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Fransen, David Clark (Second World War coconut letter)
2016.001.w.r
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Contributing Institution:
Center for American War Letters Archives
Title: David Clark Fransen Second World War coconut letter
Creator:
Fransen, David C. , Mr. , 1912-1974
Identifier/Call Number: 2016.001.w.r
Physical Description:
0.75 Linear Feet
(1 folder, 1 box)
Date: 1943
Abstract: This collection consists of a coconut sent by Capt. David Clark Fransen, USAAF, to his daughter Susan during the Second World
War. The collection also contains supplemental material pertaining to Capt. Fransen and his daughter Susan. A photo of Susan
and a photo of Capt. Fransen, as well as photocopies of material related to the coconut and Capt. Fransen's military service.
Physical Description: The coconut contains a carved face and addresses written in white paint (or white-out). The writing is mostly damaged or
fading.
Language of Material:
English
.
Container: WWII 11
Container: 16
Container: Fransen 1
This collection is open for research.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Toni C. Fransen.
This collection is arranged by material type:
- Series 1, Coconut letter
- Series 2, Supplemental materials
Captain David Clark Fransen, United States Army Air Force, was born May 21, 1912 in Cedar Bayou, Chambers County, Texas to
his parents Mays David Fransen and Pansy Agusta Clark. He remained in Texas and married Dorothy Householder on June 20, 1937
and they had a daughter, Susan Byers Fransen, on September 24, 1939.
Fransen graduated from Texas A and M and worked at Humble Oil and Refining Company of Houston before joining the United States
Army Air Corps on February 15, 1942. After training at Hoffman airborne station in North Carolina, where his wife and daughter
joined him, he served as a glider rifle company commander in the airborne infantry in the Philippines. That is where, in
1943, he sent home a coconut with a carved face for his daughter. Capt. Fransen then returned to the United States on April
3, 1945 for further treatment due to a shrapnel wound in his back.
Susan took on a sudden illness later that year and died on August 5, 1945 shortly before her sixth birthday. The Fransens
then moved to Houston where they stayed until Capt. Fransen passed away on November 24, 1974.
[Item title, Box number, Folder number], David C. Fransen Second World War coconut letter (2016.001.w.r), Center for American
War Letters Archives, Chapman University, CA.
For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information about sources consulted in this
collection, including permanent URL's, item or folder descriptions, and box/folder locations.
This collection consists of a coconut sent by Capt. David C. Fransen, USAAF, to his daughter Susan during the Second World
War. The collection also contains a photo of Susan and a photo of Capt. Fransen, as well as photocopies of material related
to the coconut and Capt. Fransen's military service.
There are no restrictions on the use of this material except where previously copyrighted material is concerned. It is the
responsibility of the researcher to obtain all permissions. For further copyright information, please contact the archivist.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Correspondence -- World War, 1939-1945
World War II
World War (1939-1945)
World War (1939-1945) -- Philippines.
World War (1939-1945) -- Philippines -- Mindanao Island.
United States -- Army -- Pacific Theater of Operations
United States. -- Army Air Service
United States. -- Army. -- Air Corps
Military hospitals
World War (1939-1945) -- Hospitals
Battle casualties