I transcribed this article in its entirety since I’ve not had much success in digging up information about the Kansas City Quartermaster Depot, even through Kansas City historians. This seems odd since this had to be a a very important place during the war.
The effects of both Dale and Danny Wilson were sent to the KCQM Depot, from their bases in Port Moresby, New Guinea, and Triolo, Italy. Clabe and Leora Wilson started getting letters from them about where their sons’ clothing, watches, billfolds, stationery, and other items should be sent.
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‘Heartbreak House’ Clears Belonging of Lost Soldiers
KANSAS CITY, MO (AP)–Every week or so, a switch engine shoves a couple of boxcars up to a big, white, 11-story building, once a national mail order house but now the Kansas City quartermaster depot with two floors devoted to the army’s personal effects bureau.
The boxcars bring here, for distribution to relatives, the personal effects of American soldiers who have died or have been killed, captured or listed as missing–the trinkets they treasured, their letters, their money.
Lieut. Col. John R. Murphy, who under Col. C. J. Black, the depot’s commanding officer, has been in charge of the bureau through its two years of existence, says it takes six months to a year–and three entries in the big files–to complete the final record on many soldiers.
Money.
Their money usually arrives first; next may be the billfolds, pictures and letters they had with them when they died; finally comes the articles left in their quarters when they went out to their last battle.
The bureau has had to feel its way along, for it is without a precedent, so far as Colonel Murphy knows.
During the last war, the personal effects were cleared through Hoboken, N. J., and several others points, and difficulties encountered were almost as great as the variety of articles shipped home. This time it was decided to have one distributing point, centrally located.
Next of Kin.
Most cases cause little trouble. The property is received, the next of kin is found, and the effects are sent on by mail, express or freight. (If the package weighs less than four pounds, the post office department carries it free.)
All this would be as cold and as impersonal as death itself if Colonel Murphy didn’t believe this bureau should utilize something more than just another form letter.
As he wrote to a congressman who inquired about the bureau: “A am ever conscious that we here at the bureau are dealing with wives, mothers and fathers who have made, through the loss of their husband or son, a tremendous sacrifice.”
Letters.
Letters to the bureau display a cross section of life. Some of a son’s belongings haven’t arrived yet, so a father demands:
“I want to know what has been done about the property stolen from my son’s footlocker. The government stole half his check, now all his effects. Nothing could be lower than this.”
A mother, who has received her son’s effects, writes:
“I know, dear people, this is merely routine work, ‘your job,’ to you, but it’s very special and wonderful to us. God bless you all.”
And then there are the problems which make filling out an income tax blank seem easy. A fairly common one: A soldier marries; doesn’t tell his mother. To whom shall the effects be sent?
Investigation.
A father writes that he is sure his son had much more money than was returned, and will the army please hurry the rest along immediately.
An investigation discloses that the soldier neglected neither wine, women nor son, that he repeatedly was absent without leave, that the surprising thing is that he had any money left at all. How should this news be broken to the father?
A girl wrote to inquire what had been done with her brother’s belongings. She knew exactly where everything should go, she said, for her brother had written he was sending them. Queer, thought the colonel, how did the fellow know his number was up?
The answer was simple, but shocking. He had gotten into serious trouble, was court-martialed and executed.
The army tactfully reported he had died “not in the line of duty.” The sister never guessed why her brother knew that death was near.
Understanding.
All this means that 7,000 letters, tactful and understanding, go out of here ach week, for the bureau wants this last contact most relatives will have with the army to be sympathetic. “Very little of the glory of war in this business,” declares the colonel.
To all those who fret because personal effects are slow in coming, there is this assurance:
The army wants to deliver these things as quickly as possible; indeed, it has to keep them moving. For this bureau grows as casualty lists grow, and, as the boxcars keep moving in, packages and boxes must go out or even this mammoth storeroom will have more than it can handle.
The Des Moines Tribune, Mar. __, 1944
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My earlier post about the KCQM Depot.
[…] article about the Kansas City Quartermaster […]
A sad fact of the war that few even think about–except the families left behind.
Along with the amazing Graves Registration Teams. What a terrible but important job they had to do.
Colonel Murphy must have been a sensitive and admirable man.
Indeed. Until your comment, I hadn’t tried to find information about him, but found an article (with photo) in a volume of “The Michigan Alumnus.” He had a law degree.
Have heard stories of how the personal effects of the deceased were pilfered at Kansas City. Hope that didn’t happen with the Wilson brothers…
Really heartbreaking. Their cash was sent home ahead of the rest. Neither brother kept much anyway. The hard one for me is that Dale kept a diary. On one list of his things, there was a diary with * next to it. Below, it was noted “removed for the duration.” The diary was never sent to his folks. They did send his logbook, which listed his missions, but I had no luck locating the diary. (There are several in the Harry Truman museum.)
My grandfather was Col. John R Murphy WWII I have most of the letters that were sent to next of kin. In re4ading through them all I can assure you it did not. it would seem that most of the mess was from men not telling parents or others they had married or due to the times there were actual fights over the things these men owned. It also was hard to find everything if they were killed in theater how they were and how they were dealt with at time of death. it was an absolute disaster for my grandfather to come up with a way to deal with it all but he did and later this model is what the VA was based on and my grandfather went on to help form that and was with the VA until 1972. He was granted 3 extensions of service in the Army and is one of three who served as much time as he did in the army sapning from WWII until 1972.
There certainly were issues with new wives and the parents of the MIA. Bless the KCQM Depot for wading through of that! Dale Wilson’s was much easier since he never married. I think maybe things got hectic at the end of the war and some things may just be in a warehouse somewhere.
Hi Jim … I am writing a piece about the Army Effects Bureau and would love to connect with you about your grandfather and his work. I can be reached at: kimclarkewrites[AT]gmail[DOT]com. (Spelled out to avoid spammers). Thank you.
This came to me instead of to Jim. I’ll see what I can do.
Thank you for your help, and apologies for the confusion.
Hi Jim … I am writing a piece about the Army Effects Bureau and would love to connect with you about your grandfather and his work. I can be reached at: kimclarkewrites[AT]gmail[DOT]com. (Spelled out to avoid spammers). Thank you.
Hello my name is James H Murphy and my grandfather was Col. John R Murphy. My father passed a few years ago and in moving my mother out into a smaller place I came across three foot lockers. One of them belongs to my grandfather it was filled with these letters 100’s upon 100’s of them. I also have an entire history of the bureau until my grandfather was hand picked to help with the formation of what is now called the veterans administration. My grandfather would go on to become Col. at fort Snelling Mn. where he and my grandmother both lay at rest. My grandfathers brother was Lt. Col. James Donald Murphy and was a key lawyer in the Hadamar trials and the German war crimes trials in Nuremburg. and then later became a judge here in Kansas city and was the first federal appellate court judge in Jackson County Missouri Truman put him on the bench were he served until 1972 and he retired. If you would like to know more please let me know I have a lot of the letters that were issues from then
Thank you for your note. It sounds like your grandfather was the perfect person to be in charge of the Quartermaster Depot there. I was surprised not to be able to find more information about how things were handled. The most distressing thing about it was that the diary of Dale Wilson, whose remains have never been found, was “removed for the duration” and never sent to my grandparents. I wrote about the family in “Leora’s Letters: The Story of Love and Loss for an Iowa Family During World War II.” All five sons served. Only two came home. I’m working on “What Leora Never Knew: A Granddaughter’s Quest for Answers.” https://joynealkidney.com/2021/09/08/kansas-city-quartermaster-depot/
What an interesting post about a very difficult job. Just finding the recipients would have been a real challenge. Too bad they are not always met with thankfulness.
Thank you for your note. They did it all without computers! I do wish they’d sent one uncle’s diary on to my grandparents after the war. It had been “removed for duration.” https://joynealkidney.com/2019/12/27/dale-wilsons-diary-removed-forever/