The Brunger papers consist primarily of correspondence written by United States Navy Seaman Francis D. Brunger to Alice Louise Harrington, his girlfriend and eventual wife, during his service in the Pacific Theater of the Second World War.
Of the 294 letters in the Correspondence series, Brunger wrote 246 to Alice, whom he called "Bone." The letters trace the couple's relationship from their early courtship through their engagement, marriage, and birth of their first son ("Stinky"). Francis often wrote of his desire to return to his family. In his earlier letters, he discussed his intention to join the navy following the bombing of Pearl Harbor and Alice's budding nursing career. He wrote of different aspects of military life throughout the remainder of his naval career, including daily life onboard the Farenholt and the Rooks, and his training in Shoemaker, California. During the spring and summer of 1945, he shared his anticipation for the end of the war, and by late August he believed he would soon receive a discharge. Though he seldom reported military engagements, his friend Joe wrote Alice about some of the Farenholt's military actions near Guadalcanal (March 30, 1944). Other acquaintances wrote to Alice about their experiences in the army. The collection also has a group of letters addressed to Charles Brunger, Francis's brother, who served at the United States Naval Training Center in Sampson, New York.
The Photograph shows a newborn child.
The Documents series contains an insurance policy for Alice Brunger from the St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company (November 5, 1944).
Printed Material includes a newspaper clipping reporting the birth of Francis D. Brunger, Jr. [December 1944], a clipping relating draft results from Oswego County, New York (undated), and the March 1943 edition of The Colby Alumnus.
The Ephemera series (19 items) contains birthday and other greeting cards from Francis D. Brunger to his wife and son, instructions for making baby formula, a menu for a Christmas dinner held at the United States Navy Receiving Station in Shoemaker, California [December 25, 1944], a "Safety First for Your Baby" pamphlet, a birthday poem and drawing on V-mail stationery, two short poems, two printed programs for religious services, three key tags, and a newspaper clipping featuring four color "Blondie" comics.
Francis David Brunger was born in Oswego, New York, in 1920. His parents, Charles F. and Katherine Brunger, had both emigrated from England. While living in Wilmington, Illinois, in 1942, he joined the United States Navy, and he served onboard the destroyer USS Farenholt in the Pacific Theater during the Second World War. In 1944, he received further training at the West Coast Sound School, and afterward was transferred to the destroyer USS Rooks, also stationed in the Pacific. After the war, he lived in Syracuse, New York, where he was a telephone repairman for AT&T. He died on September 30, 2004.
Francis and his wife, Alice Louise Harrington, married in the spring of 1944 and had three children: Francis David Brunger, Jr. ("David"), Edward, and Lee. Alice Harrington Brunger graduated from the Syracuse Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in 1942 and was a nurse for most of her life. She died on May 5, 2005.
