John V. Scanlan (1921-1945) Correspondence, 1941-1948
Held by The Filson Historical Society
Creator: Scanlan, John V., 1921-1945
Title: Correspondence, 1941-1948
Rights: For information regarding literary and copyright interest for these papers, contact the Collections Department.
Size of Collection: 0.5 cu. ft.
Location Number: Mss. A S283
Biographical Note
Lt. John “Jack” Vincent Scanlan (1921-1945) grew up at 1223 Goss Avenue in Louisville, Kentucky. His parents were Joseph Michael Scanlan (1891-1948) and Catherine Ann Scanlan (1896-1984), and his siblings were Vera Cockrell (1918-2014), Col. Joseph “Joe” William Scanlan (1920-2008), Maj. William “Bill” Joseph Scanlan (1923-2013), and Catherine Taylor (1929-1969).
Scanlan attended Saint Xavier High School and the University of Louisville and then worked at the United States Army Signal Corps School in Lexington, Kentucky. On December 8, 1942, he was certified as a War Production Job Instructor. Job Instructors trained new employees in production methods, so he likely held this position before entering the Army Air Forces (AAF).
Scanlan began his AAF training at the Sheppard Field, Texas, training facility in January 1943. In March 1943, he was transferred to the West Texas State Teachers College in Canyon, Texas, where he and other AAF students received physical training, academic instruction, and flight instruction. Scanlan received a graduation letter at his college address on June 17, 1943.
Soon after graduation, he was transferred to the Army Air Forces Classification Center, Santa Ana Army Air Base, Santa Ana, California. At classification centers, students were assigned to the pilot, bombardier, or navigator track. Scanlan became a fighter pilot. He stayed in Santa Ana until early September 1943. Afterwards, he was transferred to the 16th Army Air Forces Flying Training Detachment (AAFFTD) in Wickenburg, Arizona. Also known as Echeverria Field, this location provided students with flight training. Letters for this address are postmarked September 14-October 29, 1943. In early November, Scanlan was stationed at War Eagle Fields, 14th AAFFTD, in Lancaster, California, which provided flight training. He remained there until at least December 11, 1943. By January 3, 1944, Scanlan was stationed at Luke Field Air Force Base in Phoenix, Arizona. The base provided fighter pilot training. He graduated in March or April 1944.
In April 1944, Scanlan began serving overseas in the Pacific Theater as a P-51 Mustang fighter pilot in the 47th Fighter Squadron of the United States Army Air Forces. On June 23, 1945, P-51s from the 47th Fighter Squadron, including Scanlan’s, began taking off from their base on Iwo Jima for the very long-range mission to the mainland of Japan, specifically Shimodate Airfield, a bomber base northeast of Tokyo. Scanlan’s plane was shot down over Japan; officials later discovered that a severely injured Scanlan was captured by Japanese forces and killed by civilians. His wingman Robert S. Scamara saw Scanlan’s plane shot down and his parachute successfully deploy. In 1946, his mother was still petitioning the War Department for information about his whereabouts, and the Army Air Forces still listed him as missing in action (MIA) in April of that year. A report of internment dated May 21, 1946, identifies Scanlan’s remains and lists his place of death as Sawara, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. An August 29, 1946, draft report from the Identification Section of the Repatriation and Records Branch, Memorial Division, indicates that Scanlan’s remains were disinterred. They were later moved to Arlington Cemetery in the United States.
Scope and Content Note
This collection primarily consists of correspondence from 1943-1944 to Lt. John “Jack” Vincent Scanlan (1921-1945) of Louisville, Kentucky, while he was undergoing Army Air Forces (AAF) training during World War II. Approximately 100 letters written to him by family and friends, including those serving in the armed forces, provide information about home front activities in Louisville and training at U.S. military bases. Additional materials address the capture and death of Scanlan in the Chiba Prefecture of Japan in June 1945, after his P-51 was shot down and he parachuted out during an air battle.
Folders 1-2 contain documents and information about Scanlan, his family, and his death. Folder 1 contains a copy-print photo of Scanlan, materials relating to Scanlan’s capture and death, and genealogical information about Scanlan family members. Of note are copies of the War Department’s reports after he went missing, correspondence from his mother’s attempts to learn what happened to him, and a copy of a letter from his wingman Robert S. Scamara describing the air battle leading to Scanlan’s plane being shot down. Folder 2 holds Scanlan’s certificate from the War Manpower Commission, training material, and handwritten notes.
Folders 3-24 hold correspondence to Scanlan from family members and friends. The letters from Louisville are primarily from his mother Catherine Scanlan and sister Vera, and less frequently from his sister Catherine “Kitty,” brothers Joseph “Joe” and William “Bill,” and extended family members. They write about local and family news, the weather, holidays, and gifts and supplies they are sending Jack, and they give updates about mutual acquaintances and servicemen. Other letters are from friends serving in the armed forces and include discussions of training, future deployments, furloughs, discharges, and the highs and lows of service life.
Scanlan was transferred among U.S. military bases, and the correspondence is addressed to six locations: Sheppard Field, Texas (folders 3-6); College Training Detachment (Air Crew), West Texas State Teacher College, Canyon, Texas (folders 6-12); AAF Classification Center, Santa Ana Army Air Base, California (folders 12-16); 16th AAFFTC (Army Air Flying Forces Training Command), Wickenburg, Arizona (folders 16-17); War Eagle Field, 14th AAFFTD (Army Air Forces Flying Training Detachment), Lancaster, California (folders 18-21); and Luke Field Air Forces Base, Phoenix, Arizona (folders 12 and 22-24). There are a few outlier letters with addresses that do not match the movement implied by the bulk of the letters.
Folder List
Box 1
Folder 1: Copies of military correspondence, John Scanlan photograph, and family gravesites, 1943-1948, undated
Folder 2: Civil Service Commission and War Manpower Commission records, 1941-1942
Folder 3: Correspondence, January 28-February. 10, 1943
Folder 4: Correspondence, February 11-15, 1943
Folder 5: Correspondence, February 16-28, 1943
Folder 6: Correspondence, March 6-18, 1943
Folder 7: Correspondence, March 20-31, 1943
Folder 8: Correspondence, April 3-30, 1943
Folder 9: Correspondence, May 1-2, 1943
Folder 10: Correspondence, May 15-13, 1943
Folder 11: Correspondence, June 1-11, 1943
Folder 12: Correspondence, June 12-23, 1943
Folder 13: Correspondence, July 8-12, 1943
Folder 14: Correspondence, July 17-30, 1943
Folder 15: Correspondence, August 8-22, 1943
Folder 16: Correspondence, September 3-26, 1943
Folder 17: Correspondence, October 3-28, 1943
Folder 18: Correspondence, November 2-30, 1943
Folder 19: Correspondence, December 1-13, 1943
Folder 20: Correspondence, December 14-21, 1943
Folder 21: Correspondence, December 22-27, 1943
Folder 22: Correspondence, January 1944
Folder 23: Correspondence, February 1944
Folder 24: Correspondence, March 1944
Subject Headings
Birthday cards.
Christmas cards.
Cockrell, Vera Scanlan, 1918-2014.
Fighter pilots.
Louisville (Ky.)
Military bases.
Mustang (Fighter plane)
Scamara, Robert Silvio, 1924-2010.
Scanlan, Catherine Ann Dwyer, 1896-1984.
Scanlan, Joseph William, 1920-2008.
Scanlan, William Joseph, 1923-2013.
Soldiers – United States.
Taylor, Catherine Scanlan, 1929-1969.
United States. Army Air Forces.
United States. War Manpower Commission.
Valentines.
World War, 1939-1945.
World War, 1939-1945 – Casualties.
World War, 1939-1945 – Repatriation of war dead.
