Uncovered: A New Date for Jimmie's USN Service

A tiny address book stamped in gold with " Michigan Lithographing Company" on the cover looked to me like an address book.  However, it turned out to be a 4 1/2 by 2 3/4-inch diary in dark green leather, one of many sizes and shapes Ruth wrote in over the years.   Because I had not read it until after the book was published, it's not in Pieces of a Life.

The picture shows Ruth Meredith Kellogg and her younger brother, Jimmie, fooling around in the back yard on Iowa St. in Chicago where the Merediths had a two-flat.  You can see the stucco garage, which matched the two-flat (originally a house), in the background as well as the Petersen's garage next door.

This would have been around the time - the early 1940s - when Jimmie was in the United States Navy.  I had always thought that my uncle, James William Meredith, was in the service briefly early in 1942 after the start of World War II.  But Ruth's 1940 diary corrects me, as you will see.  Uncle Jimmie was a kind, soft-spoken man, but his mental illness gradually controlled his life.

Tuesday, Feb. 27, 1940 -   "Jim joined Navy and left for Great Lakes Naval Training Station for 2 months."

Saturday, May 25, 1940 -  "Jim home from Navy with Honorary Discharge papers and button."

And that's it - nothing more about what happened, though I had thought Jim left the service because he had had what used to be called "a nervous breakdown."   Ruth was very careful not to say much about Jim's schizophrenia in writing.  Since there was mandatory military service at that time, perhaps the button was something he could wear to show he had served.

A Tale of Three Uncles - #Two

Here's the story of the second uncle, who's familiar to those who've read Pieces of a Life.  He's Jimmie Meredith, shown watering the grass and flowers in the back yard of the Iowa Street two-flat in Chicago.  The Peterson's garage is behind him and the gate leading to the alley is at the left edge of the picture.  He's near the Meredith garage, which is out of camera view.

Swept up in the tidal wave of patriotism early in 1942, Uncle Jimmie enlisted in the U.S. Navy to fight in World War II.  He had had a history of mental illness for 14 years, but perhaps he had been doing better.  Ruth is usually silent about Jimmie's problems in her diaries, so we can only guess.

Within a few months, Jimmie was back.  He had had a nervous breakdown and was given a medical discharge.  There were pictures of Jimmie in uniform, but they must have been discarded.  I have a memory of touching the white cap and the deep blue bell-bottomed uniform itself long ago, stored in his closet.

The Austin neighborhood on the far west side of Chicago was close-knit.  I imagine that everyone who had lived near 5458 W. Iowa Street a long time, as had the Merediths, would have known about Jimmie's troubles.  Perhaps that would have made it easier to be able-bodied and about 30 years old in time of war.