{"id":19248,"date":"2016-05-30T07:38:13","date_gmt":"2016-05-30T11:38:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=19248"},"modified":"2016-05-30T07:38:13","modified_gmt":"2016-05-30T11:38:13","slug":"wwii-correspondence-collection-highlights-pow-radio-letters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/05\/wwii-correspondence-collection-highlights-pow-radio-letters\/","title":{"rendered":"WWII Correspondence Collection highlights POW radio letters"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Atwater-Kent-Dial\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Many thanks to SWLing Post<\/em> contributor, Richard Cuff, who shared the following article via the Winter SWL Fest email group:<\/p>\n

(Source: Ithaca.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n

He Got News to Families of POWs<\/strong><\/p>\n

The word \u201carchives\u201d can conjure up an image of dusty boxes of documents and sepia photographs. Do not be deceived. In fact, the files in the Tompkins County History Center Archives are filled with stories and all manner of tantalizing clues and evidence about the lives of those who came before us. And in the hands of Archives Director Donna Eschenbrenner\u2014knowledgeable, helpful, ever eager to assist\u2014those files can come alive.<\/em><\/p>\n

Such a collection is file V-63-7-6, the \u2018Meredith Brill WWII Correspondence Collection. In early 1944 15-year-old Caroline resident Meredith (\u201cBub\u201d to his family) Brill was a shortwave radio enthusiast. What made Brill remarkable is that he was able, with his radio, to get information from Nazi-occupied Europe thousands of miles away, about American servicemen who had been taken prisoner by the Germans. He wrote the names, ranks serial numbers and home addresses down, and then sent letters to the families of the prisoners. He wrote dozens of such letters. The archives file is comprised of thank-you letters from those families, Brill\u2019s notebooks and some of his letters that were returned unread.<\/em><\/p>\n

His own letters are extraordinary. They are simple without being blunt, and his all-caps typewritten directness doesn\u2019t disguise the very human impulse to ease a family\u2019s anxiety. \u201cI hope this information will be of help to you because I know many parents worry a great deal about their sons and daughters in the service.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Shortwave radios captured the imagination of a lot of young people in those days. The technology has been called the \u201cfirst internet.\u201d A shortwave radio uses frequencies just above the medium AM broadcast band, and it can be used for very long distance reception by means of \u201cskip propagation,\u201d in which the radio waves are reflected back to earth from the ionosphere. It allows communication around the curvature of the earth. Sound quality can vary greatly, and it depends on the season and time of day, but you can hear broadcasts from around the world. Generally, the signals are best at night.[…]<\/em><\/p>\n

Continue reading at Ithaca.com…<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Back in 2011, I posted a short review of\u00a0Lisa Spahr\u2019s book,\u00a0World War II Radio Heroes<\/em><\/a>,\u00a0which also focuses on these amazing POW messages. Such a fascinating piece of WWII radio history.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Richard Cuff, who shared the following article via the Winter SWL Fest email group: (Source: Ithaca.com) He Got News to Families of POWs The word \u201carchives\u201d can conjure up an image of dusty boxes of documents and sepia photographs. Do not be deceived. In fact, the files in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[960,3,305,288,43],"tags":[4119,4091,390,676,1301],"class_list":["post-19248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-international-broadcasting","category-news","category-nostalgia","category-radio-history","category-shortwave-radio","tag-propaganda","tag-radio-history","tag-world-war-ii-radio-heroes","tag-wwii","tag-wwii-radio"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-50s","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8893,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/03\/1945-radio-canada-internationals-first-broadcast\/","url_meta":{"origin":19248,"position":0},"title":"1945: Radio Canada International’s first broadcast","author":"Thomas","date":"March 26, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to Mark for sharing this bit of radio history from the CBC Digital Archives: \"In February 1945, the \"Voice of Canada\" spoke to the world for the first time. The CBC International Service was founded to broadcast to Canadian Forces overseas in the Second World War. At war's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"RadioListening","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/RadioListening-300x190.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":18852,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/05\/from-the-bbc-archives-the-first-21-years-of-the-world-service\/","url_meta":{"origin":19248,"position":1},"title":"From the BBC Archives: The first 21 years of the World Service","author":"Thomas","date":"May 18, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor,\u00a0Andrea Borgnino, who shares a link to the excellent archived radio documentary,\u00a0The first 21 years of the World Service, via the\u00a0BBC World Service's\u00a0online audio archives. The recording\/broadcast dates from\u00a0December, 18 1953.\u00a0Here's the description of the recording: The first 21 years of the World Service: how\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"BBC-AT-WAR","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/BBC-AT-WAR.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/BBC-AT-WAR.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/BBC-AT-WAR.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":37964,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/05\/from-the-post-archives-honoring-memorial-day-with-dame-vera-lynn\/","url_meta":{"origin":19248,"position":2},"title":"From the Post Archives: Honoring Memorial Day with Dame Vera Lynn","author":"Thomas","date":"May 27, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The following Memorial Day post was originally published on May 25th, 2015: Today is Memorial Day, and I'm feeling humbly grateful to all of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country. Since I've been reading a lot of\u00a0WWII history lately,\u00a0I've also been playing a lot of WWII-era music\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Dame Vera Lynn","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Dame-Vera-Lynn.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":36610,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/03\/wwii-machine-shop-supervision-film-includes-the-hammarlund-super-pro\/","url_meta":{"origin":19248,"position":3},"title":"WWII Machine Shop Supervision film includes the Hammarlund Super Pro","author":"Thomas","date":"March 17, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Colin Snow (KM6NTW), who notes that the following 1944 film \"Maintaining Workers' Interest\" from the US Office of Education, features the Hammarlund Super Pro. The video starts at the point in the film where the Super Pro is featured. To view the film from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Boat Anchors"","block_context":{"text":"Boat Anchors","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/boat-anchors-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Hammarlund-Super-Pro-WWII.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Hammarlund-Super-Pro-WWII.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Hammarlund-Super-Pro-WWII.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Hammarlund-Super-Pro-WWII.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":59910,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2024\/06\/wwii-radio-history-d-day-broadcasting-and-communications\/","url_meta":{"origin":19248,"position":4},"title":"WWII Radio History: D-Day broadcasting and communications","author":"Thomas","date":"June 4, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Kris Partridge, who writes: With the imminent approach, Thursday, June 6, 2024, of the 80th anniversary of D-Day, followed by operation Overlord. Being both a radio amateur and in the broadcast industry , I have done a little research and find the two items,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Operation-Overlord-D-Day.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Operation-Overlord-D-Day.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Operation-Overlord-D-Day.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Operation-Overlord-D-Day.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Operation-Overlord-D-Day.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":63076,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/06\/how-radio-carried-the-news-of-d-day-broadcasts-from-june-6-1944\/","url_meta":{"origin":19248,"position":5},"title":"How Radio Carried the News of D-Day: Broadcasts from June 6, 1944","author":"Thomas","date":"June 6, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Today marks the anniversary of D-Day\u2014Operation Overlord\u2014the Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944. If you\u2019ve never listened to how the news broke here in the U.S., the Internet Archive hosts a remarkable collection of recordings from that historic day. It\u2019s fascinating to hear the unfolding coverage in real\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/media-dday-anniversary-lg05.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/media-dday-anniversary-lg05.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/media-dday-anniversary-lg05.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/media-dday-anniversary-lg05.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/media-dday-anniversary-lg05.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/media-dday-anniversary-lg05.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19248","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19248"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19248\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}