Photo of the Day

This is a photo of my paternal aunt taken in the spring of 1965 in her home in New Castle, DE.  It looks like she has a pile of school books sitting next to her.  She was 14 years old.

Diane Odgers
1951 - 2002

30 November 1944 Letter

My maternal great-uncle was killed in action during World War II on 22 July 1944.  He was buried in an individual grave, uncasketed and in a poncho, in Guam No. 2 Cemetery, Plot C, Row 2, Grave 10.

The job of the Effects Quartermaster was to receive and safeguard thousands of' packages of personal property until they could be returned to the owner or forwarded to the Army Effects Bureau for disposition.  When a soldier became a casualty (either deceased, hospitalized, captured, interned, or missing), his unit commander collected all personal property, inventoried it, removed government property, and forwarded all the personal items to Q-290, marked with the owner's identification and status.  If the owner was deceased, the property was documented and forwarded immediately to Army Effects Bureau for transmission to the next of kin.

The detail involved in receiving, storing, safeguarding, and shipping personal property was immense.  Each package was handled separately in order that the name, status, and other pertinent data would be correctly recorded.

This is a copy of a letter from the Army Effects Bureau to my great-grandmother in response to her request for my great-uncle's belongings.  Even after more than four months after his death, the Army Effects Bureau had yet to receive any of my great-uncle's things.

Photo of the Day

This is a photo of my paternal grandparents taken on New Year's Eve 1964 in their living room in New Castle, Delaware.  My grandmother was 40 years old and my grandfather was 46 years old.

Ellen LeGates Odgers (1924 - 1970)
William Odgers, Sr. (1918 - 1986)

26 January 1945 Letter

My maternal great-uncle was killed in action during World War II on 22 July 1944.  He was buried in an individual grave, uncasketed and in a poncho, in Guam No. 2 Cemetery, Plot C, Row 2, Grave 10.

The job of the Effects Quartermaster was to receive and safeguard thousands of' packages of personal property until they could be returned to the owner or forwarded to the Army Effects Bureau for disposition.  When a soldier became a casualty (either deceased, hospitalized, captured, interned, or missing), his unit commander collected all personal property, inventoried it, removed government property, and forwarded all the personal items to Q-290, marked with the owner's identification and status.  If the owner was deceased, the property was documented and forwarded immediately to Army Effects Bureau for transmission to the next of kin.

The detail involved in receiving, storing, safeguarding, and shipping personal property was immense.  Each package was handled separately in order that the name, status, and other pertinent data would be correctly recorded.

This is a copy of a letter that my great-grandmother sent to the Army Effects Bureau.  She had previously requested my great-uncle's personal effects, but had yet to receive them.  She wanted to have his things for keepsakes.  I'm sure a grieving mother would want to have anything that reminded her of her son.

Photo of the Day

This is a photo of my paternal aunt taken at Indian River Inlet in Delaware in 1965.  She was 13 or 14 years old.

Diane Odgers
(1951 - 2002)

9 February 1945 Letter

My maternal great-uncle was killed in action during World War II on 22 July 1944.  He was buried in an individual grave, uncasketed and in a poncho, in Guam No. 2 Cemetery, Plot C, Row 2, Grave 10.

The job of the Effects Quartermaster was to receive and safeguard thousands of' packages of personal property until they could be returned to the owner or forwarded to the Army Effects Bureau for disposition.  When a soldier became a casualty (either deceased, hospitalized, captured, interned, or missing), his unit commander collected all personal property, inventoried it, removed government property, and forwarded all the personal items to Q-290, marked with the owner's identification and status.  If the owner was deceased, the property was documented and forwarded immediately to Army Effects Bureau for transmission to the next of kin.

The detail involved in receiving, storing, safeguarding, and shipping personal property was immense.  Each package was handled separately in order that the name, status, and other pertinent data would be correctly recorded.

This is a copy of a letter to my great-grandmother in response to her second request for my great-uncle's personal effects.

Photo of the Day

This is a photo of my paternal grandfather taken in December 1964 in his living room in New Castle, Delaware.  He was 46 years old.

William Odgers, Sr.
(1918 - 1964)