Ed Cronin and his wife Margaret lived in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens, New York, during the early years of World War II. He joined the United States Army before May 1943, and served with a medical supply unit at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, until October, when he joined the 74th General Hospital. He entered the Army as a private, was promoted to private first class in October 1943, though he lost this rank after undergoing a court martial for an unknown offense in mid-February 1944. He and Margaret had at least one daughter, Patricia, born in late October or early November 1943, and he had at least two sisters, Mabel and Grace. Margaret's brother Richard served in England during the war.
From the guide to the Ed Cronin papers, Cronin, Ed papers, 1943-1944, (William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan)
