Sol's Letters Home

Sol Schnitzer is 22 years old.
World War II is waging all around the world.

He's a pilot in the Tenth Air Corp of the USAAF (Army Air Force) stationed in India. They were what's known as a "mixed wing".
They flew Bombers, Fighters, Transports and Gliders, plus the occasional Helicopter*. In addition he was part of the all volunteer First Air Commando Group which ran Special Ops in Burma. After the war he participated in the Berlin Airlift. As he mentions in one of his letters below, during the war he sets a world gliding record.

These are a few of the letters he wrote from the front, and then later stateside, after Macky and Adele introduced him to my mother.
I remember hearing how Macky came to pick up Adele at their house on Byrne Street in Houston one evening, and said to my Mom "Don't you go getting attached to anyone. I'm saving you for my brother Sol."

I think it was love at first sight for both of them.

These letters give a bit of insight into a side of my father that I never knew.

November 1, 1943 - Deploys from Seymor Johnson Field, NC to India.

Letters to his brother Macky from somewhere in India.:
Letter 1 - Nov. 1, 1944 (one year overseas)
Letter 2 - Jan. 2, 1945 (world record flight)



Germany surrenderes on May 8. War is still raging in the Pacific.

Letter to his brother Macky from Camp Lee, Virginia.
Letter 3 - June 13, 1945 (a case of puppy love?)

Japan surrenders on Sept. 2, 1945. World War II is over.

Sol takes a job working for his cousin at Rubenstein's Department Store at 1101 Canal St., New Orleans. (Still there today at 102 St. Charles St.)
Esther vacations in Colorado Springs with Aunt Sydell.

Letters to Miss Ester:
Letter 4 - November 23, 1947 from New Orleans - "Hello Baby"
Letter 5 - December 15, 1947 (23 days later - mailed 2 days after) "I miss you! I love you!"
Letter 6 - January 4, 1948 - (20 days later - mailed the next day) " Our future honey"
Letter 7 - January 14, 1948 - (10 days later - mailed the next day) "Absence makes the heart grow fonder

Letter to Miss Esther:
Letter 8 - January 20, 1948 - (6 days later - mailed the next day) - "Our plans"

Historical Note: Aircraft of the 10th Air Force - WWII

b24
B-24 Liberator Heavy Bomber 		b25
B-25 Mitchell Medium Bomber 		p38
P-38-Lightning Fighter
p40
P-40 Warhawk Fighter
P-47
P-47 Thunderbolt Fighter
p-51
P-51 Mustang Fighter
c-46
C46 Commando Transport
c-47
C-47 Skytrain/Dakota Transport
c-54
C54-Skymaster Transport
c-87
C-87 Liberator Transport
cg-4a
CG-4A Waco Glider
Watch the Video
r-4
Sikosrky R-4 Helicopter

b-17
The iconic B17 Bomber was used for a short time in India until it was replaced by the B-24 due to range limitations.
Sol ferried a B-17 to India when he was first deployed. It was a very memorable trip.
He flew from North Carolina to Recife Brazil, and then on to Sierre Leone, Africa - having crossed the equator twice.
From there he crossed the continent of Africa, landing in Cairo, and thence on to Bombay (modern day Mumbai).
What a way to see the world!

My father's favorite was the P-38. As he put it "It was fast, had long range, and two engines so you could make it back if they shot one out. Getting shot down once was one time too many for me."

Bombers (B-24 Liberator, B-25 Mitchell, B-17 Flying Fortress)
Fighters (P-38-Lightning, P-40 Warhawk, P-47 Thunderbolt, and P-51 Mustang)
Transports (C-46 Commando, C-47 Skytrain, C-54 Skymaster, C-87 Liberator)
Gliders (Waco CG-4A).
Helicopter (R-4) The first recorded use of a helicopter as rescue aircraft by the U.S. Military took place in the China-Burma-India Theater of World War II. A Sikorsky-built R-4 helicopter was used in April 1944 in a dramatic rescue of a downed pilot and three wounded soldiers in the jungles of Burma.