Retrieved WWII letters join Bristol Historical Society’s collection

By LISA CAPOBIANCO
STAFF WRITER
What was once a box placed in a closet and forgotten about for close to 11 years is now a preserved as a historical collection that gives some insight into the lives of Bristol military men who served during World War II.
The box was discovered in a trash dumpster about 11 years ago by an individual who happened to be cleaning out the former J.H. Sessions & Sons building on Riverside Avenue. Thinking the box just contained old advertising brochures from Sessions & Sons, he placed the box in a closet for over a decade. Recently, it was discovered that the box actually turned out to be filled with letters and post cards from service members who served during World War II. Sessions wrote to employees and their loved ones during the war, and kept the cards and letters written by military men. About 30 employees of Sessions served (from 1942 to about 1946), including one who died in battle in Italy. From Africa to Japan and the South Pacific to Italy and Germany, employees served in the U.S. Army, Navy and Marines throughout different parts of the world.
After the letters were discovered, the American Legion Post 2 received the collection, and decided to donate the collection to the Bristol Historical Society.
Post 2 Historian Neal Supranovich said the Legion in Bristol believed the collection would be best preserved in the hands of the Bristol Historical Society, which has the materials and resources necessary to examine the letters.
“It belongs to Bristol,” said Supranovich. “Our heart is with the military and servicemen.”
Tom Dickau, president of the Bristol Historical Society, said he appreciates Post 2’s decision to donate the box, which he hopes to share with the Memorial Military Museum and the Bristol Room of Bristol Public Library, as well as to create joint programming that would focus on World War II.
Dickau said the collection is something the Historical Society can grow upon.
“We’re going to use this and other materials to highlight World War II,” said Dickau. “Our emphasis would be how the industries of Bristol and organizations in Bristol contribute to the war effort.”
Dickau said the exact plan of use for the collection also depends on what the Military Museum and Bristol Room prefers to do.
“We’re trying to do three types of presentations or displays so that we’re not overlapping and there’s a continuous flow to it,” said Dickau.
Established in 1854, the family-owned J.H. Sessions specialized in the manufacture of steel stampings, trunk, luggage, crate and box hardware, and metal specialties, according to the 1947 book “Bristol Connecticut in World War II,” published by the Bristol World War II Committee.
Paul B. Sessions was president of the company at the time of World War II. Starting off as a small company, it grew and moved to North Main Street. Eventually in 1907, its building moved to Riverside Avenue. At that location, it was believed that the company wrote to military men serving in the war. 
While reading some of the letters, Dickau noticed how these military men mentioned these products manufactured by Sessions while serving abroad. Dickau also noticed that Sessions initiated contact with its employees who served abroad. The company used to send packages filled with cigarettes, candy, and shaving equipment, along with a post card. Each post card encouraged the military men to write back.
“They wrote back about the way of life in the military,” said Dickau, adding how they also talked about their training in the letters and sent pictures. “They also wrote back to particular people in the factory, so in their letters, they referred to individual people.”
When furloughed, these military men would return to the factory, sharing stories about their experiences, said Dickau. In addition, Sessions printed its own newsletter called the Sentinel, which recognized company employees serving in the military while talking about the war effort and what was happening at the factory itself, said Dickau. In turn, the company shared information from letters of the military men in the newsletter.
“It’s a way of communicating through distance,” said Dickau, adding that military men serving abroad received a copy of the news letter from Sessions.
All of the letters in the collection are organized alphabetically by name in a file folder, which were all categorized in chronological order.
While looking through the letters sent by the service men, Dickau noticed various parts were censored the each letter. However, many of the military men knew about the censors, and spoke in code through the messages they sent.
“Soldiers attempted to hide coding in their letters [addressed] both to the factory and to their families, so they could tell them a little bit more about their location or what was going on than they were supposed to,” said Dickau, adding he was able to break some of the coding. “The censors would sometimes find it, and it was struck out, other times it wasn’t.”
Although the Historical Society is still learning more about the letters, one thing was made clear in them: the military men who corresponded with Sessions wanted to serve their country, said Dickau, adding that no one indicated a fear of dying in their messages.
“It was their duty, then they felt it was their obligation,” said Dickau, adding that the servicemen also mentioned new places they would not have otherwise experienced if not for the war. “It was their desire. They didn’t want to get home without the war being finished.”
Dickau added the servicemen also appreciated efforts made by Sessions during the war. One effort made by the company included offering military men a scrapbook titled “His Service Record,” which could be sent to their loved ones. Sessions allowed their military men to choose the recipients of that book.
“It was a book that the family could use to put in newspaper clippings, letters sent home to them—it was going to become the history of that person during the war for the family,” said Dickau, adding that those military families thanked the company for its generosity in response to the books.
In addition, Sessions encouraged military men to buy war bonds, and the company it itself also bought war bonds.
“They really maintained a good relationship with their employees and wanted to,” said Dickau, adding that Bristol companies like Sessions held send-off dinners for employees joining the military.
Through the letters, Dickau also learned about the close relationships those service men had with their families. While in boot camp or abroad, many of the military men reported going to the movies and visiting cities for entertainment.
“At least one letter refers to having seen a USO show with Bob Hope,” said Dickau, adding most boot camps the servicemen went to were either in hot or very cold regions of the country.
Comments? Email lcapobianco@Bristol Observer.com.