will write soon with love,
your son. During the early morning hours of January twenty second,
(07:07):
nineteen forty four, Private Wheeler was part of the troops
that invaded a fifteen mile stretch of beach near towns
of Anzio and Natuno. The Germans were caught off guard
by the landing in resistance was almost non existent. The
British and American units reached their first day objectives by
(07:27):
early afternoon and moved about five miles inland by evening.
About a week later, though, the Germans had regrouped and
the next four months were some of the most brutal
fighting of World War II. The next letter I have
is dated in February, about a month after the landing
(07:49):
on Natuno, and Private Wheeler seems to have been transferred
over to a regimental headquarters, Third Division. February twenty third,
nineteen forty four, My dearest Mom and Dad, just a
line to let you know that I'm fine. I hope
you and Dad are fine. I received your letter today
(08:09):
and I'm glad to hear that you're all doing well.
I hope by now Dad has his car all fixed.
You tell him when I get home, I will take
it out with all the girls and have a hell
of a time. Ha ha. Give all of my best
Write soon and loads of love, your son. In March
(08:31):
of nineteen forty four, Private Wheeler entered the twenty six
twenty eighth Station Hospital. On his hospital admission card, it
notes that he's diagnosed with disease which existed before enlistment.
There aren't any more details than that. In April of
nineteen forty four, he sent a letter home with a
(08:52):
sketch of an older woman carrying a pie. The message reads,
I miss your apple pie, but most of all, I
miss you Ma, with lots of love your son. Station
hospitals in World War II were fixed medical facilities positioned
behind the front lines. Usually they were attached to a
(09:14):
military base. In these hospital, soldiers received general medical and
surgical treatment for illnesses and injuries that didn't require the
specialized care of a general hospital. Station hospitals essentially acted
as a mid level medical facility in the chain of evacuation.
(09:35):
The station hospital number that Private Wheeler notes is twenty
six twenty eight, which was located in Caserta, Italy. Private
Wheeler wrote four more letters home in May of nineteen
forty four from the hospital. The last I have is
dated May sixteenth, nineteen forty four. My dearest Mom and Dad,
(10:00):
Just a few lines to let you know that I'm
feeling fine. I hope this letter finds you all in
the best of health. Received your nice long letter to
day and was very glad to hear from you and Dad. Well,
maybe some day I'll be back with you and Dad
again if everything goes all right, and I hope it does.
I hope that it will be soon, but who knows.
(10:23):
I got a nice letter from Uncle Chet. I was
very glad to hear from him. Also had a nice
one from Aina. Don't have too much to say, so
take good care of yourselves. Give my love to all.
We'll write soon. Lots of love and kisses your son.
(10:44):
According to the hospital card, in September of nineteen forty four,
Private Wheeler was discharged under Sec two a R six
one five three six zero, which was a disability discharge
and it certified that an enlisted man had become unfit
for military service because of physical disability. He returned home
(11:07):
to Hubbardston, Massachusetts, and in nineteen forty five he married
Juliette Dina Gerrard in Gardner, Massachusetts. On the nineteen fifty census,
we find William and Juliet living in Gardner, mass with
their three year old son. Also living with them was
(11:28):
Juliet's mom, and William was employed as a truck driver
for the local paper mill. I found a newspaper article
in the Times Argus dated September twenty seventh, nineteen eighty one,
which reported of an accident in Vermont where a woman
driving a station wagon collided with a motorcycle driven by
(11:50):
Orange J. Wheeler of Gardner, Massachusetts. It's reported that Wheeler
was taken to Brattleborough Memorial Hospital and was treated for
minor injuries, and his late model motorcycle received damages estimated
at about one thousand dollars according to the police report.
Six years after this accident, Orrin James Wheeler passed away
(12:15):
on December ninth, nineteen eighty seven, in Gardner, Massachusetts. Private
Wheeler was just nineteen years old when he entered the
service and twenty years old when he was in the
middle of some of the worst fighting of World War II.
His letters home reflect how he missed his parents and
(12:36):
wishing that he could just come home. He certainly was
missing his mom's apple pie. Maybe next time you happen
to have a slice of homemade apple pie, you can
take a moment to remember the sacrifices this teenager made
to protect our country and our way of life. Thank
(13:06):
you for joining me to hear the story of Warren
James Wheeler. The original letters written by mister Wheeler were
obtained by me through an auction site. If you happen
to know of the Wheeler family of Gardner, Massachusetts. Please
share my podcasts with them. I would love to send
these amazing letters home. Warren Family Letters Home is all
(13:32):
self funded and we will never ask a family for
any compensation to receive their letters home. If you'd like
to contribute to my mission of returning history to families,
please contact me. You can find me on Facebook at
Warren Family Letters homepage, and I can be reached via
email at Warren Family at outlook dot com. I acted in.
(13:58):
All details in this podcasts were discovered by research done
by Mean using public military genealogy and newspaper surch sites.
Please support our military, whether active or veteran status. These
men and women sacrificed to serve this great country, whether
in what or peacetime. Until next week, This is Lauren News.
(14:25):
And Hill had been listening to Warren Family Letters Home
(15:00):
s
Welcome to Warren Family Letters Home. I'm your podcast host
Lauren News. This podcast we talk about letters written home
by US servicemen and women during World War II. My
mission is to return World War II history to families,
one letter and one story at a time. It's my
(00:45):
hope that someone will hear the podcast, recognize some family connections,
and contact me because these letters, well, they belong home.
And I found today's letters at auction. Please join me
for this story. And here this Soldier's Letters Home fifteen
(01:13):
and the letters for this week's podcast were written by
Private Orn J. Wheeler, US Army Cannon Company, seventh Infantry.
Orrin James Wheeler was born January fifteenth, nineteen twenty four,
(01:36):
in Hubbardston, Massachusetts. He was the only child born to
Daniel and Gladys Wheeler. In nineteen twenty, Daniel was recorded
as a laborer for a chair shop, and in nineteen
thirty Orrin is six years old and his father was
employed as a laborer doing odd jobs. On the nineteen
(01:57):
forty census, Daniel is working for the town on driving
a truck and his son Oran is sixteen years old
and now he's working at the chair making factory. On
June thirtieth, nineteen forty two, Oran went to Local Board
number seventy of Wister County and registered for the draft.
(02:17):
He's described on his registration cards eighteen years old, six
foot tall, one hundred and fifty eight pounds. He had
blue eyes, brown hair, and a light complexion, and he
notes that his dad is the person that will always
know his address. At the time of the registration, he
was employed at Wister Press Steel Company. On March twelfth,
(02:42):
nineteen forty three, Orrin Wheeler, at age nineteen, was called
up to serve in the US Army, and I find
him in the cannon Company of the seventh Infantry. The
infantry cannon company was an indirect or a direct fire.
They differed from the field artillery battalion in that the
(03:03):
Infantry company cannons manned the lighter and shorter range M
three howitzer. While cannon companies could be effective against area targets,
they were more often intended to be used against point
targets of opportunity, such as enemy automatic weapons, anti tank guns, mortars,
(03:23):
troop concentrations, roadblocks, pillboxes, and armored vehicles. On January of
nineteen forty four, Private Wheeler would have been taking part
in the landing at x Ray Beach on the coast
of Netuno, which was about six miles east of Anzio.
(03:45):
Backing up a little bit in history, which were the
events leading up to the Anzio invasion? In early September
nineteen forty three Allies landed at Calabria and Taranto and Salerno,
which brought about the unconditional surrender of Italy. The German
forces had quickly disarmed their former allies and begun a
(04:07):
slow fighting withdrawal to the north. As they moved to
the north, the Germans set up two fortified belts of
defense stretching from coast to coast of Italy, and ultimately
formed a third called the Gustave Line, which was a
formidable defensive line of interlocking positions on the high ground
of Italy's narrowest point. The Germans settled in and intended
(04:31):
to fight for every inch of this line. They chose
this position due to the fact that they had the
Apennine Mountains which loomed above rain soaked valleys filled with
rivers and marshes, and this terrain did not give the
Allies a very good approach with their armored vehicles. The
first few letters I have from Private Wheeler were written
(04:54):
in late December of nineteen forty three, as his unit
was winding down there involved in the Naples Fogia battles
and preparing for the Anzio invasion. December eighteenth, nineteen forty three.
Dear Mom and Dad, I miss you and Dad very much.
Just a line to let you know that I'm fine
(05:15):
and hope you and Dad are well. How have you
and Dad been feeling these days? I hope very well.
I received your letter today and was very glad to
hear from you and Dad. I was surprised to hear
that Barbara was engaged. She's a very nice girl, and
I hope that she'll be very happy when they get married.
(05:36):
How is Graham and Ralph and Aunt Gracie, Ronald and
Grandma Wheeler. I hope they're all well. I wrote Sarah
a letter and told her how much I love her.
Ha ha. Will you please send me a tobacco pouch
with a pipe inside. Well, take good care of yourselves.
We'll write soon, With love, your son. December twenty fourth,
(06:01):
he wrote another letter and in part wrote, I hope
you and Dad and all of the folds. Have a
good Christmas this year. I wish I was there, but
I'm doing my job this Christmas. I hope to be
home next Christmas if everything goes all right. On January fourteenth,
(06:22):
nineteen forty four, just eight days before he would be
taking part in the Anzio invasion, Private Wheeler wrote home,
my dearest Mom and Dad, How are you and Dad
been feeling these days? I hope all right. How is
everything going in the old town these days? I hope
very well. I wish the damn war would be over soon.
(06:44):
Then all of the boys could come back home. Then
everyone would be happy again. How's Dad's car running these days?
Is Dad still working at Camp Devin? I hope so well.
Take good care of yourself. Will write soon with love,
your son. During the early morning hours of January twenty second,
(07:07):
nineteen forty four, Private Wheeler was part of the troops
that invaded a fifteen mile stretch of beach near towns
of Anzio and Natuno. The Germans were caught off guard
by the landing in resistance was almost non existent. The
British and American units reached their first day objectives by
(07:27):
early afternoon and moved about five miles inland by evening.
About a week later, though, the Germans had regrouped and
the next four months were some of the most brutal
fighting of World War II. The next letter I have
is dated in February, about a month after the landing
(07:49):
on Natuno, and Private Wheeler seems to have been transferred
over to a regimental headquarters, Third Division. February twenty third,
nineteen forty four, My dearest Mom and Dad, just a
line to let you know that I'm fine. I hope
you and Dad are fine. I received your letter today
(08:09):
and I'm glad to hear that you're all doing well.
I hope by now Dad has his car all fixed.
You tell him when I get home, I will take
it out with all the girls and have a hell
of a time. Ha ha. Give all of my best
Write soon and loads of love, your son. In March
(08:31):
of nineteen forty four, Private Wheeler entered the twenty six
twenty eighth Station Hospital. On his hospital admission card, it
notes that he's diagnosed with disease which existed before enlistment.
There aren't any more details than that. In April of
nineteen forty four, he sent a letter home with a
(08:52):
sketch of an older woman carrying a pie. The message reads,
I miss your apple pie, but most of all, I
miss you Ma, with lots of love your son. Station
hospitals in World War II were fixed medical facilities positioned
behind the front lines. Usually they were attached to a
(09:14):
military base. In these hospital, soldiers received general medical and
surgical treatment for illnesses and injuries that didn't require the
specialized care of a general hospital. Station hospitals essentially acted
as a mid level medical facility in the chain of evacuation.
(09:35):
The station hospital number that Private Wheeler notes is twenty
six twenty eight, which was located in Caserta, Italy. Private
Wheeler wrote four more letters home in May of nineteen
forty four from the hospital. The last I have is
dated May sixteenth, nineteen forty four. My dearest Mom and Dad,
(10:00):
Just a few lines to let you know that I'm
feeling fine. I hope this letter finds you all in
the best of health. Received your nice long letter to
day and was very glad to hear from you and Dad. Well,
maybe some day I'll be back with you and Dad
again if everything goes all right, and I hope it does.
I hope that it will be soon, but who knows.
(10:23):
I got a nice letter from Uncle Chet. I was
very glad to hear from him. Also had a nice
one from Aina. Don't have too much to say, so
take good care of yourselves. Give my love to all.
We'll write soon. Lots of love and kisses your son.
(10:44):
According to the hospital card, in September of nineteen forty four,
Private Wheeler was discharged under Sec two a R six
one five three six zero, which was a disability discharge
and it certified that an enlisted man had become unfit
for military service because of physical disability. He returned home
(11:07):
to Hubbardston, Massachusetts, and in nineteen forty five he married
Juliette Dina Gerrard in Gardner, Massachusetts. On the nineteen fifty census,
we find William and Juliet living in Gardner, mass with
their three year old son. Also living with them was
(11:28):
Juliet's mom, and William was employed as a truck driver
for the local paper mill. I found a newspaper article
in the Times Argus dated September twenty seventh, nineteen eighty one,
which reported of an accident in Vermont where a woman
driving a station wagon collided with a motorcycle driven by
(11:50):
Orange J. Wheeler of Gardner, Massachusetts. It's reported that Wheeler
was taken to Brattleborough Memorial Hospital and was treated for
minor injuries, and his late model motorcycle received damages estimated
at about one thousand dollars according to the police report.
Six years after this accident, Orrin James Wheeler passed away
(12:15):
on December ninth, nineteen eighty seven, in Gardner, Massachusetts. Private
Wheeler was just nineteen years old when he entered the
service and twenty years old when he was in the
middle of some of the worst fighting of World War II.
His letters home reflect how he missed his parents and
(12:36):
wishing that he could just come home. He certainly was
missing his mom's apple pie. Maybe next time you happen
to have a slice of homemade apple pie, you can
take a moment to remember the sacrifices this teenager made
to protect our country and our way of life. Thank
(13:06):
you for joining me to hear the story of Warren
James Wheeler. The original letters written by mister Wheeler were
obtained by me through an auction site. If you happen
to know of the Wheeler family of Gardner, Massachusetts. Please
share my podcasts with them. I would love to send
these amazing letters home. Warren Family Letters Home is all
(13:32):
self funded and we will never ask a family for
any compensation to receive their letters home. If you'd like
to contribute to my mission of returning history to families,
please contact me. You can find me on Facebook at
Warren Family Letters homepage, and I can be reached via
email at Warren Family at outlook dot com. I acted in.
(13:58):
All details in this podcasts were discovered by research done
by Mean using public military genealogy and newspaper surch sites.
Please support our military, whether active or veteran status. These
men and women sacrificed to serve this great country, whether
in what or peacetime. Until next week, This is Lauren News.
(14:25):
And Hill had been listening to Warren Family Letters Home
(15:00):
s
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