Letters Home 1942-1943 - A Soldier's Story

My Uncle Frank, while serving in the Solomons, wrote letters home to my grandparents. We collected the letters, transcribed them and put them in the form of a book. The following is a foreword that I have written for that book.

Frank Carrabba was born on January 1, 1920 in Bryan, Texas. He died on September 19, 1943 in the Solomon Islands -- a world away from Bryan, Texas. Frank was the youngest of six sons from a large Sicilian American family. His death forever traumatized his family. Of the Carrabba brothers, he was the one with the most promise. He was sweet natured and had a great sense of humor. Unlike his brothers, he was affectionate and demonstrative. Perhaps, this was the reason he was his mother's favorite. He would grab his mother, kiss her and dance around the room with her. This seems quite remarkable, after knowing the other Carrabbas. All of his siblings were quite serious. This seems very out of character for them.

I never knew him. I was supposed to be named after him since I was the first grand child born after his death. Unfortunately, I was a girl. My grandmother was very disappointed. However, two years later a grandson was born who was named Frank. Ironically, when he grew to manhood he resembled his dead namesake.

Frank went to war shortly after his twenty second birthday. He didn't want to go. Sadly, he never saw his parents or any of his family again. He was terribly homesick and wrote many letters home. We have found over eighty letters that he wrote while serving his country in war.

Frank's parents had both immigrated from Corleone Sicily to the Brazos Valley of Texas at the end of the nineteenth century. His parents were uneducated, but very hard working people, who had attained a comfortable life by the beginning of World War II. They were typical immigrants. Family was extremely important to them. Loyalty to each other was the ultimate goal for all the Carrabba children.

Frank's letters gives one a glimpse of life for a young farm boy from Bryan, Texas serving his country. He is constantly reassuring his parents that he is fine. At the same time, he is desperate for letters from home. These letters seem to be his lifeline to home and family.

I was born shortly after Frank was killed in battle in the Solomon Islands. His death had a profound effect on my family. My grandmother never fully recovered from the news that her baby son was killed.

I never knew much about my Uncle Frank and his too short life. A few words from different people offered the only picture of him until now. Reading his letters has acquainted me with him far better than any description from him contemporaries. Frank was happy and fun loving. He loved parties and the "ladies". He had the good fortune to be very handsome and everyone fell for him. He also had that loyalty to his family. He wanted all of his brothers to write to him. When one failed to do that, he reported back to his parents.

The format of the letters was basically the same. The first part of the letter was devoted to his parents. He would try to reassure his mother that he was fine and going to Mass and Confession as often as he could, being a good Catholic boy. He would often ask his father about finances. For example, he was worried regarding rationing in the States. The end of the letter was devoted to his sister, Camilla. She was the youngest of the Carrabba children and living at home with her parents. Often, he would admonish her for not writing. Then, he would realize (in the next letter) that there was a problem with the "mail situation".

Frank died much too young. I have come to know him through these letters. And I can't help but wonder what kind of person he would have been if he had returned. I don't think he would have been like his other brothers. He may have gone into the grocery store business and married a nice Italian girl. But, I think it would have been his choice. I don't think his future would have been dictated by my grandparents. He would have certainly been his own man. If only, he had survived the War.

Shortly before he was killed, Frank had the good fortune of seeing a cousin, Sam Boss. The Carrabbas and the Bossios had a large extended family. Frank and Sam were first cousins and very close in age. Their meeting was one of the high points for Frank in his very short life.

Sam Boss was wounded in the same battle that killed Frank. While recovering in the hospital, he met a soldier in the bed next to him. The soldier was quite upset. His buddy had been killed in battle. Sam asked him the name of the buddy. It was Frank Carrabba.

A poignant footnote-- Frank was killed by sniper fire in the jungles of the Solomon Islands. He and his buddy were not able to move quickly enough when a sniper was discovered hiding in a banana tree. Frank was killed. The buddy was severely wounded. The buddy was eventually sent to Temple, Texas to recover. Every week my Uncle Jack drove my grandfather from Bryan to Temple to visit Frank's friend. The loyalty of the Carrabba family extended to Frank's comrade in arms. This story was related to me by my cousin, Sam Weido. He has many fond memories of his Uncle Frank.

Postscript - On January 28, 1944 my grandfather, Joseph Carrabba, became a citizen of the United States of America. He had been in this country since 1889. He was only eight years old when he had immigrated from Sicily. The death of his son, Frank, made it easier for him to attain citizenship. My grandmother, Josephine Carrabba, did not become a citizen until 1956.

Map of the Pacific showing the Solomon Islands