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Roberts, Bernard F. (Second World War correspondence)
2017.241.w.r
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
Center for American War Letters Archives
Title: Bernard Francis Roberts Second World War correspondence
Creator:
Roberts, Bernard Francis, Sergeant, 1912-1992
source:
Polit, Denise F.
Identifier/Call Number: 2017.241.w.r
Physical Description:
.33 Linear Feet
(4 folders)
Date (inclusive): 1944 December - 1947 November 12
Abstract: This collection contains the correspondence of Sgt. Bernard F. Roberts, USA written to his wife, Cecile. The collection includes
photos and military documents.
Language of Material:
English
.
Container: WWII 30
Container: 1-4
Container: 1-4
This collection is open for research.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Denise F. Polit, daughter of SGT Bernard F. Roberts, USA.
This collection is arranged in chronoligcal order.
- Series 1, Correspondence from Bernard to Cecile
- Series 2, Photographs and various documents
Sergeant Bernard Francis Roberts, United States Army (1/15/1912 - 1/19/1992) was born Bernard F. Romanowicz in Chelsea, MA.
He lived in Everett, MA until his early 20s. He attended MIT for one year. He enlisted on October 13, 1942, and was discharged
on December 8, 1945. He served as a radio repairman in Normandy, Northern France, the Rhineland, and Central Europe. He met
his wife, Cecile Cruke, during his service in Brussels, Belgium in October 1944. They were married in the village of Munte,
Belgium on April 21, 1945. Bernard Roberts returned to the United States in December of 1945 and Cecile, while six months
pregnant, followed shortly behind arriving around January 1946.
From the donor, their daughter Denise, regarding life after the war:
"It is my distinct impression that my mother fell in love with America and with Americans. After moving here (I believe it
was in December 1945--I was born in April 1946), my mother and father lived at my grandmother's house in Everett Massachusetts
for about a year until my father was able to buy a house in Saugus, MA. My father's very large family, which included 7 sisters,
were always very kind to my mother. I think they may have liked her better than they liked their brother! We lived on a farm
in northeast Massachusetts during most of my childhood, and virtually every weekend we had company--that is, my aunts, uncles
and cousins--because they lived in poor inner-city neighborhoods and they romanticized farm life. I never heard a cross word
between my mother and these relatives.
My mother spoke English very well by the time I was old enough to be aware of it. I've always regretted that she didn't speak
French to me--although her native language was Flemish, not French. She and my father spoke German to each other when they
wanted to say things they didn't want me to hear. She had a very charming accent in English that she wanted to shed. When
people asked her where she was from, she usually said "Boston."
If she was homesick for Belgium, I was not aware of it. I think she missed her family (or, more specifically, her father and
sister), but she never seemed to yearn to move back. I heard her say, several times, that she preferred life in America. She
only returned to Belgium twice to visit her family--in 1956 and 1959. This was largely an economic issue, though, as we were
what would now be called "working poor."
My mother and father eventually divorced when I was in my 20s (circa 1969), but they both continued to live mostly in Massachusetts.
I moved to Saratoga Springs, NY in 1987, right around the time my mother was diagnosed with colon cancer. She came to live
with us, until her death in 1992. Interestingly, my father became ill in about 1989, and I moved him into our house as well.
Thank goodness it was a large house! At first, they had a grand time reminiscing about old times, but it didn't last long,
so he moved back to Massachusetts to live with another couple. He died in January, 1992, and was buried in Everett. My mother
died later the same year, and she is buried by his side. My aunts were always very happy that they were reunited."
[Item title / description; Box "n" / Folder "n"], Bernard F. Roberts Second World War correspondence (2017.241.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 URLs, item or folder descriptions, and box/folder locations.
This collection contains the correspondence of Sgt. Bernard F. Roberts, USA written to his wife, Cecile. Most of the letters
are personal rather than descriptive, but several of them, particularly shortly after VE day, do describe his experiences
in occupied Germany. A few foreshadow anticipated difficulties in returning to civilian life.
There are a total of 101 letters, one telegram, eight photographs, three military documents, and one Belgian marriage certificate.
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.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Christianity
Concerts
Baby boom generation
V-E Day (1945)
War recovery
World War (1939-1945) -- Battlefields -- France
World War (1939-1945) -- Campaigns -- France -- Normandy.
World War (1939-1945) -- Europe
World War (1939-1945) -- Germany
World War (1939-1945) -- Belgium
World War (1939-1945) -- Photography
World War (1939-1945) -- Victory in Europe Day (VE Day)
World War (1939-1945) -- France
Polit, Denise F.