Treasure Chest Thursday: Emma Files a Second Pension Claim?

This postcard is from 1927.  It is another preprinted 3 1/2" by 5 1/2" postcard with an acknowledgment on the back and address on the front, similar to the postcard I described last week.  It appears to be about 10# cardstock, the same yellowish-buff color that resembles the lower card in last week's post.  Both sides of this postcard look much lighter in the scans than in real life.  This card has no creases but has three small circular indentations in the middle.  The following transcription has information that was entered by hand underlined.

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UNITED STATES VETERANS BUREAU                 PENALTY FOR PRIVATE USE TO AVOID
            WASHINGTON, D. C.                                       PAYMENT OF POSTAGE, $300
                         ———      [postmarked Washington, D.C. 2-PM JAN 16 1927]
               OFFICIAL BUSINESS
2—13703



                                Mrs. J. L. La Foret,
                                         615 Indiana St.,
                                                    Vallejo, Calif.

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UNITED STATES VETERANS BUREAU

————

Dear Sir: Madam:
     This will acknowledge the receipt of your communication relative to the claim on account of the death of Jean Leon La Foret.

XC– 670 084                   has been assigned to this claim and you are assured that it is receiving prompt attention.
     In all future correspondence with reference to this claim, kindly mention ex-service man's full name, rank, organization, Army serial mumber, and claim number.

                              By direction:

W. C. Black [signature]

Chief, Mail and Records Division

Form 7201      GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE         2—13703              Chief Clerk

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This postcard is dated less than two months after the previous acknowledgment.  Emma is at the same address in Vallejo.  Things that differ are the claim number — on the previous card it was WO1560956 — and the department handling the correspondence.  The 1926 postcard was from the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Pensions.  This postcard from 1927 came from the Veterans Bureau.  According to a short note on Wikipedia, both of these agencies, in addition to the National Home for Disabled Soldiers, handled "various benefits" for servicemen through the 1920's.  I wonder if poor Emma had to communicate with both divisions on a regular basis?  Better yet, I wonder if the different records are still separate or have been consolidated into one file?  I guess I'll find out when I order them, won't I?

I also noted that Emma is addressed with her late husband's name instead of her own given name.  Perhaps the Veterans Bureau (or Chief Clerk W. C. Black) was more formal than the Bureau of Pensions.

The disadvantage of a preprinted form is that it usually doesn't cover all the possibilities.  On this card "Sir" was struck through and "Madam" was typed im its place.  The card refers to the ex-serviceman's Army serial number — except that the card has "mumber"; is that a mumbled number? — but Jean La Forêt was a Marine.  Interesting that "Army" was not struck through and replaced by "Marine."

Help Celebrate National Volunteer Week!

It's National Volunteer Week, so it seemed like a perfect time to post another collection of research and volunteer projects looking for help.  This time most are looking for assistance in identification or finding relatives.

A woman who was imprisoned in the Gabersdorf labor camp in Czechoslovakia during World War II kept a diary, in which she wrote not only an alternative Passover haggadah but also a list of other women who were at Gabersdorf.  Yad Vashem, the center for documentation, research, education, and commemoration of the Holocaust, is seeking information about the women on the list and about Gabersdorf in general.  A recent article lists all of the women's names and includes contact information if you can assist with Yad Vashem's research.

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The UK's Commonwealth War Graves Commission, begun after World War I, cares for cemeteries and memorials at 23,000 locations in 154 countries, to ensure that 1.7 million people who died in the two World Wars are not forgotten.  The Commission is trying to make contact with relatives of around 70 soldiers, sailors, and airmen who are buried at cemeteries in the United Kingdom.  A list of the servicemen can be found here.

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The Central Registry of Information on Looted Cultural Property 1933–1945 exists to coordinate the return of property stolen during World War II to rightful owners or their descendants.  The lists of owners of identified property have been recently updated.  Looted property consists of art, books, and more.

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Ernst Bienenfeld resident certificate

Loyola Marymount University in California has digitized a photographic collection of Shanghai from 1937–1947 that includes photos of Jewish refugees, Chinese citizens, and others.  They are trying to crowdsource information about the people in the photos, and translations of the German and Chinese documents.  The digitized images have been posted to Flickr.  The information page about the collection includes a link to the Flickr pages.  Take a look if you had family in Shanghai during that time or if you can assist with translations.

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Lisa Taylor, writing for the Library of Congress "Folklife Today" blog, is asking people to pledge to interview at least one veteran during National Volunteer Month, the extension of National Volunteer Week to the entire month of April. Visit her blog post and make your commitment in the comments section.  Then go to the Veterans History Project site to find out how to make it happen.  Return to the site the week before Memorial Day to see a new “Experiencing War” feature dedicated to more Veterans History Project volunteers, with links to some of their interviews.

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The Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland (FODŻ) tries to protect and commemorate surviving monuments of Jewish cultural heritage in Poland.  It is active in areas away from major cities and covers nearly two thirds of Poland.

FODŻ is looking for volunteers to adopt Jewish cemeteries in Poland.  A current town list of Jewish cemetery projects that are already "adopted" and "seeded" is available on the Web site.  Each entry has a descendant, survivor, family historian, or organization that is concerned and has contacted FODŻ.  Projects range from clean-up and maintenance work to hopes of erecting a memorial to commemorate a specific family or a whole community lost in the Holocaust.  The size, scope, and concept are for the volunteers to decide and to finance, either alone or with partners.  FODŻ can help with the necessary permits, advice on material and labor, and arranging installation and final dedication events.

Jewish cemeteries, especially those that have no headstones, are vulnerable to being forgotten.  Please contact FODŻ if you are ready to start a new project that can make a difference in preserving these precious relics.

Preserving American War Memorials Overseas

A small nonprofit organization, American War Memorials Overseas, was organized in 2008 to help document, promote, care for, and preserve overseas war memorials and gravesites that honor Americans and that do not receive support from the U.S. government.  The Web site includes a database of overseas war memorials, for which they welcome additional entries.  They publish a (roughly) quarterly one-page newsletter which includes information about war memorials and short vignettes about Americans who are buried or who died overseas.  One feature is their stories about "isolated burials", where only one or a few people are buried in a particular location.  There is also an informative FAQ about how war memorials are supported, and a list of resources, including how to maintain headstones and memorials.  I'm not sure how much of this might be duplicative of other groups' efforts, but it appears to be a well meaning organization, and the newsletter has interesting stories.

North Carolina Korean War Veterans Sought

The North Carolina Division of Veterans Affairs (NCDVA) is leading a statewide effort to recognize North Carolina service members and their families on the 60th anniversary of the Korean War. The project is part of the U.S. Department of Defense 60th Anniversary of the Korean War Commemoration Committee, which in June will launch “The Year of the Korean War Veteran.”

There is a link on the Web site to provide a Certificate of Appreciation signed by U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta to all Korean War veterans and the family members who supported them.  No documentation is necessary and the form can be filled out and submitted online by the veteran, a family member, or a friend. Requests for certificates may also be downloaded and mailed to Korean War Veterans Certificate, N.C. Division of Veterans Affairs, 1315 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1315. More information is available on the North Carolina Department of Administration site.

In addition to the certificate of appreciation, the U.S. Department of Defense encourages any Korean War veteran who would like to share his story with the Korean War Commemoration Committee’s oral history project to visit http://koreanwar.defense.gov/ or call (703) 545-0522.  This site is not specific to North Carolina but is the Department of Defense site for the war's commemoration.

Since the North Carolina project is part of a larger Department of Defense initiative, perhaps other states will create similar projects to recognize their veterans.