F2c Willard Charles Aves

Willard Charles Aves, “Bill,” was four in 1925 when his mother died in childbirth, leaving his father with three children under age 12.

The Depression was tough on the Aves family, as it was for most Americans. The father lost the grocery store he operated in Kingston, Illinois. He then worked for farmers and fished and planted gardens to raise food for his family. 

Bill delivered newspapers and played basketball at Kingston High. He graduated in 1940 and enlisted in the Navy that Oct. 8th.

He was a fireman second class on the U.S.S. Arizona when he was killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941.

He was born June 28, 1921 to Charles Aves and Mamie Gliddon Aves.

A memorial service in his memory was held in February 1942 at the Methodist church in Kingston. American Legion Post 1010 was named in his honor.

A letter his father wrote to the Navy four months after Bill’s death shows the family’s struggles during the Depression. After Charles lost his business he said he had to go on what was then called public relief and was given $4 a week total for himself and his children. Then he landed a job with the Works Progress Administration, a federal program that employed millions. Charles said he earned $44 a month and it helped him get Bill and one daughter through high school. On the day Bill left for Navy boot camp a truck ran into the back of a load of oats that Charles was riding on, breaking ribs and injuring his back, which “has not been much good since.” Charles had just turned 65, so he applied for a pension and received $19 a month. “You known as well as I do a person cannot live as he should on $19 per month,” he wrote.

Charles said he had recently received Willard’s “insurance.” He doesn’t list an amount or say more about it, but the Navy itself offered life insurance. While the cost was low, so was pay for a sailor of Willard’s experience and rating ($54 a month). For that reason, few young sailors purchased insurance.

Here’s where the letter ends with a twist. “Beginning May 1 I will buy one $18.75 bond and $1 worth of stamps for each of my grandchildren. I will and always done all I could for my country. God Bless and keep you all especially our dear boys far away from home and loved ones.”

The government sold bonds and stamps to help pay for the war, including the construction of ships, planes and other equipment. Bonds were sold in amounts ranging from $25 to $1,000. The buyer of a $25 bond paid $18.75 and at the end of 10 years received the full $25. Stamps were sold for as low as 10 cents. Buyers kept stamps in albums and once they accumulated enough could trade them in for an actual bond. It isn’t clear how many grandchildren Charles had when he wrote to the Navy, but when he died in 1954 his obituary said he had seven.