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Patricia Albrecht’s Letter to Mrs. Buslee
In mid-March 1945, Patricia Albrecht, the wife of Buslee crew co-pilot David Franklin Albrecht, sent Mrs. Buslee, John Oliver (Jay) Buslee’s mother, this letter. Both the Albrecht and Buslee families had learned the sad fate of their sons who died side by side in the cockpit of the B-17 43-37822 in the skies above Magdeburg, Germany on September 28, 1944.
March 18, 1945
Scribner, Nebr.
Dearest Mrs. Buslee:
Your letter went on to Chico, and then back here. I’ve been with Dave’s folks just a week now.
It was grand to hear from you. I haven’t written any letters since I received the news. It doesn’t seem possible and I hope it isn’t true, but I would hate to believe him alive and then someday realize he wasn’t. We heard that the boys’ plane was cut in half by another B-17, out of control. The only hope is that they may have bailed out before, but if they didn’t I can’t imagine them living through such a collision, but as you, am not going to give up hope entirely until the war in Germany is over.
I guess as far as the Government is concerned the case is closed. They have been sending me papers to fill out for Dave’s insurance. I can’t hardly bring myself to fill them out, but suppose I will have to.
I mailed Marilyn a card yesterday telling her about it. Now, I realize I shouldn’t have, but too late now. She made me promise to tell her when I heard something.
I received the pkg. and should have thanked you before now, but you know how you just can’t write now and then. The robe was beautiful and the baby has started to play with toys a little and the toy really catches her eyes. I have a picture to send you of the baby when she was 6 weeks old. She will be 4 months the 8 and weighs about 14 lbs. She looks exactly like Dave did and is just beautiful. I can’t even dream what I’d do without her.
Do you have Chet’s address? I was so glad for him. I imagine it seems pretty swell to him to be home again.
Write again soon please. We don’t know any more about the boys, and the minute we hear some news I’ll write. I’ve been thinking about you folks and Janice a lot. Tell Janice to drop a line. I thought so much of Janice and Gene. I hope to remain
Your Friend Always,
Pat & Nancy
Notes
- David and Patricia Albrecht married on December 24, 1943. Their daughter, Nancy, was born on December 8, 1944, while Dave Albrecht was still considered missing in action over Germany. Patricia was from Chico, California.
- Marilyn was Marilyn Fryden, widow of Marvin Fryden, the original bombardier of the Buslee crew who was killed on his second mission on August 5, 1944.
- Chet was Chester Rybarczyk, original navigator of the Buslee crew who was not on board the Buslee crew’s B-17 on September 28, 1944 when it collided with another B-17.
- Janice was Janice Buslee, the Buslee’s daughter and John Oliver (Jay) Buslee’s sister, married to Gene Kielhofer.
Thank you to John Dale Kielhofer, John Oliver (Jay) Buslee’s nephew, for sharing this family letter with me.
© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2020
A Deep Hurt That Cannot Be Reached
Four days after his last note to the Buslee family, Louis Albrecht, father of the Buslee crew co-pilot David Franklin Albrecht, sent them this letter of sympathy. Both the Albrecht and Buslee families had learned the sad fate of their sons who died side by side in the cockpit of the B-17 43-37822 in the skies above Magdeburg, Germany on September 28, 1944.
Feb. 3, 1945
Congregational Church
Scribner, Nebr.
Louis M. Albrecht, Pastor
Mr. & Mrs. John Buslee
Chicago, Ill.
Dear Friends: Your letter received. We received the same kind of a message. Our sympathy is with you. There is little that a person can say. Just a deep hurt that can not be reached. Our boys have done their duty and I try to feel that this is more than life. I wouldn’t want David to be alive in some men’s shoes. Our younger son was wounded Dec. 1. He was still in the hospital the last we heard. We expect David’s wife to come to be with us soon. May God’s power be with you in our prayer.
Rev. & Mrs. Louis M. Albrecht & Girls
Thank you to John Dale Kielhofer, John Oliver (Jay) Buslee’s nephew, for sharing this family letter with me.
© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2020
Sad News from Louis Albrecht
Eight days after his first letter to the Buslee family, Louis Albrecht, father of the Buslee crew co-pilot David Franklin Albrecht, sent them this short, sad note.
January 30, 1945
(Incorrectly dated Dec. 30, 1945)
Dear Friends. We have just received word that David was killed in action Sept. 28, 1944. We hope you have had better news.
Truly Yours,
Louis M. Albrecht
Scribner, Nebr.
Unfortunately, the Buslee family had received the same sad news on January 28, 1945, which they shared in a letter to my grandmother, Raleigh Mae Farrar, the mother of Buslee crew waist gunner, George Edwin Farrar, my father.
Thank you to John Dale Kielhofer, John Oliver (Jay) Buslee’s nephew, for sharing this family letter with me.
© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2020
Louis Albrecht Letter to the Buslees
Almost four months since the B-17’s of the Buslee and Brodie crews of the 384th Bomb Group collided over Magdeburg, Germany, the father of David Franklin Albrecht, co-pilot of the Buslee crew, wrote a letter to Jay Buslee’s (the pilot’s) parents. The boys were still considered Missing in Action.
January 22, 1945
(Letter incorrectly dated December 22, 1945)
Congregational Church
Scribner, Nebr.
Louis M. Albrecht, PastorMr. John Buslee
Park Ridge, Illinois.Dear Friends: We appreciate your letters and interest and wish to thank you. I am enclosing a copy of a circular letter which we sent to a number of our friends. There is very little to add. We are anxiously waiting every day for more news.
Pat [David Albrect’s wife Patricia] has had her baby girl now. She is getting along real well. Since her folks are working that leaves her with the house work and she seems to be very busy. She plans to come out to be with us soon.
Our second boy had a very narrow escape. A machine gun was turned onto his buddy and himself. His buddy was killed. Junior received some scalp wounds. The last letter was written Jan. 8. He doesn’t expect to get to the front line till spring. We hope and pray that the war may be over before he has to get into action.
We have also been writing to different members of the families of our boys crew. The news and response was similar to that which you received. We also hope with you for more and better news.
Sincerely yours,
Louis M. Albrecht
Mr. Albrecht included the circular letter,
Undated
(Enclosed Circular Letter)
Congregational Church
Scribner, Nebr.
Louis M. Albrecht, PastorDear Friends: As you can see by the heading we are now located at Scribner. Several factors entered to make moving advisable. This is a large town, a bigger field, and has more desirable school facilities. It seemed to be an advicable step from every viewpoint.
The people here are just wonderful, but that is nothing unusual, as we have always found excellent people wherever we were. We have had extremes of joys and sorrows during the past few months and found that friends from everywhere prayed for and sympathized with us. During the last three months we received in the neighborhood of three hundred lovely cards and messages of sympathy and good will. It is almost impossible to write a personal letter to all but we want you to know that we appreciate your kindnesses and thoughtfulness. We would enjoy a visit from you.
Our older son, David, has been missing since Sept 28 1944. We have not received any other information. He had been commended for meritorious service and had attained the rank of First Lieut. The younger boy, Louis Jr. through a series of bad breaks caused mostly by political bungling, was finally reverted to the infantry and went into active service in Holland and Germany. He was wounded while in action at the front in Germany on Dec. 1 and is now recuperating in England. He is probably back at the front by this time. He has been awarded the purple heart. Last letter written Dec. 26.
The rest of us are here; the girls in school and Mrs. A. and I are trying to do the pastoral work for this parish. This is a town of about one thousand, mixed nationalities but a majority of German descent. It is a beautiful town located on the Elkhorn River. The church and parsonage are side by side and the city park is just across the street to the east. The church had been re-decorated during the past year. New chancel and pews. We have a nice pipe organ and gas heat throughout. No coal to carry nor ashes to clean out. Just keep warm and pay the bills at the end of every month.
There have been quite a number of deaths this fall. Mostly older people. This town was hit by a terrific flood last June 11. It has almost fully recovered. The people set to work with a will and have re-built better than ever. The railroad to Dodge and beyond is almost ready for use.
We hope that this circular letter will partly compensate for the nice messages and cards we have received. May God’s blessings be with you and protect you and yours is our prayer.
Mr. and Mrs. Louis K. Albrecht and Girls.
The 1st Congregational Church of Scribner, Nebraska is today known as United Church of Christ. It is located at 614 Howard Street.
Thank you to John Dale Kielhofer, John Oliver (Jay) Buslee’s nephew, for sharing this family letter with me.
© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2020
The Albrecht Family
The next letter to arrive at the Farrar household was from the father of the Lead Banana’s co-pilot, David Franklin Albrecht. Louis M. Albrecht was pastor of the Congregational Church in Scribner, Nebraska.
June 5, 1945
Congregational Church
Scribner, Nebr.
Louis M. Albrecht, PastorMrs. R. M. Farrar
Atlanta, GeorgiaOur Dear Mrs. Farrar:
We have been wondering whether you have heard anything more about your boy. If you have we want to know. We do hope that he wasn’t killed and that he will come back to you. Our boy David was finally declared killed. We had a memorial service in his memory March 25. Our other son is still in Germany. He was wounded last winter but is back with his company. He was in the last two month’s of fighting. Our daughter-in-law was with us two months this past winter. We surely enjoyed the baby. She is the sweetest little thing we have ever seen.
The people around here are keeping up their spirits very cheerfully. They have all been so kind to us. There are many others who have tragedies to bear.
We like this town and our work. We have two girls. One has just graduated from High School and the other is eleven years old. There are many things to keep us busy.
If you have time will you please let us know what you have heard. Our prayers are with you and for your boy’s safety.
Truly yours,
Louis M. Albrecht
What is war? Not why is a war waged, but what is war, what does war really mean? I ask myself this over and over, especially as I read these letters from the families of the boys lost in WWII. The most overwhelming answer I come back to again and again is that war is the destruction of family.
Take the family of David Franklin Albrecht. A mother and father lost their son. Two young girls lost their brother. A young wife lost her husband. And an infant daughter lost the father she never had the chance to know. David Franklin Albrecht died before she was even born. Back in 1944, he didn’t know if he was going to be a father to a daughter or a son. That kind of technology didn’t exist.
Is there any tragedy in life worse than the destruction of family? Two planes collide in the heat of battle over Magdeburg, Germany. Of the eighteen men on the two planes, only four survive to continue their lives and continue their families. The families of fourteen men are destroyed at the instant of ten minutes past noon on September 28, 1944.
So now that we know what war is and understand what war does to families, now we can ask “Why is war?” David Franklin Albrecht’s daughter and I would like to know why the ultimate conflict resolution must be war and family destruction.
© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2014
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