Another JD Salinger

Word Count: 1084

J.D. Salinger's youth and war experiences influenced his
writings. J.D. went through four different schools for
education. He then went to World War II. After the war, he
had a lot to say, so he wrote down his thoughts. And, he
sure had some things to say.

Jerome David Salinger came into this world on January 1,
1919. J.D. was short for Jerome David. Jerome David went
by J.D. when he was young and he never let go of the name
as he got older. J.D. was born in New York City, New
York (Ryan 2581).

J.D. Salinger's parents were Sol and Miriam Salinger (Ryan
2581). His father, Sol Salinger, was born in Cleveland,
Ohio, and is said to have been the son of a rabbi. However,
Sol drifted far from orthodox Judaism to become an
importer of hams.

Sol married a Scotch-Irish lady (French 21). The lady's
name was Marie Jillich. She changed her name to Miriam to
fit into her husband's family (French 21).

Jerome David had a roller coaster marriage record. He was
allegedly married to a French physician in 1945 and
divorced her in 1947 (Ryan 2581). But other sources say
that Salinger has never admitted this marriage and the
records of the Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics fail to
indicate that a divorce was granted in that state in 1947 to
Jerome David Salinger (French 26).

He then married Claire Douglas on February 17, 1955.
Claire Douglas was a Radcliff graduate born in England. In
1955, the two of them settled down in Cornish, New
Hampshire, where they raised two children (Unger 552).
J.D. divorced Claire Douglas in October 1967 in Newport,
New Hampshire (Ryan 2581).

In 1932, the time J.D. should have begun high school, he
was transferred to a private institution, Manhattan's
McBurney School. There, J.D. told the interviewer that he
was interested in dramatics; but J.D. reportedly flunked out
within a year (French 22).

In September 1934, his father enrolled him at Valley Forge
Military Academy in Pennsylvania (French 22). In 1935,
while attending Valley Forge, J.D. was the literary editor of
Crossed Sabers, the Academy Yearbook. Salinger's grades
at Valley Forge were satisfactory. His marks in English
varied from 75 to 92. His final grades were: English 88,
French 88, German 76, History 79, and Dramatics 88. As
recorded in J.D.'s Valley Forge file, his I.Q. was 115. While
such scores as J.D.'s must be treated with caution, this one
and another one of 111 that he made when tested in New
York are strong evidence that he was slightly above the
average in intelligence, but far from the "genius" category. At
Valley Forge, Salinger belonged to the Glee Club, the
Aviation Club, the French Club, the Non-Commissioned
Officer's Club, and Mask and Spur (a dramatic
organization) (French 22). While at Valley Forge, Salinger
began writing short stories, working by flashlight under his
blankets after official "lights out" (French 23). In June of
1936, J.D. graduated from Valley Forge Military Academy
(French #2 15).

In 1937, Salinger attended the summer session at New
York University. He attended the Washington Square
College campus of New York University. There is little
documented about J.D.'s attendance at New York
University. Shirley Blaney, a high school student, and the
only person in the world to ever interview J.D. Salinger, said
that it appears unlikely that Salinger attended New York
University for two years (French 23).

In 1939, Salinger returned to New York after traveling to
Vienna and Poland for a year, to enroll in Whit Burnett's
famous course in short-story writing at Columbia University.
According to Ernest Havemann, "Burnett was not at first
impressed with the quiet boy, who made no comments and
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