Frank Patterson Hunter Jr. Letters, 1934

Access and use

Location of collection:
Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia
800 East Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23219
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Archives Reference Services
Phone: (804) 692-3888
Restrictions:

There are no restrictions.

Terms of access:

There are no restrictions.

Preferred citation:

Frank Patterson Hunter Jr. Letters, January-August 1934. Accession 51097. Personal papers collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Summary

Creator:
Hunter, Frank Patterson, 1908-1945
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Frank Patterson Hunter Jr. Letters, January-August 1934. Accession 51097. Personal papers collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Background

Scope and content:

Letters, January-August 1934, from Frank Patterson Hunter Jr. (1908-1945), to his friend William J. Humphreys (1905-1991) of Baltimore, Maryland. Writing first from Randolph Field, Texas, and then Kelly Field, Texas, where he was completing Army Air Corps training, Hunter describes his life as a trainee and discusses the pride and exhilaration he felt as a pilot; hints at a desire to be a writer; offers thoughts on marriage; and speculates on what his next step will be after earning his wings. Also includes two letters, 1984 and 1987, to Sarah Gayle Hunter Randolph, Frank Hunter's daughter, one each from Will Humphreys and his sister, Julia "Boots" Humphreys Wachter (1908-1991).

Biographical / historical:

Frank Patterson Hunter Jr. was born on 21 February 1908, the son of Frank Patterson Hunter and Cora Wilcox Gayler Hunter of Portsmouth, Virginia. He attended St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland, before entering West Point in 1929, graduating with the Class of 1933. He entered the Army Air Corps, earning his wings in October 1934. Hunter completed foreign service in the Panama Canal Zone, then put in stateside service at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, before being called overseas during World War II. On 23 January 1945, while leading the 398th Heavy Bombardment Group into action over the Rhine River town of Neuss, his B-17 sustained a direct hit. Hunter and all but one of his crewmen were killed. He left a widow, Maria Greenough Burgwyn Long (whom he married in December 1934), and their two daughters, Maria Burgwyn and Sarah Gayle. Hunter was the recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross, with Oak Leaf and Crois de Guerre with Palm.

Information taken from a biographical article written about Hunter by his friend, William J. Humphreys (1905-1991).

Acquisition information:
Gift of Sarah Gayle Randolph, Irvington, Virginia, 18 November 2013.
Physical description:
27 pages