Much of the time John spent training was formation drills and marching. The above picture shows the men of the 25th in training while at Greenville Army Air Base, taken by photographer Jack Delano. Delano spent time in early 1943 at Greenville Army Air Base, taking pictures of the "daily life" of the soldiers. They can be seen online on the Library of Congress web page. Below is a copy of a typical day of an enlisted Army soldier:
Newly-recruited soldiers at different training camps were often provided with training manuals to help them learn how to be successful soldiers. These materials helped recruits learn the language, terminology, and rhythms of daily military life. The image below is clipped from a brochure titled "Dear Joe", produced by the Ordnance Training Center at Camp Santa Anita in Arcadia, CA, with a link to the full PDF provided below the image.
Citations:
Dear Joe, Handbook for Soldiers Stationed at Camp Santa Anita. Archadia, CA: Ordance Traing Center Camp Santa Anita, n.d.
Delano, Jack, photographer. Greenville, South Carolina. Air Service Command. The rd quartermaster truck company of the 25th service group. South Carolina United States Greenville Greenville County, 1943. July. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2017860293/.
"At the time of widespread mill development, there was a lack of sufficient housing in the upstate. Because there was no public transportation, workers in the factories had to walk from their homes, often great distances. Following a precedent set by William Aiken in his antebellum mills, most textile companies constructed mill villages to attract and accommodate workers. These villages consisted of small, identical frame houses with several larger homes for mill supervisors and smaller accommodations for black workers."
If you visit Piedmont today, the house that Margaret's family lived in (located at 58 Main St.) is right on a corner, not far from the mill. It looks nearly identical to many of the houses in the area, a simple two-story saltbox style (more common in the Northeast where the mill designer was from) with a front porch.
Citation: Revels, J. S. (2002, August). Historical and Architectural Survey of Anderson County, South Carolina. Historic Preservation | SC Department of Archives and History. Retrieved March 24, 2023, from https://scdah.sc.gov/historic-preservation
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.
The photo below is of the 1757th Ordnance, Supply, and Maintenance Group, 25th Service Group stationed at Greenville Army Air Base in Greenville, SC; this is the command that John served with. This photo was taken the month after John's company was transferred to Dale Mabry Field in Tallahassee, Florida.
Greenville, South Carolina. Air Service Command. The 1757th Ordnance, Supply and Maintenance Company of the 25th Service Group.
Citation: Delano, Jack, photographer. Greenville, South Carolina. Air Service Command. The 1757th ordnance, supply and maintenance company of the 25th service group. South Carolina United States Greenville Greenville County, 1943. July. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2017860294/.
This is the type of class that John talks about with Margaret.
Citation: Delano, J., photographer. (1943) Greenville, South Carolina. Air Service Command. An automotive class in the ordnance, supply and maintenance company of the 25th service group. South Carolina United States Greenville Greenville County, 1943. July. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2017860290/.
Jack Delano (August 1, 1914 – August 12, 1997) was an American photographer, cinematographer, composer, and director. He is best known for his work with the Farm Security Administration (FSA) during the Great Depression, where he captured the struggles of rural Americans and their way of life in photographs that have become iconic images of the era. This guide includes many pictures from Jack Delano's FSA visit to Greenville Army Air Base in 1943. He studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and later worked for the FSA and Office of War Information during World War II, where he documented the war effort and daily life on the home front.
![Portrait of Jack Delano, Office of War Information photographer. United States, None. [Between 1935 and 1945] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2017871296/.](https://libapps.s3.amazonaws.com/customers/763/images/Portrait_of_Jack_Delano__Office_of_War_Information_photographer.png)
Citation: Portrait of Jack Delano, Office of War Information photographer. United States, None. [Between 1935 and 1945] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2017871296/.
The 1940s census records show Margaret's father and brother working at the mill, and the 1950s census shows that Margaret had joined the "men" at the mill as a payroll clerk.
Citation: Black and White Photograph of the Mill Village Houses Viewed from the Rooftop of Piedmont Manufacturing Company. Photograph. Greenville South Carolina, March 24, 2015. Greenville County Library System. https://cdm17168.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p17168coll55/id/50.