Ernest fought in the Pacific Theater during World War II. My father received 1 letter from him stating that he was recuperating in a hospital from a wound. Ernest didn't know that my father was serving in Europe as the letter came to where my dad had lived - my mother's family's farm. On December 24, 1945, Ernest & my dad accidentally met on Main Street in Northampton, MA. They both had been discharged and were coming home for Christmas. They chatted for a while and then split up. Ernest went to their sister's house & my father to my mother's family as things were crowded at his sister's house. They never saw each other again. Ernest left after Christmas dinner and the family never heard from him again.
In the 1980s, the VA verified that he was still alive and my father wrote a letter to the VA asking that it be forwarded. He never received a response.
When Ernest was dying in an Oregon VA, someone looked for a next-of-kin and found the letter. By then, my father had a stroke and was too ill to travel; the rest of their siblings had died years ago. According to the VA, Ernest had returned to the West Coast and spent his life moving among California, Oregon and Washington. He worked as a farm laborer, logger, trucker, whatever he could find. As far as the VA knows, Ernest never married or had children.
When he passed, the VA sent his effects to my dad - an empty wallet & Ernest's DD214. Since he loved the West Coast, it seemed only right to have him buried there.
Ernest fought in the Pacific Theater during World War II. My father received 1 letter from him stating that he was recuperating in a hospital from a wound. Ernest didn't know that my father was serving in Europe as the letter came to where my dad had lived - my mother's family's farm. On December 24, 1945, Ernest & my dad accidentally met on Main Street in Northampton, MA. They both had been discharged and were coming home for Christmas. They chatted for a while and then split up. Ernest went to their sister's house & my father to my mother's family as things were crowded at his sister's house. They never saw each other again. Ernest left after Christmas dinner and the family never heard from him again.
In the 1980s, the VA verified that he was still alive and my father wrote a letter to the VA asking that it be forwarded. He never received a response.
When Ernest was dying in an Oregon VA, someone looked for a next-of-kin and found the letter. By then, my father had a stroke and was too ill to travel; the rest of their siblings had died years ago. According to the VA, Ernest had returned to the West Coast and spent his life moving among California, Oregon and Washington. He worked as a farm laborer, logger, trucker, whatever he could find. As far as the VA knows, Ernest never married or had children.
When he passed, the VA sent his effects to my dad - an empty wallet & Ernest's DD214. Since he loved the West Coast, it seemed only right to have him buried there.
Inscription
Ernest E Slattery
PFC US Army
World War II
Mar 11 1907-Mar 29 1986
Family Members
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Francis T. Slattery
1903–1939
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Mary Elizabeth Slattery
1904–1905
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James Arthur Slattery
1905–1977
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John William "Jig" Slattery
1909–1992
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Wilfred Stephen Slattery
1911–1963
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Leonard O'Rourke Slattery
1912–1976
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Evelyn Rose Slattery Hobart
1914–1977
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Helen Alice Slattery Hicks
1916–1983
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Leo George Slattery
1917–1994
