A local author based in the hamlet of Van Hornesville near Cooperstown published a book this year, shedding light on the human aspects of World War II through the story of his father, a Coast Guard sailor, and the letters he wrote to his wife while he was away.
The main themes coursing through the story, author Larry Schnell said Wednesday, Nov. 5, were music’s role in World War II and the maintenance of a marriage or relationships through the sending of letters back and forth.
The book, “A Sailor’s Song: Lost Love Letters of World War II,” was published January, taking Schnell about four years to craft from start to finish. He said he spent a week at the National Archives to boost his research.
Initially, Schnell said he thought he would use a journalistic approach, letting the letters tell the story. After deciding that was not the right method, he opted to return to a narrative approach, inserting parts of the letters in different spaces.
Schnell said the attic at his parents’ house in Upstate New York was full of war memorabilia. It had newspaper clippings, uniforms and dog tags, among other items. After his mother, Florence Schnell, died, Schnell said he went up to the attic of the house in Vero Beach, Florida, and found a box, which originally contained bacon.
After opening it, he found letters arranged in envelopes. He sorted through the letters and realized there was a great amount of exchanges detailing music and war. Schnell said he tucked it away for about six years. He added that eventually, he noticed that in one of the letters, his father, Arthur Schnell, said “remember the code.”
Another letter Schnell’s brother gave him had the secret code his father would use to tell his wife where he was on the ship, an illegal act.
Arthur Schnell enlisted June 19, 1943 and was discharged in December 1945. He started his service at the Manhattan Beach Training Station, playing music for bond rallies, base functions, officers’ events and the Mutual Radio broadcasts.
“He and his musician buddies really loved to play big band romance music, and the American public really wanted to hear romance music,” Schnell said. “They were not really keen on playing the patriotic John Philips Sousa patriotism. They were more interested in the old days of romance.”
He added that through his research, he learned that the American public did not want to hear about the war in its music. The federal government wanted more patriotic music that would inspire people to fight in the war, but Schnell said the push did not go well.
In March 1945, Schnell said, his father and about a dozen other musicians were shipped to California to serve on the U.S.S. General A.W. Greely. They learned their commander George W. Stedman Jr., a former cruise ship captain, loved music.
“He believed that music would be good for the young troops who were heading to the Pacific because they were planning to invade Japan,” Schnell said. “Their anxiety was high, and he used music to calm them.”
Outside of music, Schnell said the war posed many challenges for married people. Though his parents were apart about 10 months, many people who served in the war were gone for three years and often upon returning home, it would be hard to maintain their marriage.
His parents, Schnell added, were able to uphold their relationship through the letters.
“Letters were such a big part of the war effort,” Schnell said.
His father would reveal his location to his mother in code through the letters sometimes. Schnell said it “gave people hope” and an avenue to “know somebody was there and where.”
If his father began the letter with “Dear darling” then the first letter of the second word of each sentence that followed would spell his location, Schnell said.
Arthur Schnell played trombone, and Schnell said he played trumpet himself, with his father teaching him in school. Both of his parents were teachers at Van Hornesville Central School, and his mother taught vocal chorus. The name of the school has since been changed to Owen D. Young Central School.
“Music was just a big part of growing up,” Schnell said. “It was everywhere.”
Schnell attended SUNY Oneonta for his undergraduate studies, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in English literature. He received a master’s degree in mass communication and media studies from the University of Florida. He taught journalism at the university for about 20 years, after which he began writing books. This is his first nonfiction book, previously writing three fiction books.
Many people he spoke to who have read the book said they gained insight into the war through “the eyes of the average sailor or troops,” Schnell said. He added that by blending the people with the references to war events occurring at the time, he has heard from readers that they learned more about what the war was really like.
“Many events are referenced in there because they are referenced in my father’s letters,” Schnell said. “People could see the war through the eyes of an average person.”