Someday … You’Ll Know!

By Richard L. Hartness Sr.

Many World War II veterans returned to the United States of America and wrote autobiographies and memoirs about their life adventures.

Gold Star children also wrote memories of their fathers, with some seeking to learn more about men who never returned home.

But children who were products of short-term affairs during this time often knew little about their fathers. This book describes Richard L. Hartness Sr.’s quest to learn more about his dad – as well as his mother’s plan to reveal his father’s name on her own timetable.

Growing up, the author felt that his mom’s husband was not his father. When he asked her about his dad, she replied, “He went off to war and never came back.” When he pressed her for more information, she’d say, “Someday, you’ll know.”

That day finally came for the author, and this memoir highlights his search for the truth along with his family’s riveting history.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Abbott Press
• Release date: Aug 20, 2020
• ISBN: 9781458222930

Richard L. Hartness Sr.

Richard L. Hartness, Sr., Wynne, Arkansas, native while pursuing a 35- year career in supply chain management earned an MA in history. After retiring in 2006, he earned a second MA in heritage studies. He is a past charter president of both the Cross County and Mississippi County historical societies, and a past member of the Poinsett, St. Francis, and Faulkner county societies. He is a published author of books, booklets, and several journal articles on Arkansas topics, and is a public speaker. In 2012, the Cross County Chamber of Commerce chose him as Cross County’s Distinguished Citizen of the Year. Since 2012, he has been an adjunct professor of history for East Arkansas Community College. A community activist, Hartness has served on the boards of several organizations, the most recent being the Arkansas Delta Byways, the AState Alumni Association, and the Friends of the Arkansas State Archives. Currently he is president of the Northeast Arkansas chapter of the Military Officers Association of America and commander of the Red Wolf Alumni Battalion at AState in Jonesboro, where he received a commission in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1967. His scholarship in Russian history and geography of the USSR, enhanced with a top-secret clearance, and branch training in Military Intelligence, helped earn him an assignment as the Order of Battle officer at V Corps G2 in Frankfurt/Main, Federal Republic of Germany, just before the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. For his performance during those tense days, he received an Army Commendation Medal. Inspiration behind his personal advocacy for Arkansas topics initially came from listening to his maternal grandmother describe her family photograph collection. This was enhanced through fifty-eight years of curiosity about who his soldier-father was – the subject of this current endeavor. Richard and his wife, Herberta, are currently living in Jonesboro.

Book preview

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Other books and booklets by Richard L. Hartness, Sr.:

Naming a Confederate County, Cross County, Arkansas, 1862-1873 (1973);

An Opportunity of a Lifetime by T.A. Bedford, Jr. (1904), (edited/ reprinted 1975);

A Postal Directory: The Cross County, Arkansas, Area, 1826-1975 (1975);

Wittsburg, Arkansas, Crowley’s Ridge Steamboat Riverport, 1848-1890 (1979);

Wittsburg, Wynne, and Points Nearby (Combined reprint of all the above 2009);

The Circle, Coping With Integrated Life at Arkansas State University (2016).

Someday …

You’ll Know!

Richard L. Hartness, Sr.

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Copyright © 2020 Richard L. Hartness, Sr.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means,

graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by

any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author

except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Abbott Press

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Bloomington, IN 47403

www.abbottpress.com

Phone: [phone]

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in

this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views

expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the

views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are

models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-4582-2291-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4582-2292-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4582-2293-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020914805

Abbott Press rev. date: 08/14/2020

To: Dick B. Ethridge (1913 – 2005)

Someday came! Thanks, Mom!

Contents

Reviews

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgements

Where Are You, Dad?

Prologue

Chapter 1   Miss Dick Burke, Free-Spirited Student

Chapter 2   Miss Dick Burke, Dependable Employee

Chapter 3   The Search for John T. Hartness

Chapter 4   My Virtual Dad

Chapter 5   The Mistaken Lead

Chapter 6   Mom’s Makeup Kit

Chapter 7   My Older Brother

Chapter 8   John H. Cazort, Junior

Chapter 9   An Opened Gate

Epilogue

Appendix A   Burke and Cazort Nuclear Families

Appendix B   Louisiana Regional Map, 1943

Appendix C   Marriage Licenses Compared

Appendix D   John T. Hartness Handwriting Comparison

Appendix E   DNA Lab Analysis

About the Author

Reviews

Richard Hartness’s _Someday You’ll Know_ offers an intriguing exploration of one of the most significant elements of his life history as it chronicles his search for his father and how a mystery is connected to his own identity. Hartness begins the story with a poem that displays his longing to know about a missing piece of his life. His sense of loss is merged with a strong desire to piece together a story that is foundational to both his early experiences as well as his sense of himself as mature man. The book is not a full autobiography although significant chapters are autobiographical. Neither is the book an historical study although the story that unfolds opens up poignant details about an historical era that has long-since passed. In many ways, this book can be seen as fitting into an approach of writing that blends autobiography, social history, and heritage studies using an approach termed autoethnography. As an autoethnography, Hartness uses his own experiences and a piecing together of his own life history to illustrate wider cultural dynamics and ways of experiencing both the past and the present within cultural contexts.

The story reveals cultural values during the World War II era and a complex account of ways that caring individuals could construct useful fictions to resolve challenging problems. Hartness’s own story is unique, but readers will gain insight into beliefs and attitudes from a different era of society that have wider resonance to American history and culture. The autoethnograpic approach continues to work well as Hartness pieces the past events together and then extends his search for his own identity into the present. The book shows ways that families can build and sustain connections and use their stories and rituals to bring closure and healing in individual lives. Originally, the family connections were hidden but present in the stories and artifacts of the past. Hartness’s quest to piece the story together in a meaningful way reveals the importance of discovering, telling, and sharing his own story within an extended family that he never knew had existed.

Gregory Hansen, Ph.D.

Professor of Folklore & English

Arkansas State University

The title leads one to want an answer. Know what? Oft times, circumstances prompt a parent to give that answer. I knew Richard all his growing up years. Everyone had a lot of respect for him and his mom.

As I read the story, I was excited about learning more. Of course, all the local names were friends of the White family and patron’s of White Brothers Supermarket.

I am proud that he pursued knowing his father’s identity, You may be surprised by what he found and encouraged to keep on digging for your own family secrets.

Maxcine White

Wynne Rotary Club

Executive Secretary

1986 to Present

Foreword

By: Ida Margaret (Wells) Howell

Richard Hartness gathered information about his parents, especially his father, through careful research, which included old letters, telephone calls, interviews, and even DNA testing. Richard’s mother raised him. When he asked about his absent father, she would answer, Someday you’ll know! There were no pictures of his father in Richard’s childhood home, and no mementos left behind by his father. Curious citizens questions about his father heard the answer, he went off to war and never came back.

Richard relates the almost 50-year search for answers to his questions. As he grew into a young man in Wynne, Arkansas, he encountered many men whom he respected and admired. He wondered if his father shared some of the same desirable qualities seen in these men.

Sometimes when he analyzed newly discovered facts, they led to mistaken conclusions. However, if a clue led in the wrong direction, he discarded it and sought new information. An unusual wartime romance is also a part of this story.

I enjoyed reading this interesting and well-written book. I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in family history. I learned that Richard Hartness and I share the same Cazort great-grandparents. Richard was born the same year as my husband and I. My husband, J. T. Howell, MD, and Richard were in the same class at Wynne High School. Unknown to Richard at the time, three other contemporary Wynne students, Bettie, Roberta, and Malone Vaughan were Cazort descendants as well.

Ida Howell

June 5, 2020

Preface

I searched for my father for nearly fifty years. As the new century began, the puzzle began taking shape. In 2002, I discovered the last piece. Even then, fitting it all together was a mystery. Three individual characters created socially acceptable performances in various scenes on America’s World War II stage. As they skillfully manipulated friends, family, business associates, and public officials, their version of the story seemed authentic. Actually, you will discover the truth was different.

As I shared snippets of the story, listeners suggested different publishing methods. Though several individuals encouraged publication, I was reluctant for two very good reasons:

1. At the time, Mom and my father’s widow were still living.

2. Revelations intentionally hidden by one and completely unknown by the other would have emotionally affected both.

Along the way, I discovered an older brother. Initially, we agreed not to tell our mothers. I didn’t; he did. His mother found the position of stepmother, embarrassing, awkward, and unwanted. Sadly, she verbally condemned my existence and chose not to meet me. You can understand why; I sure do. Her financial advisor suggested a background investigation. Was it done? What did he discover? My older brother, deeply concerned about his aging mother’s mental, emotional and physical health, requested I delay publication. This book in your hands means I kept my promise.

Disallowed by time, place, and circumstance, I never met the two main male characters. Mom protected our maternal extended family, others, and us through less than full disclosure of the whole truth. Her peers-the aging, supporting characters in this American Greatest Generation drama- were rapidly exiting the stage. It was time to begin a serious search for facts.

Interviews, correspondence, a memory book, a diary, legal documents, newspapers, photographs, memoirs, and other sources provided details to construct her untold story. Footnotes are rare, except for informative data. Critical source references are in the narrative, in captions and credits to the illustrations, or as appendices.

Acknowledgements

As you read, you will meet many whose valuable input helped reassemble various puzzle pieces. Identification