Letters From My Son
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Rooted in the great state of Texas, the adventures of Early Willson Junior immerse the reader in
life during the depression, the beginnings of World War II and society goings on.
Perhaps many of you have not had the experience of taking a trip by air, for you who have not, I am going to tell you of a trip I
took from Austin to San Antonio, Texas.
I boarded the fast monoplane at the Municipal Air Port, Austin, Texas. In a moment I saw a man, dressed in a white suit, board
the plane; on his cap I could see the letters “Chief Pilot”. The motors were gunned up very much, and presently the small plane
was rolling across the field. Faster and faster it went, and in a second we shot into the air.
The town of Austin looked like a large checker board spread out in every direction. When we started on our cross country
flight, we were flying very high and going very fast, but to me it seems we were going slow. The below country reminded me of
a large patchwork quilt I have seen Mother making.
We flew over rivers, small towns and farms. On coming into San Antonio, we flew over. “Randolph Field”. We flew over the
heart of town, and on out to Winburn Field, where we came down for a graceful landing.
As long as I live I shall consider this as the most outstanding trip that I have ever had.
-Robert Early Willson, Jr. 1934, age 15
And so it began. A journey that would take a simple boy from Texas to the big city of New York
to rub elbows with Dorothy Lamour and Cab Calloway, on to the historic field from which Howard
Hughes and Amelia Earhart soared into record books, and finally across the ocean to “give his
all” in World War II with Churchill’s celebrated Royal Air Force of Britain. A journey that lay
hidden in a trunk for almost fifty years and a story unspoken by a family unable to ever stem the
pain of their loss. And it began in a dusty box of letters that Early Jr. himself told of his
exhilarating and tragic life’s journey.
Review from HistoryOfWar.org
Letters from my Son: A Texas Boy's Journey to the RAF, Dolcie Suggs Ehlinger & Karen Guelfo Ehlinger
This book is based on a collection of letters written to his parents by Early Willson Jr, an American who volunteered for the
RAF before the United States entered the Second World War. The letters start when Early was only seven and end just
before his tragic death in 1941. During this period Early Jr went to and then dropped out of college, then moved to New
York to study photography, but a constant threat is his love of flying, from his first flight as a passenger, to his first flying
lessons, the purchase of his own aircraft and eventually the decision to join the RAF.
The letters provide the framework for the biography. They were discovered amongst his mother’s effects by his niece,
Dolcie Suggs Ehlinger, and gave her a window into the life of an uncle she had never known. Early Jr’s character comes
through very clearly, and the reconstructed background feels very convincing. Early himself comes across as likable but a
little reckless and prone to sudden decisions (dropping out of college and running to sea or indeed joining the RAF). Some of
his letters from college will be familiar to anyone who has been away to university (including asking his father if he’d
‘forgotten’ to send the requested money).
The later parts of the book are a somewhat melancholy read, knowing as we do that Early won’t survive (although the tone
of the book itself doesn’t change). Although the RAF section only covers a small part of the book, for me it is valuable
work, helping to explain why one Texas boy chose to give up everything he know to volunteer to fly with the RAF
-HistoryofWar.org
life during the depression, the beginnings of World War II and society goings on.
Perhaps many of you have not had the experience of taking a trip by air, for you who have not, I am going to tell you of a trip I
took from Austin to San Antonio, Texas.
I boarded the fast monoplane at the Municipal Air Port, Austin, Texas. In a moment I saw a man, dressed in a white suit, board
the plane; on his cap I could see the letters “Chief Pilot”. The motors were gunned up very much, and presently the small plane
was rolling across the field. Faster and faster it went, and in a second we shot into the air.
The town of Austin looked like a large checker board spread out in every direction. When we started on our cross country
flight, we were flying very high and going very fast, but to me it seems we were going slow. The below country reminded me of
a large patchwork quilt I have seen Mother making.
We flew over rivers, small towns and farms. On coming into San Antonio, we flew over. “Randolph Field”. We flew over the
heart of town, and on out to Winburn Field, where we came down for a graceful landing.
As long as I live I shall consider this as the most outstanding trip that I have ever had.
-Robert Early Willson, Jr. 1934, age 15
And so it began. A journey that would take a simple boy from Texas to the big city of New York
to rub elbows with Dorothy Lamour and Cab Calloway, on to the historic field from which Howard
Hughes and Amelia Earhart soared into record books, and finally across the ocean to “give his
all” in World War II with Churchill’s celebrated Royal Air Force of Britain. A journey that lay
hidden in a trunk for almost fifty years and a story unspoken by a family unable to ever stem the
pain of their loss. And it began in a dusty box of letters that Early Jr. himself told of his
exhilarating and tragic life’s journey.
Review from HistoryOfWar.org
Letters from my Son: A Texas Boy's Journey to the RAF, Dolcie Suggs Ehlinger & Karen Guelfo Ehlinger
This book is based on a collection of letters written to his parents by Early Willson Jr, an American who volunteered for the
RAF before the United States entered the Second World War. The letters start when Early was only seven and end just
before his tragic death in 1941. During this period Early Jr went to and then dropped out of college, then moved to New
York to study photography, but a constant threat is his love of flying, from his first flight as a passenger, to his first flying
lessons, the purchase of his own aircraft and eventually the decision to join the RAF.
The letters provide the framework for the biography. They were discovered amongst his mother’s effects by his niece,
Dolcie Suggs Ehlinger, and gave her a window into the life of an uncle she had never known. Early Jr’s character comes
through very clearly, and the reconstructed background feels very convincing. Early himself comes across as likable but a
little reckless and prone to sudden decisions (dropping out of college and running to sea or indeed joining the RAF). Some of
his letters from college will be familiar to anyone who has been away to university (including asking his father if he’d
‘forgotten’ to send the requested money).
The later parts of the book are a somewhat melancholy read, knowing as we do that Early won’t survive (although the tone
of the book itself doesn’t change). Although the RAF section only covers a small part of the book, for me it is valuable
work, helping to explain why one Texas boy chose to give up everything he know to volunteer to fly with the RAF
-HistoryofWar.org
ISBN 9781884820045
285 pp.
$22.95
by
Dolcie Suggs Ehlinger
Karen Guelfo Ehlinger
285 pp.
$22.95
by
Dolcie Suggs Ehlinger
Karen Guelfo Ehlinger
Best Book 2011 Awards
Non-Fiction Narrative
Finalist
Non-Fiction Narrative
Finalist
