Letter or Postcard – Letter
Sender – Ralph Peterson
Recipient – Phyllis Peterson
Postmark Place – St. Petersburg, Florida
Postmark Date – 2 April 1943
Letter Date – 1 April 1943
Text:
My dearest wife and baby,
Here’s letter number two to you today. It is one of the few pastimes I enjoy in the army. Now don’t think I hate the army. I don’t really like it, but as long as I have to be in I’m going to make the best of it. I would much rather be home, but I have not got much to say about it. Had a quiet day today. Nothing to do. I took a shower, washed out a suit of clothes, and slept a lot of the time. About four I went up to headquarters and got the mail for our squadron. After I walked way up there to get it then I didn’t get a letter from you. I don’t know if I told you in my first letter or not that I got one from Clarence. If I did I will tell you again. He told me all about seeing you and how he held the baby for quite a while. I really felt good when he told me that you both look swell and were getting along good, only the way he put it was he said that my family was getting along real well, so he must like you and Bonny all right. He thinks the baby looks a lot like me, too. If everybody says so she must look a little like me. You know, there is hardly anything to write about as I didn’t get any letter from you and I haven’t none of your questions to answer. Did you get the baby baptized yet? If you have let me know. Say, you couldn’t take a picture of you holding the baby and send it to me, could you? Gee whiz, I would sure like to have one of you holding our baby. I wish you would do that as quick as you can. Boy was it ever hot today. I took off all my clothes except my pants and laid out in the sun for about two hours so my whole upper body is a nice cherry red. I’m going to keep on doing that for all the time I am quarantined and maybe I will start to get a tan. I still look kind of white, but a few days and this sun will change that. I got paid yesterday so I’m going to have my picture taken and send it to you…that is, if I can get one good enough of me to send home. That will be pretty hard to do. I can’t think of anything else to write now, honey, but I will try and write more tomorrow. Until then, night sweetheart from Daddy
PS – Send a picture quick as you can. I would like to see what my little baby looks like.