The River Running
"Immigrants: we get the job done" -- Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton
Madeline Kurtz and Bruno Brooks
Bruno William Brooks was born 02 Jun 1888, probably in Manhattan. He was the son of Anna Rupp and Nicolaus Brooks.
The Brooks family moved frequently within Manhattan. As of June 1892 they were living at living at 225 East 88th Street. By October 1894 they'd moved to 227 or 229 East 106th Street. By 1905, they'd moved to 650 East 12th Street, and by the time of Nicolaus' death on 28 Oct 1906, 415 East 86th Street.
On 14 Oct 1909 Bruno enlisted in the US Army at Fort Slocum (on Davids' Island in the western end of Long Island Sound in the city of New Rochelle). His enlistment record shows that he was originally assigned to a calvary regiment, but then someone else has added, "Q. M. Dept, West Point, NY." (Q. M. = quartermaster)
The 1910 US Census found Private Brooks posted at Fort Warren on Georges Island at the mouth of Boston Harbour. However, Bruno obviously managed to get off the island at some point, because on 21 Jan 1912 he married Madeline Elizabeth Kurtz at West Point in Orange County, New York. Madeline had been born in Highland Falls (the village adjacent to West Point) on the 10th or 12th of February in 1890, 1891 or 1892. She was the daughter of Valentine Kurtz and Mary Murray. Mary was an Irishwoman. Valentine had been born in Dagsburg, now known as Dabo in the Moselle department in France. At the time Valentine was born there (ca 1860), the area had been part of France since 1793. However in 1871 it was annexed by the German Empire and became part of the Imperial Territory of Alsace-Lorraine.
Valentine Kurtz left Germany a decade later, enlisting the US Army at West Point for the first time in 04 Sep 1882. He continued to re-enlist until his death. His son Louis also enlisted 16 Sep 1909. It's not unlikely that Bruno was introduced to Madeline by her brother or perhaps her father. (Alas, both Valentine and Louis Kurtz died in October 1918.)
Bruno's first enlistment ended on 13-Oct-1912. His enlistment record notes, "Exp. Serv. Pvt. Excl. h. + f." I think this means he was still a private, displaying excellent health and fitness."
Bruno re-enlisted at West Point the next day. His new enlistment record notes that he was "Det. AS. USMA 10-13-12," where USMA = US Military Academy, i.e., West Point. Under "Regiment," there appear to be three separate notations:
In deciphering this, it should be noted that the Quartermaster Department was reorganized as the Quartermaster Corps in 1912. "Det. AS. O." sounds as if it might refer to Bruno being commissioned as an officer, but according to Bruno's obituary in the July 1943 issue of Army Motors this didn't happen until 1918.
Madeline and Bruno's daughter Evelyn Felicia was born in Highland Falls on 30 Oct 1912, 16 days after he re-enlisted. (Some records say 27 Oct 1912.)
On 12 Dec 1912 Bruno's younger brother Eugene also enlisted at West Point, apparently being assigned to the Quartermaster Department with Bruno. Eugene was to remain in the Army for at least another eight years.
The 1912 enlistment record says Bruno was honourably discharged 13 Oct 1915. However, I would assume that he re-enlisted again. Here's what Army Motors has to say:
Nine years Colonel Brooks spent as an enlisted man in Coastal Artillery, Ordnance, and QM... nine years of close-order drill, KP, the manual of arms, and spit-and-polish.
He learned that a well-disciplined soldier will do his work well, but a well-disciplined and well-informed soldier will do better.
He learned to distinguish those who know from those who pretend to know.
He also learned that everybody likes an occasional laugh.
Naturally, when he was commissioned a first lieutenant in the QMC in 1918, he made a good officer, because he understood his men.
When the war ended, he stuck with the Army and watched it sprout wheels. Convinced that future wars would be campaigns of swift movement, depending on rapid transportation for men and supplies, he became an expert in motor transport.
By 1920 Lieutenant Brooks - along with Madeline and Evelyn Brooks - had been posted to Fort Amador in the Panama Canal Zone. (I have to wonder about the name of the fort. "Amador" means "lover" in Spanish.) The 1930 US Census found them at Camp Normoyle in Bexar, Texas. After WWI was over, "the Motor Transportation Corps consolidated it training operations at four camps: Camp Jessup near Atlanta, Camp Normoyle near San Antonio, Camp Boyd at El Paso, and Camp Holabird at Baltimore" (Auto Mechanics: Technology and Expertise in Twentieth-Century America, Kevin L Borg, 2010). In order to ensure that it had enough soldier-mechanics, the army advertised free automotive training for re-enlisting vets and new recruits.
The Brooks family had a guest staying with them in 1930, Rose Amelia Farrington (née Forman). Rose's husband Harry H Farrington had been a field clerk in the US Army. In 1920 Harry, Rose and Rose's younger sister Josephine had been posted to Fort Amador. Perhaps they met the Brooks family there? Harry died 31 Dec 1924 in Washington DC and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
The 1940 US Census asked people where they'd been living in 1935. Bruno, Madeline and Evelyn Brooks were stationed in the Philippine Islands. Rose did not accompany them there. She was living in Jamaica, Queens.
(As a side note, Bruno's aunt Charlotte Rupp died 13 May 1935 at Fort Jay on Governor's Island. At that time Fort Jay was still an active military installation. I don't know if Bruno had anything to do with Charlotte's presence there, especially given that he was apparently halfway around the world.)
On 18 Jun 1938, Bruno, Madeline and Evelyn arrived back in NYC aboard the SS President Roosevelt out of Cobh, Ireland. Their address in the United States was given as, "c/o Adj.Gen. of Army,Washington,DC."
By 1940 the Brooks family had been posted to Camp Holabird in Baltimore, where Rose Farrington joined them. Evelyn or rather Evlyn, her preferred spelling, was now 27 and working as a general electrical cost clerk.
Let's go back to Army Motors to find out what Bruno was doing:
On the eve of another war, he found himself a captain, teaching his favorite subject at the then Quartermaster Motor Transport School at Holabird.
Textbooks were few and skimpy. So he started the Technical Service Division, which wrote, edited, illustrated, and published its own textbooks, many of which are now published as Technical Manuals and are the standard authorities in their fields.
In April 1940, ARMY MOTORS was born. Captain Brooks set its course - to serve the man in the field; to tell him the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth; to explain the 'why' whenever possible; and to keep all articles simple and readable.
He remained with us a year and a half and advanced to the grade of lieutenant colonel before being transferred to other duties...
In this year of 1943, however, the ideals of the late Colonel Brooks still stand high in the background of ARMY MOTORS' purposes and methods. If the magazine can be considered one of his memorials, we are proud of the honor.
Bruno William Brooks died on 21 Mar 1943 in Arlington, Virginia, having attained the rank of colonel in the Quartermaster Corps of the US Army. He's buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
Madeline Elizabeth Brooks died on 02 Sep 1953 at the Blount Memorial Hospital in Maryville, Tennessee. The cause of death was coronary thrombosis. She was apparently only visiting Blount County, as her "usual address" was given as 1207 South Edgewood, Arlington, Virginia. She too is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
Evlyn Felicia Brooks died on 27 Sep 1961 and is buried with her mother.
Rose Amelia Forman Farrington died in Arlington, Virginia, on 18 Apr 1975. She's buried with her husband Harry.