I have recently found a letter written by Stephen T Kovarovic and addressed to my parents: James and Genevieve Van Patten (now deceased). This letter was written on 08/12/1945 while Stephen was stationed at Camp Gordon, Georgia. Included in the letter he mentioned his wife Betty, and it appears that my parents were good friends with Stephen and Betty. Stephen said that he very much misses deer hunting and going fishing with my father and hopes to be home before it becomes to cold to go fishing. Stephen also talks about his life at Camp Gordon, that he has to do a lot of walking, a 7 1/2 mile walk plus returning was normal training along with all the walking on the shooting range, and that he is training on a light machine gun. "I've done so much damn shooting since I've been here I don't want to see another gun. We use a Browning auto. rifle that is capable of shooting 550 rounds per minute. It only takes a few seconds to shoot a clip of 20 shots, this gun ought to be good for deer hunting but it weighs 21lbs." Stephen also comments that he doesn't get enough to eat so every night he goes to the service club for ice cream and two milkshakes. He mentions that the beer there is so lousy that he doesn't drink much, all the beer comes in bottles and he can't wait to get home and have a glass of cold draft.
I was born in the 50's and do not remember if Stephen or his wife Betty were still a part of my parents life. The name Frank Kovarovic, sounds familiar to me, I think he owned an apple orchard just off of Shauber Rd in Ballston Lake, NY. Please excuse me because my memory is a bit fuzzy here as I was only a small child, I think my father said that he use to lend his farm machinery to Frank (it could have been the other way around) but I do remember my father saying that he and the Kovarovic's were good childhood friends. My father also took me with him to pick up drops (fallen apples) at Frank's apple orchard.
In Stephen's letter, Stephen wrote "I hope to be home before all the apples are picked on the farm".
I am saddened to see that there is little more on this site other than Stephen's name. I had hoped to find a family member to give his letter to. I also have some old pictures of my father and some fellows I don't recognise standing by a car with two deer tied onto the front fenders. I hope that a family member reads this comment, and tries to connect with Holly (Van Patten) Vroman of Ballston Spa, NY.
THANK YOU STEPHEN T KOVAROVIC FOR YOUR SERVICE TO THIS COUNTRY, ALL AMERICANS OWE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY A DEBT OF GRATITUDE FOR THE SELFLESS SACRIFICES YOU'VE MADE KEEPING US SAFE, AND PROTECTING OUR FREEDOM. MAY THE GOOD LORD BLESS YOU!
I was born in the 50's and do not remember if Stephen or his wife Betty were still a part of my parents life. The name Frank Kovarovic, sounds familiar to me, I think he owned an apple orchard just off of Shauber Rd in Ballston Lake, NY. Please excuse me because my memory is a bit fuzzy here as I was only a small child, I think my father said that he use to lend his farm machinery to Frank (it could have been the other way around) but I do remember my father saying that he and the Kovarovic's were good childhood friends. My father also took me with him to pick up drops (fallen apples) at Frank's apple orchard.
In Stephen's letter, Stephen wrote "I hope to be home before all the apples are picked on the farm".
I am saddened to see that there is little more on this site other than Stephen's name. I had hoped to find a family member to give his letter to. I also have some old pictures of my father and some fellows I don't recognise standing by a car with two deer tied onto the front fenders. I hope that a family member reads this comment, and tries to connect with Holly (Van Patten) Vroman of Ballston Spa, NY.
THANK YOU STEPHEN T KOVAROVIC FOR YOUR SERVICE TO THIS COUNTRY, ALL AMERICANS OWE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY A DEBT OF GRATITUDE FOR THE SELFLESS SACRIFICES YOU'VE MADE KEEPING US SAFE, AND PROTECTING OUR FREEDOM. MAY THE GOOD LORD BLESS YOU!
