Falloway, Joseph Tilford Letters, 1942-1945

Held by The Filson Historical Society 

Creator:  Falloway, Joseph Tilford

Title:  Letters, 1942-1945 

Rights: For information regarding literary and copyright interest for these papers, contact the Collections Department. 

Size of Collection:  0.33 cubic feet 

Location Number:  Mss. A F196 

Scope and Content Note 

The Joseph T. Falloway letters consist of 20 letters written by Pvt. Joseph Tilford Falloway to his family in Raywick, Kentucky, while serving in the Army in the Station Hospital mess at Camp Fannin, Texas. His letters consistently refer to the weather and crops in Texas and at his home in Raywick and the production and harvest of his father’s tobacco crops. The letters also describe particular meals he has cooked, his interactions with the German prisoners of war, occasional comments on the status of the war, and questions about and updates on friends and other family members. He also sends a mess menu from the week of Thanksgiving 1945. There are two brief letters written by his brother, William R. Falloway, who is stationed in Luxembourg and then Germany, as well as a Mother’s Day card from an unidentified person,“Pvt. Chalon Falloway.” 

Biographical Note 

Joseph Tilford Falloway was born in Raywick, Kentucky in 1909 to Milt and Etter Falloway. As reported by Falloway in a letter of 31 January 1943, Falloway is unsure of his true name. He states that his lost birth certificate said Brock, but he is known as Joseph Tilford Falloway. At the end of the letter he writes: “Joseph Brock Tilford Falloway b. May 9, 1909.” He was the first of seven children. He served in the Army on kitchen patrol at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and Camp Forrest, Tennessee. He spent the majority of his time in the service as a cook at Camp Fannin, Texas during World War II and held the rank of Private. 

William Falloway, Joseph’s brother, was born in Raywick, Kentucky in 1911. He served in the Army with the rank of Private and was sent abroad to serve in Luxembourg and Germany. 

Sources: Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002. 

Folder List 

Box 1 

Folder 1: Letters, June 1942-December 1944 

Folder 2: Letters, February-April 1945 

Folder 3: Letters, May 1945 

Folder 4: Letters, June-December 1945 

 

Subject Headings 

Agriculture – Kentucky  

Agriculture – Texas  

Alcoholism  

Camp Fannin (Tex.)  

Farm life – Kentucky  

Kentucky – Social life and customs  

Prisoners of war – Germany  

Prisoners of war – United States – Texas  

Tobacco farms – Kentucky  

United States. Army – Military life.  

United States. Army – Pay, allowances, etc.  

United States – Armed Forces – Messes  

World War, 1939-1945 – Prisoners and prisons