Don's Letters Home during WWII

Back to Memorial Home Page | Back to Photo Album
1942-10 Envelope
1942-10 Envelope
The envelope is dated Oct. 1942 to his parents & family. This is apparently the envelope for the next letter.
1942-10 Pg. 1
1942-10 Pg. 1
Oct. 6, 1942, Miami Beach, FL - He had a hotel transfer. He's allowed to leave the city now.
1942-10 Pg. 2
1942-10 Pg. 2
Pg 2 - He describes his accomodations. The radio only plays one station, but they have one in every room. There's no hot water. His office work is hard & tedious. His friends shipped out & he has to make new friends.
1942-10 pg. 3
1942-10 pg. 3
Pg. 3 - He saw a musical performance with 3 musical camp mates - one, a violinist, "would put Heiftz to shame." He asks his father for his notebook & study books.
1942-10 pg. 4
1942-10 pg. 4
Pg. 4 - He's having trouble making calls home & getting mail. He tells his sister, Grace, that he'll send money to her music teacher. He addresses his mother & says "like living in a hotel" so he's not actually in a hotel as it appeared earlier. Salutation: "Your friend forever".
1942-11-10
1942-11-10
Nov. 10, 1942 - He addresses this one to "Folks" & asks about Flip. There's a lot to do in Miami (watching sports, beach). He tells his sister, Eva, not to call her teacher a "wide mouthed baboon". He addresses 3 other sisters & his brother, too.
1942-11-8
1942-11-8
Nov. 8, 1942 - He moved within the Miami camp. He's writing to his father and says he's sorry his mother left. He received several letters, but not from her. He doesn't have early AM drills or KP duty now. He does general office work. He's sending him a newspaper.
1942-12-22 Envelope
1942-12-22 Envelope
Dec. 22, 1942, from Miami, FL
1942-12-22 pg. 1
1942-12-22 pg. 1
Dec. 20, 1942 - To his sister Marge with newspaper clipping about temperatures (67 in Miami Beach, -4 in NY). They thought it was cold until they saw the paper.
1942-12-22 pg. 10
1942-12-22 pg. 10
Dec. 18, 1942 [Same group] to Eva - He went to the aquarium in Miami "and I saw all sorts of sea monsters." He describes turtles, baracudas, a shark, octuposes, and fish.
1942-12-22 pg. 2
1942-12-22 pg. 2
Pg. 2 - He mentions hearing a "swell orchestra". He went to church to hear Christmas carols.
1942-12-22 pg. 3
1942-12-22 pg. 3
[Same letter group - to Grace] - He talks about celebrating Christmas. "All we do is eat down here. All the boys have received cookies and candy from home…" He sent her piano teacher money & tells her to practice.
1942-12-22 pg. 4
1942-12-22 pg. 4
Pg. 2 - "How's the sleigh riding and ice skating… We still go swimming down here."
1942-12-22 pg. 5
1942-12-22 pg. 5
[Same group of letters - to June] - He uses "dead" as an adjective repeatedly, so it must be a sarcastic reply to something she said. His roommate will write her, too. "What's this about being asked to get married? Don't you know all the men are in the army. These guys are just slackers or draft dodgers…. after this is all over most of those that aren't married are going to race to see how fast they can get married…. Here's hoping I dodge it."
1942-12-22 pg. 6
1942-12-22 pg. 6
Pg. 2 - He talks about dog and horse races. "I'll be just a cheap gambler…"
1942-12-22 pg. 7
1942-12-22 pg. 7
Dec. 19, 1942 [Appears to be mailed with the previous] to his father - He asks him to send him $50 that's due from his Christmas Club account at the bank. He sent a present for the whole family. "…prices down here are very high…" "I figure it will take till 1945 to really get this country back to normal even if we win this summer and I think that is very probable." He misses his music & radio.
1942-12-22 pg. 8
1942-12-22 pg. 8
Dec. 18, 1942 [Appears still part of the previous group of letters] to Charlie - I don't know if this was censored or he made a mistake & typed over it. He asks his brother about swimming in a pool, about Flip, & the snow. He talks about watching flight & shooting practice.
1942-12-22 pg. 9
1942-12-22 pg. 9
Dec. 18, 1942 [Same group of letters] to Alice - He appreciates candy she sent. He asks her about band & school. He tells her he went to Miami & heard the University of Miami Symphony play its first concert.
1943-11
1943-11
Undated: "The trip here was sure swell. We stopped over in Chicago…. The camp is terrible…. built on a filled in swamp" He describes the barracks. In winter they burn soft coal which produces a smelly gas. He likes the town, though.
1943-11
1943-11
Pg. 2 - He enjoyed supper at the Lutheran center. He's working for the Personnel Affairs Office on the 5th War Bond Drive. Some friends from Miami are there.
1943-12 pg. 1
1943-12 pg. 1
Undated: writing about being in hospital for 12 days. He was bored after 10 days & felt well. He made pot holders & sent them to his mother.
1943-12 pg. 2
1943-12 pg. 2
Pg. 2 - He made something he sent home for Christmas using materials from Red Cross.
1943-12 pg. 3
1943-12 pg. 3
Pg. 3 - "10 guys were killed" 2 training planes collided. He went to funeral of one guy from S. Dakota.
1943-12 pg. 4
1943-12 pg. 4
Pg. 4 - The funeral was 35 mi. away [he must be in the states]. He was a guard & firing squad. He describes ceremony.
1943-12 pg. 5
1943-12 pg. 5
Pg. 5 - Funeral description continues. It was his first military funeral. He got a box from home & asks his father, who he calls by his first name, Albert, for a bill so he can pay for it. He comments about their trip to Washington, which must have been in their letter.
1943-12 pg. 6
1943-12 pg. 6
Pg. 6 - He addresses his brother, Charlie. He hopes his sister, Alice, gets into the Nurses cadets. He says it would be good to get insurance policies "though they may all live to be a hundred" & that it's a good investment. Sister, Eva, is taking a business class. He asks her about taking typing & stenography. They eat pheasant, but not venison. which apparently his family had for Christmas. He got Readers Digest & Time magazine as gifts.
1943-12 pg. 7
1943-12 pg. 7
Pg. 7 - He asks about Grandma Kremer & says "So long" as a salutation.
1943-2-6 pg. 1
1943-2-6 pg. 1
2-6-43 - [Faded ink on yellowed paper makes it hard to read.] He received a cake from his family as a gift, shared it, & everyone loved it. He mentions putting in his OCS papers. He's going to see the Don Cossack choir.
1943-2-6 pg. 2
1943-2-6 pg. 2
Pg. 2 - He continues to describe the choir, which he had seen in Corning. He talks about going to "Hi Li" & then being broke for the rest of the month. "We had a shake up in the hotel and I had to change my room…"
1943-5
1943-5
Undated from Don to his "Folks" - He writes about the army & that he'll be there for a long time. There are X's over his letter like another one, so it's probably around the same time. I don't know if he's correcting mistakes or it's censored. He's selling insurance and they have to make triplicates of each copy of a service man's refusal to buy it. He got photos. "Marge and I thought they turned out very well." He's been going to the hospital to see Don Jr. He talks about entertainment for servicemen. He addresses Charlie when referring to air craft that he saw. He addresses Gracie about her piano lessons. He asks Alice if she went to graduation. He also teases Eva about "friggin around".
1943-6-24 Envelope
1943-6-24 Envelope
Envelope date June 24, 1943 in Miami, for following letter.
1943-6-24 pg. 1
1943-6-24 pg. 1
To his mother - He ate a piece of apple & pint of milk at the service club, overlooking the ocean. He does guard duty. He had been home recently & took a photo on the couch which turned out bad. While home, he enjoyed his mother's cooking and didn't have to make his bed & clean his room.
1943-6-24 pg. 2
1943-6-24 pg. 2
Pg. 2 - "I think the weather down here improves ones health. Even so I'd rather be home." "Don Jr. is in the hospital…he's always glad to see me."
1944-11-21 Envelope
1944-11-21 Envelope
Nov. 21, 1944 - Envelope has Sioux Falls, S. Dak. return address.
1944-11-21 pg. 1
1944-11-21 pg. 1
"We had our first snow last night." "Thanksgiving was just another day…" He has "a large circle of friends" with "plenty to do". "I had dinner at my girl friends house and we are both writing letters..." They go to the Swedish Lutheran Church young people's meeting. They do the same things all the time in the small town.
1944-11-21 pg. 2
1944-11-21 pg. 2
Pg. 2 - He's getting his tonsils out. He heard his mother is home again. He asks his father to send Corning glass to give as gifts to his friends & "a couple old lades that have been feeding me… Pheasant." He's sending them money.
1944-11-21 pg. 3
1944-11-21 pg. 3
Pg. 3 - Jim asked him for cigars, but "they're as hard to get here as in the east." "Ann says its time to go to church." [Ann must be his girl friend.]
1944-7-14 from Eva pg. 1
1944-7-14 from Eva pg. 1
July 14, 1944 - To Don from Eva. "Midge was home the week before last…" She's writing on "Chatterbox Campus Notes". Marge is stationed in DC. She asks how he likes Sioux Falls.
1944-7-14 from Eva pg. 2
1944-7-14 from Eva pg. 2
Pg. 2 - "Today we started fixing the parlor. We painted the woodwork." Then they'll paper the walls. She had a "feather cut" to make her hair short & thinner, which is cooler.
1945-12-31 Envelope
1945-12-31 Envelope
Dec. 31, 1945 - envelope from San Francisco, CA
1945-12-31 pg. 1
1945-12-31 pg. 1
[Same pkg of letters, but probably not mailed that way as this sounds like a different time] - He receive many letters. He's answering letters from Aug. - Nov. "The LST that we took came in at Linguyen Gulf were we loaded them." He talks about a boat & going to Korea.
1945-12-31 pg. 2
1945-12-31 pg. 2
Pg 2 - Describing the 12-day trip to Korea.
1945-12-31 pg. 3
1945-12-31 pg. 3
Pg. 3 - Still about the trip to Korea. The water was rough "several of the boys were quite sick." They came in to Jenson Harbor.
1945-12-31 pg. 4
1945-12-31 pg. 4
Pg. 4 - He met the mayor of the town who was a major general. "He was a good Joe and gave us a good many tips about the Gooks (people), the currency, and the point system." They took trucks to Seoul.
1945-12-31 pg. 5
1945-12-31 pg. 5
Pg. 5 - Describing first impression of Korea. It smells bad "all over the orient… The people have fine homes and nice buildings in their cities but they are very dirty. Very few of the buildings have any plumbing at all." He's with the 308th Bomb Wing.
1945-12-31 pg. 6
1945-12-31 pg. 6
Pg. 6 - Describing Seoul. "We are stationed about a mile from the center of town." "The main shopping district is Bon Jung over in the Japanese district." "Mr. Shin our interpreter took us on a tour of Seoul. There is a wall around the city about 500 yrs. old…"
1945-12-31 pg. 7
1945-12-31 pg. 7
Pg. 7 - "We also saw the Budah Temple and Shinto Shrine. Will send pictures showing these places and the people with their oriental dress." He'll tell them about the Old King's Palaces. He's operating a teletype machine. In Dec. they'll send people home.
1945-12-31 pg. 8
1945-12-31 pg. 8
Pg. 8 - They had turkey & fixings for Thanksgiving. He sends postcards with pictures that he wants for his album. He tell his father that he hope he keeps his job [he must have received a letter saying there was trouble at Corning Glassworks].
1945-12-31 pg. 9
1945-12-31 pg. 9
Pg. 9 - Wishes them a Merry Christmas.
1945-12-31 pg. 9-10
1945-12-31 pg. 9-10
Friday, Dec. 28, 1945 - Waiting to hear from the family after Christmas. They had turkey. "The best news…men with 50 to 55 points" or over 3 1/2 yrs. can go home; he'll have 3 1/2 in Feb. He's at the Keijo Imperial University (engineering college), Seoul, Korea. It's been snowing & cold. Communication is hard at the market & they have to barter the price down. It looks like "DARN" got turned into "BARN" - censoring? He talks about Jim not going to school & he hopes he & Dora stay in Corning [they lived there until they died]. He sent woven bamboo rug to his mother.
1945-6-11 Envelope
1945-6-11 Envelope
Envelope dated June 11, 1945 from San Fransisco air mail to his mother in the hospital, but changed to home address.
1945-6-11 pg. 1
1945-6-11 pg. 1
"Dear Mother" - He's on a ship "somewhere in the Pacific". "After leaving Salt Lake we traveled through Nevada and Calif. to our ship." He talks about censorship & repeats other things he writes to the whole family on July 27.
1945-6-11 pg. 2
1945-6-11 pg. 2
Pg. 2 - Continues to write about Salt Lake City as he does in the July 27 letter.
1945-6-11 pg. 3
1945-6-11 pg. 3
Pg. 3 - He tells his mother that his letters will be censored but her letters to him won't be.
1945-7-27 Envelope
1945-7-27 Envelope
July 27, 1945 - envelope from San Fransisco, so he's overseas
1945-7-27 pg. 1
1945-7-27 pg. 1
Undated - He left Salt Lake City "after a very eventful stay and went to California." He's writing from a ship in the Pacific. He explains censorship overseas. His first paass from camp, he went to the State Capital building overlooking Salt Lake City. It looks similar to the capital building in Albany. He saw a very large bronze statue of an Indian.
1945-7-27 pg. 2
1945-7-27 pg. 2
Pg 2 - He describes his view of Salt Lake City. On other passes he went to other places in Utah & learned about the Mormons.
1945-7-27 pg. 3
1945-7-27 pg. 3
Pg. 3 - He continues to describe Utah. He was fascinated by the organ in the Tabernacle. He describes Mormon beliefs.
1945-7-27 pg. 4
1945-7-27 pg. 4
Pg. 4 - He continues to describe Mormon beliefs. "The families that I met in Salt Lake were all proud of their large albums…"
1945-7-27 pg. 5
1945-7-27 pg. 5
Pg. 5 - He continues to talk about Salt Lake City. He talks about getting mail overseas. "You can use a sex cent air mail stamp when sending air mail…or V-mail for three cents.
1945-7-27 pg. 6
1945-7-27 pg. 6
Postcards sent home
1945-8 Envelope
1945-8 Envelope
Envelope return address is San Francisco, CA - Aug. 1945
1945-8 pg. 1
1945-8 pg. 1
8/14/45 - "only three mail calls since we left the states…. The trip to the Islands was very uneventful… After a month on board ship it was good to see land… Manila…The whole business section was completely bombed out. The Red Cross building was…left standing." He gets food there. They have a pool table, piano, and davenports.
1945-8 pg. 2
1945-8 pg. 2
Pg. 2 - This was censored - something they call Philippinoes. "…inflation has set in and prices are high. Most people live on the outskirts of town where it wasn't bombed so much" but in the city they put up bamboo and canvas to protect them from the weather. It's dusty from bombs; he wouldn't get a pass to go again. His tent at camp is near the ocean.
1945-8 pg. 3
1945-8 pg. 3
Pg. 3 - "small hamlets…made of thatch roofed homes on stilts…. people speak English" "We have movies every night on the post." He's glad to hear his mother is home. He asks his father to send him a flashlight.
1945-8 pg. 4
1945-8 pg. 4
Pg. 4 - He also asks for a jack knife with a can opener, fountain pens… and chocolate candy. He's pleased to have swiss steak.
1945-8 pg. 5
1945-8 pg. 5
To Eva & Grace (same letter set) - He got their letters - "2-V mail and three letters". Eva went to Chautauqua & he's never been.
1945-8 pg. 6
1945-8 pg. 6
Pg. 2 - Grace had written him about a trip to Washington. They passed their grades & will probably be in school again by the time this letter gets to them. Marge came home. He went to a home weaved out of bamboo & on stilts in the Phillipines with 8 rooms. "The Japs didn't bother the vicinity with bombing."
1945-8 pg. 7
1945-8 pg. 7
Pg. 3 - He continues to discribe the house he visited. "The high school kids started to school today for the first time in three years."
1946-1-18 Envelope
1946-1-18 Envelope
Envelope is ripped & has no date - from San Francisco, so he's overseas
1946-1-18 pg. 1
1946-1-18 pg. 1
Jan. 18, 1946 - He received a letter after the family had Christmas together. His mother broke her arm. He's heard his boat to return home will arrive on Sun., so he should be home in a month or so, going into Fort Dix. His package of books arrived home, but their package to him did not arrive. He moved from the university to the air strip & live in "quonset huts". He talks about the Korean uprising, that no one got hurt, but they had to do KP as their "Gooks" were gone. Some go hunting in the snow. Korean girls work in the office who can read English, but can't speak it, so they joked about it. He sent oranges home previously and they arrived OK.
1949-11-25 Envelope from Janice
1949-11-25 Envelope from Janice
Nov. 25, 1949 from Janice Wickwire to Don's parents.
1949-11-25 pg.1
1949-11-25 pg.1
Nov. 25, 1949 - She got a letter from them that June had an operation. Shes' sending a note to June, but this one is to her in-laws & Charles.
1949-11-25 pg.2
1949-11-25 pg.2
Pg. 2 - She had visited 2 weeks ago & says she had a nice time at the banquet. They liked the Apolo Club choir from Wellsville. They got a film & instruction book & thanks Albert. The roads were bad, so they didn't get to Buffalo, but the weather is better so they're going tomorrow. She hopes they had a good Thanksgiving. She took photos of snow.
1949-11-25 pg.3
1949-11-25 pg.3
Pg. 4 - She can't wait to see the photos. She signs Don's name before hers.


Contact us to get a memorial for your loved one.
(joyce.dowling [at] comcast.net, subject: Memorial web site)

© Dowling Web Design