Citation: Flagg, J. M. (n.d.). "Defend your country, enlist now in the United States Army" poster. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved April 5, 2023, from https://www.si.edu/object/defend-your-country-enlist-now-united-states-army-poster%3Anmah_443963
On 16 September 1940 the United States Congress, under the directive of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, passed the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940. This Selective Service Act required that men who had reached their 21st birthday but had not yet reached their 36th birthday register with local draft boards. The first of seven mass draft registration dates for WWII took place on October 16, 1940. As you can see from the draft card below Charles Blain Forney registered on that date, He would not be called into service for a few years.
Oct. 16, 1940 over 16 million men registered for the draft at one of nearly 6,500 selective service boards across the country. Each registrant received a draft number from one to 9,000 on Charles Blain Forney's draft card below you can see his serial number was 2064. He, like many others, registered on October 16th, 1940 in Frederick Maryland where he and Grace were living at the time. A national lottery later determined the order in which each of the numbers was called and, by extension, who would be drafted first.
John W. Jeffries, World War II and the American Home Front: Part One (Washington D.C.: National Park Service, 2004), Pages 19-21; Ronald H. Bailey, The Home Front: U.S.A. (Time-Life Books, Inc., 1977), Pages 42-47.
Draft card image for Charles Blain Forney, Isabel's husband, from Fold3 database.
Citation: Draft Registration Cards for Maryland, 10/16/1940 - 03/31/1947, Forney, Charles Blain (1912) (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.fold3.com/image/540398824?terms=blain,forney,charles.
The following object description information includes basic elements from the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI). An additional notes field is included to list dates from the actual letter, envelope postmark locations, and any other identifying details.
Notes – Handwritten letter estimated to be written on May 6, 1943, four pages. Includes envelope, postmarked May 7, 1943, 12:30PM, from Frederick, Md.
In this letter from Isabel to Jack, she talks about seeing her Pop at Meade and him looking handsome in his uniform. Since her father died in 1931, I think this may be a pet nickname for Bud. In the last letter, she mentions that Bud got an extension to help with the store (Glicks Shoe Store) but must leave by the first part of May. Fort Meade was about an hour south of Frederick, MD. Below you can see Bud's registration card filled out on October 16, 1940. He served in the Army from January 20, 1931 (his enlistment date) to February 22, 1934. This seems incongruous with the letters and I wonder if he was discharged in February to help with the Store and then reenlisted. There are two issues with seeing other records online for Bud first, a major fire at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973 destroyed nearly 80% of Army records from 1912-1960, and 75% of Air Force records from 1947-1964, also records must be older than 70 years to be accessible.
World War II
Fort Meade became a training center during World War II, its ranges and other facilities were used by more than 200 units and approximately 3,500,000 men between 1942 and 1946. The wartime peak-military personnel figure at Fort Meade was reached in March 1945 with 70,000 personnel. Fort Meade was home to many services. The Cooks and Bakers School supplied bread for the entire Post (approximately 20,000 people including families of married men). In 1942, the Third Service Command opened the Special Services Unit Training Center where Soldiers were trained in all phases of the entertainment field. Entertainers, musicians, and others involved in the entertainment industry, including swing-band leader, Glenn Miller, served in Special Services. Fort Meade was home to a number of German and Italian prisoners of war. In September 1943, the first shipment of 1,632 Italian and 58 German prisoners arrived at Fort Meade. Some of those prisoners, including a highly decorated German submarine commander Werner Henke, died during captivity and were buried at Fort Meade. Over 150,000 American women served in the Women's Army Corps (WAC) during World War II. Members of the WAC were the first women other than nurses to serve within the ranks of the United States Army.
Citation: US Army. (n.d.). History of Ft. Meade. Fort Georg G. Meade. Retrieved April 5, 2023, from https://home.army.mil/meade/index.php/about/history
Postcard: Typical shop building with jeeps parked in front, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.
Citation: No. 631 Typical shop building - Ordnance Training Center - Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. Post Card. Ebay. Richmond, VA., 1942. W. R. Thompson & Co.
Postcard: Parade Ground - Ordinance Training Center - Aberdeen Proving Ground MD.
Citation: No. 634 Parade Ground - Ordnance Training Center - Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. Post Card. Ebay. Richmond, VA., 1942. W. R. Thompson & Co. https://tinyurl.com/postcard-Aberdeen.