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Lyle, Harold J., Jr. (Cold War correspondence)
2022.234.w.r
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Contributing Institution:
Center for American War Letters Archives
Title: Harold J. Lyle, Jr. Cold War correspondence
source:
Feig, Steven
Creator:
Lyle, Harold John, Jr., Specialist Third Class, 1932-2022
Creator:
Lyle, Virginia Lee née Krivoshein, 1933-2017
Identifier/Call Number: 2022.234.w.r
Physical Description:
0.25 Linear Feet
(6 folders)
Date (inclusive): 1946 July 14 - 1956 February 16
Date (bulk): 1954 February 2 - 1956 February 16
Abstract: This collection contains 81 correspondence from SP3 Harold J. Lyle, Jr., USA to his parents from various posts during the
Cold War, as well as correspondence from other authors and some greeting cards.
Language of Material:
English
.
Container: Cold War 3
Container: 6-11
Container: 1-6
This collection is open for research.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Steven Feig.
This collection is arranged by author and chronology.
Specialist Third Class Harold John "Jack" Lyle, Jr., United States Army (5/6/1932 - 2/14/2022) was born in California to Harold
John Lyle and Sigrid E.A.H. "Betty" Lyle (Sigrid was born in Sweden). He married Virginia Lee "Ginny" Krivoshein (1/7/1933
- 7/21/2017) on August 24, 1953 and joined the US Army less than a year later, beginning his basic training in March 1954.
Harold trained with the US Army at Fort Sam Houston, Texas with Special Training Company (A), Special Troops Battalion, Medical
Training Center, Brooke Army Medical Center under commanding officer Captain Samuel L. Crook, Jr. from February to May 1954.
The second half of training was on the same base with Company (C), 3rd Battalion commanded by Captain Lloyd [Deugan]. He later
served in Lenggries and Würzburg, Germany with 549th Medical Company (Ambulance)(Separate) until early 1956.
Both Harold and Virginia were interred together at Riverside National Cemetery in California, Section 53B, Site 556.
[Item title / description; Box "n" / Folder "n"], Harold J. Lyle, Jr. Cold War correspondence (2022.234.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 81 correspondence from SP3 Harold J. "Jack" Lyle, Jr., USA to his parents from various posts during
the Cold War. Also included are two letters from his wife to his parents and five letters from other authors and some greeting
cards. Some of Harold's correspondence is addressed from his wife as well, and some of the cards were from him to his parents
and others from other senders. The correspondence includes two Western Union telegrams, one postcard, and some cards.
The collection includes a Western Union telegram dated July 1946, seemingly unrelated to military service.
The correspondence, following the telegram, begins with a letter dated February 21, 1954 while Harold was training with SP
Tng Co. A, SP Troops Bn, MTC BAMC at Fort Sam Houston in Texas. He describes the travel to Fort Ord and then to his base in
Texas, going over everything "soup to nuts," getting his first outfit and haircut, and then continues in his next several
letters asking about home and discussing his training activities. He explains that training will consist of 16 weeks, with
eight weeks of basic followed by eight weeks of medical training. In the first few weeks he also discusses trying to find
a place for Virginia to live near the base; she arrives and begins looking for a job sometime before the letter postmarked
March 24.
While waiting to begin training, he got to see the segregation in San Antonio, noting it as "very high. When we walked into
the station they had a place for white and one for colored, funny eh."
The letter dated March 31 included a letter from Virginia describing settling into their living situation, and that she has
been able to see Harold every night since she arrived. She got a job with a Major Grady on base, a civil service job proofreading
script.
Harold explains that the eleventh week of training includes an interview to determine which of five schools he will attend
for the remainder of training: dental tech, dental lab, ward orderly, medical lab, or lab tech. He began the second eight
weeks of training in the last week of May, and Ginny notes that they are keeping him very busy with no evening passes as yet.
In June Harold scolds his new commanding officer. "He is not at all like Capt. Crook but just the opposite. Already after
just 3 weeks of training there has been about 7 fellows go A.W.O.L. The main reason is the way we are treated." He goes on
to say he believes it may be because the CO, Captain Lloyd [Deugan], fought in Korea for 18 months and "had the lower part
[of his leg] shot off." He then goes on to give a brief description of the types of classes the medical training entails.
In the letter dated July 2, Harold tells of a tragedy the struck a fellow soldier. La Verne Andress' girlfriend, Lorraine
[?], was killed in a car crash by a drunk driver returning from Austin. He and Virginia took care of La Verne for a few weeks
and he asked his mother to visit Dr. Andress, La Verne's father who lived in Riverside, CA.
On July 10, he says that he has finally received an "inclination" that he may go overseas, with orders to move to Camp Kilmer
in New Jersey for overseas replacement; he tried to call but the long distance operators were on strike. He left for New Jersey
and arrived on July 17 with a deployment date of July 28. In the letter dated August 14, Harold wrote from Germany and detailed
the trip to his current location at Zweibrücken as well as his orders to move again to his permanent posting at Würzburg,
Germany with the 549th Medical Ambulance Company.
Over the next several letters until the end of the year 1954 he details some of his experiences working in the orderly room
and in the ambulance, as well as his surroundings in Germany. By the end of September, Harold has found an apartment for rent
and was awaiting Virginia's arrival while he was staying at Leighton Barracks near the US Army Hospital. After she arrived,
he continued to write detailing his experiences, including a Dutch pottery pamphlet in the November 4 letter. Also in November,
he began school to be the company clerk and moved to Lenggries, Germany for a short time, later to Würzburg, and on December
3 a part of the letter is addressed to "Grandma," in which he writes that he looks forward to meeting relatives in Sweden
and seeing where she and his mother grew up.
Included with the letter dated December 23, 1954 is a declaration tag for customs regarding a "400 day clock."
Besides a case of the measles, which went around Germany, and losing his company clerk job for an ambulance driving billet,
there is not much news for the next several months in Lyle's correspondence. Most of the letters discuss purchasing souvenirs,
him and Ginny getting a car and an apartment, LaVerne Andress coming to Germany, a trip to Holland in May, and various news
from home.
Of particular note, in the letter dated June 10 Harold mentions the official end of the occupation of Germany by US forces,
which ceased on May 5, 1955. He mentions this anecdotally in reference to his unit starting KP duty because the "government
is no longer going to pay a share," and if a company decides to keep the KPs currently working, each soldier would pay out
of their paycheck.
On July 13, Harold describes "Operation Litter Haul," a training excercise in which they spend several days evacuating 900
simulated patients from a "hospital set up in the field." Despite driving the ambulance for this excercise, Harold describes
in several letters working for the personnel office since his return from Holland in May. He and Virginia go on another trip
to Sweden in September.
The remaining letters from Harold continue from Germany until the end of 1955, with some mention of Christmas and snow, and
the last letter was dated February 16, 1956 and written from Kansas where he and Virginia visited some friends from Germany.
He mentions that his current station is in Denver.
The correspondence from other authors were all written to Harold's parents and begins with a letter from Captain Samuel L.
Crook, Sr. providing Harold's proper address while at Fort Sam Houston in March 1954. Other authors include Harold, Sr.'s
mother, PFC Charles C. Reuss, Sam Krivoshein, Jane Cooper of Evening High School in San Bernardino, CA, Harold's aunt Linnea
Pick, one telegram from "Jack and Jim," and a lone letter from Virginia (other letters from Virginia were included with Harold's
correspondence).
Also included are various holiday cards sent by Harold and Virginia to Harold's parents.
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
Cold War (1945-1989)
Cold War (1945-1989) -- Letters
United States. -- Army.
Feig, Steven