Times were particularly difficult for the family of Ernest Schiller during the Great Depression.

His father, Otto, was a German immigrant from Berlin whose highest level of schooling was the 6th grade. He was a farm laborer near Austin, Texas. Otto’s wife, Bessie, died in 1929 of a heart condition, leaving him with five children.

By 1940 Otto had remarried and had two more children. He and Ernest, who was working for the Civilian Conservation Corps — a federal jobs program — earned a total of $330 the previous year. They were supporting a household of six in Hutto, Texas north of Austin.

The CCC, as it was known, employed single men 18 to 25 to plant trees, build roads and trails and make other improvements to public land, forests and parks. The men lived at camps across the country and were provided a bed and three meals a day. Of their $30 monthly pay, $25 was sent to their families. Ernest served in Co. 3809 at Pflugerville, Texas.

Born Oct. 22, 1921, he finished 7th grade at Lawrence Chapel’s school near Taylor Texas.

Mr. Schiller enlisted in the Navy on Jan. 21, 1941. He was a seaman second class on the U.S.S. Arizona when he was killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941.

Sources: The Austin (Texas) Statesman; Census; Navy enlistment records and muster roll; Texas death certificate; World War I draft card.