Frederick Lawler Papers

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: 99.0113

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection contains the personal letters of Technical Sergeant Frederick Lawler to his wife, Marion, and daughter Mary Ann. Lawler served in the US Army Air Corps between June 1943 and April 1945, first as an instructor of demolitions and then later as an aircraft mechanic. Lawler served in the Pacific Theater during World War II in New Guinea and the Philippine Islands.

Dates

Created: 1943-1948
Other: Majority of material found in 1943 - 1945
Other: Date acquired: 03/22/1999

Creator

Lawler, Frederick (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open to all researchers.

Conditions Governing Use

All requests for permission to quote, publish, broadcast or otherwise reproduce from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Associate Dean for Special Collections & Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Florida State University Libraries as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.

Biographical or Historical Information

Frederick Lawler was born in 1917, Springfield, MA, and served in the U.S. Army Air Corps from 1943-1945. He trained at Camp Gordon, Georgia and then later at Gulfport Field, Mississippi, home of the Army Air Corp’s Technical Training Command. He was stationed at Westover Air Force Base in Chicopee, MA, and served in the Pacific and European theaters of operation during World War II. He was discharged in Boise, ID, having achieved the rank of Technical Sergeant. Lawler died on August 5, 1997.

The letters in the collection deal primarily with personal family matters such as keeping spirits high during the course of the war as well as events back home. Lawler rarely discusses war campaigns, but he does mention the positive news surrounding the D-Day landings and the dropping of the atomic bombs. Lawler frequently references his love for his wife and their daughter. His spirits are lifted by the news from home and the pictures of the child. While serving in the Philippines, Lawler expresses his hope to one day return to the Catholic shrine, Our Lady of Manoag, with his family. While he is unable to inform his wife of the exact location of his deployed service, most of his letters are sent from forward operating bases in New Guinea and the Philippines. He also served at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, but there are few letters specifically pertaining to European operations.