Vance Pennington of Surrey (England) overheard that his father was an American at an early age: ‘What really registered was the word, 'real': that the bullying, cruel man who forced me to call him, 'Dad' was not who he pretended to be.’ He learned more during another parental quarrel that involved the fact that financial assistance for him from the States had ceased. This included a threat to contact the authorities in Indiana, and this was how Vance learned the name of his father's home state.
From an early age, he determined to escape his unhappy environment. The decision was made for him when he was removed from school at 16 and sent out to support himself. He lived in a small bed sit, enhanced by a large map of the United States on one wall. Just before his seventeenth birthday, Vance decided to approach the American Embassy for help: ‘I am not really sure what I expected to gain from this but the result was extremely disappointing; I didn't get past the doorman, let alone the opportunity to discuss this with someone of authority.’
He began to grasp at flimsy clues, such as the same name as his father coming up on a TV credit. He would write for help but rarely received a reply. He said, ‘friends and work colleagues began to learn of my plight and often a visitor to U.S.A. would bring me back a page from a telephone directory. My father was out there and I was going to find him.’
Many years and thousands of letters passed, and by February 1982, Vance realized that he was getting nowhere. Friends suggested the obvious answer was to persuade his mother to accompany him to the American Embassy. She might not be willing to confide in him, but it was possible she would respond to someone in an official capacity. While she refused the request, it made her recognize the importance her son attached to his background. She surprised him by producing the divorce papers from her first marriage, which cited the G.I. as co-respondent.
Vance thought he now had all the paperwork needed to further his claim for citizenship, but it did not prove that simple. He received a lengthy reply from the Embassy, part of which indicated, ‘it has been determined that children born of American servicemen and Alien mothers out of wedlock, do not have and never have the right to American citizenship. Should you ever wish to visit the United States, you will have to apply for a visa.’
Vance was devastated; this he was sure was another attempt to put him off. He did not realize yet that this situation could be over-turned if he found his father or family who would be willing to sign the necessary papers.
For twelve more years, he continued to write to anyone he found in the United States who had the name Pennington. Aware of this, his mother recognized how determined her son was and began to fill him in on her romance with the G.I. She provided his service number and the base where he had served. One has to accept that her earlier reticence probably related to the fact that she was of a generation for whom divorce was socially unacceptable. Worse yet was the fact that one of the few grounds was adultery, not then exactly what one would expect of a lady!
Up till now, Vance was only in possession of a shortened form of his birth certificate, which did not need to show the father's name. In his case, it was an obvious avoidance of the truth because when he applied for the original, his father's name was on it. He was now confident that with this and his mother's divorce papers, the American Embassy would be satisfied. This determination to become an American stems from a need to restore his self-esteem. He had grown up feeling downgraded by his illegitimacy, which was exacerbated by a disparaging step-father. Back came the reply that he had been praying for: ‘it appears from the documents that you have supplied that you may have the right to American citizenship.’
The operative word in the letter was ‘may.’ Vance returned to the American Embassy to find out how this could be finalized; it rested on him finding his father. They furnished him with a list of options on how this might be accomplished. The most logical appeared to be the National Personnel Records Center. They notified him that his father's files had perished in the fire. He then approached TRACE.
Our advice was to start with the Veterans Administration in the state of Indiana since he knew there was some connection there. While waiting, he followed up on another list of people with his father's last name. One responded with the suggestion that he try the Pennington Research Association. Before he could pursue this, a reply came from the special affairs officer of the VA in Indiana:
They had found various documents bearing my father's name which indicated that he had returned to Southern Indiana in 1946 promising to send for my mother. More documentation arrived from the late 40s between the American Embassy and a solicitor [lawyer} acting for my mother which showed that maintenance payments were forthcoming and therefore proved his recognition of me. A further letter arrived with two U.S. birth certificates; I had a brother and sister across the Pond.
Eager to share part of his father's life when he was in the U.K., Vance made a visit to his base at Great Ashfield in Suffolk. A friendly villager filled him in on his father's unit and its location. Vance said, ‘I set off for the farmhouse and the owner of the land which had been the home of the 385th Heavy Bombardment Group. From him I learned that there was a London based man who had an interest in WW II aircraft nose art and a vast database of the crews.’ This gentleman put Vance in touch with Joan Peterson, our helper in Ohio. He had already been given Bud Shapard as a contact, but he now felt that Ohio was the closest to Indiana and it was not fair to take up two people's time. He would pin his hopes on Joan. This has led to a lasting friendship, and Vance has visited her a couple of times. As all TRACE helpers are in touch with each other, ex-changing useful data, Joan also suggested that Philip Grinton be sent the military details, and this became a team play. Within a week, Philip passed on the news that the G.I. was dead; he had actually taken his own life in 1972: ‘Devastation is an inadequate word. Despair doesn't even come near. I have still to recover from the realization that I will never get to know my Dad. Never would I have a chance to hear his voice or feel his embrace.’
Philip was able to send Vance a copy of his father's death certificate. He learned that he had been buried in Superior, Wisconsin, with full military honours. Vance clung to the strangely comforting thought that this suicide may have been activated by guilt about those he had left in England. This feeling would be justified when he later learned of the unsettled life his father had led on his return to the States.
Now Vance determined to find his siblings. A copy of the obituary sent by the chief librarian in Superior listed three. He wrote back and asked if there were Pennington's in that area: ‘within a short space of time, I received his reply; 'rather than send you the list, I took it upon myself to make a few phone calls on your behalf. I have found your brother, Rob.' '
I must put in a personal word of thanks here for the many librarians all over the United States who have responded so positively and directed searchers on to their surviving families.
His brother made Vance welcome. He now visits him and his family every year. From that first discovery, everything began to come together, including meetings with his other siblings, cousins, and ‘stepmother.’ Added to that, when finally Vance contacted the Pennington Research Association, they sent him his family history which dates back to early settlers in Virginia in the seventeenth century.
Now it was even more important for him to persist with his dream of becoming an American: My application was long and complicated. I had to explain my reasons for wanting citizenship. They wanted all the details of my life and my search. . . my application with evidence of maintenance payments was unique. On April 27 1995, I was awarded citizenship of the United States of America as a right of birth.
It was the proudest day of my life.
|
