Week 14 – Language

English is a hard language. Many words sound the same but have so many different meanings – their, there, they’re. Then other words are spelled the same but mean something entirely different – read (reed), read (red). I am thankful that I speak English, but it is the only language I know.  My story this week tells of a branch of the family from my grandchildren’s family tree.  It’s amazing how things that have happened have a profound effect on someone’s life years down the road.  This story starts more than eighty years ago, but it continues on today. 

In 1941, two things of importance happened - Germany invaded the USSR controlled Estonia and Robert Anton was born there in the city of Tallinn.  The small Baltic state of Estonia has a long history of being ruled by someone other than themselves. Denmark, the Holy Roman Empire, Sweden, and the Russia Tsardom, all had a hand in governing this 17,000 square mile area.  It wasn’t until after World War I that Estonia managed to gain their independence. From 1918 through 1939, it was known as the Republic of Estonia.  Then, in September 1939, the tiny country accepted the demands of the Soviets which allowed military bases and the deployment of 25,000 troops on Estonian soil.  Then in June, Russia invaded Estonia and rather than attempt to fight off the additional 90,000 troops sent, the Republic of Estonia was officially annexed into the Soviet Union and renamed the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic.  Many Estonian men were forcibly removed to Siberia, and others were conscripted into the Estonian Soviet army.  

Almost immediately, in June 1941, Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union.  Many Estonians welcomed the invasion in hope that their independence would be restored, but it quickly became evident that was not the case. When the German Luftwaffe began bombings on the city of Tallinn, Albert Anton took his wife, Amilda, and young son, Robert and fled to Vienna, Austria.  As Albert served in the Estonian Army, and with his family now safe, he had no choice but to return to his duty.  Unfortunately, Albert’s life was cut short, when on 29 August 1944 at Rakvere Haigla (Rakvere Hospital) in Rakvere, Laane-Virumaa; he became a casualty of World War II.

Amilda, or Amy as she came to be known, was born in 1913 in Saint Petersburg, Russia.  Her parents Karl Wengerfeldt and Aline (Aili) Pank were Estonian, and when Amilda was seven, they returned to their homeland.  Amilda grew up and received a law degree at the University of Tartu.  She also studied piano while in school at the Conservatory of Music.  She was also proficient in English, German, Russian, and Estonia.  In December 1945, Amilda was hired to work at the 11^th Station U.S. Army Hospital in Augsburg, Germany.  Her excellent language skills made her invaluable as not only a secretary to the U.S. Army, but also as an interpreter.   An American G.I., M.Sgt. Roy Bennett, from Kaw City, Oklahoma, took a liking to this young widow.  On 20 August 1949, Mrs. Amilda Anton and Mr. Roy Bennett were married.  

The military transport ship USNS Gen. Alexander M. Patch, docked at the port of New York on 25 March 1950, carrying Mrs. Amilda Bennett and her son, Robert Anton, who had recently celebrated his ninth birthday. Four months later, Amilda’s mother, Aili (whom my youngest daughter is named for), would follow them to America. 

Being an avid reader, I’m sure Amilda’s love of books was passed down to her son. He had just finished reading “The Last of the Mohicans”.  He expected the story to unfold exactly as he’d read it as the train they boarded carried them halfway across the continent from New York to Oklahoma.  Each hill held a tad of both fear and excitement to see if a band of Indians would come charging over it.  Robert was tall for his age, and the fact that he couldn’t speak English upon arrival in Oklahoma City, didn’t help when he started school.  He was quite behind his other classmates, but it didn’t take him long to catch up. 

Born at the height of World War II, halfway across the globe, who would have thought that this little Estonian fellow would end up in the middle of Oklahoma, a U.S. Navy veteran, college graduate, father and grandfather.  He truly has become the epitome of what it means to be an American, especially when it comes to language.  While his mother was a proficient linguist, as it turned out, Robert lost virtually all of his native Estonian vocabulary. Quite unfortunate, as this could really help when trying to decipher records on this branch of my grandchildren’s family tree.