Somewhere in India...One Soldier's Experiences in World War II

Contributed by Rose Buchanan and Rachel Jacobson

Although born in 1917, John Augustus Moore, Jr., was like many young people today. He grew up in semi-rural Franklinton, North Carolina, as the youngest of three children. His father, John Sr., ran the Sterling Cotton Mill Company, while his mother, Mabel Vann Moore, raised the three children and was active in community service. John Jr. went to UNC-Chapel Hill for his undergraduate degree, where he made new friends, rushed a fraternity, and struggled with tough courses. Like many students today, John Jr. also worried about the future; he wanted to go to graduate school for business, but he was not sure if his grades were good enough. When he was finally accepted into the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania in 1939, John Jr. (and his parents) breathed a sigh of relief. His future would be bright indeed.

But then something happened, something that separates John Jr.’s experiences from those of young Americans today. John was drafted. He and his family suspected it was coming, as the United States had declared its intentions to go to war with Germany and Japan in 1941, after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Moreover, John Jr. had a low draft number, meaning that he would be in the first wave of men called into combat. When he received that call in 1942, not long after graduating from Wharton, John packed up, said goodbye to his family, and moved to Florida to begin training.

We are familiar with John Augustus Moore, Jr.’s story, similar to many other Americans' experiences during World War II, because his family’s letters and papers were recently donated to the NCSU Special Collections Research Center. This collection, the Elizabeth Vann Moore Family Papers, includes family history materials as well as extensive records about the day-to-day operations of the Sterling Cotton Mill. The letters between John Jr. and his family date mainly from the late 1930s through the 1960s, and they include his wartime correspondence. John wrote frequently to his mother, Mabel, while he was in military training and later, while he served in the Pacific Theater as a Captain of the Army Air Force. John talked about conditions in the Army and how he missed Mabel’s cooking, but also about the course of the war and when he thought it might end. The letters that Mabel and others sent to John updated him on events at home and expressed their hope that he would return safely. The letters are therefore an excellent resource on soldiers’ experiences in World War II and their families’ experiences at home.

John Jr.’s military service ended with the conclusion of the war. After his father’s death in 1947, John Jr. returned to North Carolina and took over the management of the Sterling Cotton Mill Company. He married Margaret (Peggy) Parsley Young in the early 1950s, and had a son, John Augustus Moore III, in 1956. Although he died in 1982, John’s memory lives on in the letters and memorabilia preserved in Special Collections. For more information about John and his family, please consult the Special Collections Research Center staff.