Letter or Postcard – Letter
Sender – Ralph Peterson
Recipient – Phyllis Peterson
Postmark Place – St. Petersburg, Florida
Postmark Date – 16 April 1943
Letter Date – 15 April 1943
Text:
My dearest wife and baby,
Got your letter and your lovely card today. Gee whiz, honey, that card was so darn nice that I darn near bawled with lonesomeness when I got it. I showed it to all the guys in my room and they all thought it was real swell. It was sure nice of you to send something like that. It helps cheer me up. I only wish I could send you something like that, but as it is I am sort of on the low side of my pocketbook. In fact, I have enough money for another haircut and that will just about clean me out. If you could send down two or three bucks I could sure as the devil could use it. But if it is going to make you short then forget all about it. I know you can use it but in case you have a couple of dollars to spare you know where to send it. I would have had enough if I had quit smoking, but I couldn’t do it. I don’t smoke so much, but I guess I can’t quit. There was a great big shipment out of here today, but I guess I just wasn’t ready to go. That makes me the last one from Waushara County that is still here. The other two left today. That quarantine I was put on set my shipment back a few days, but I guess I will be out of here next week. At least I hope so. If I stay down here another week I am going to be a drill instructor. That will be training some of these rookies that are coming in. Boy, am I getting to like that. Will I have fun with them. I got the Argus this morning and a card from Avis tonight. I will be the only one that will read the Argus now, but keep on sending it. The card from Avis was a real nice Easter card, but not half as nice as yours. Nothing could be as nice as anything you could send me, even if it was $1,000. I would so much rather get your love sent down to me. Gosh, darling, I can’t think of anything else to write tonight, but will try and write a more interesting letter tomorrow to you. There really isn’t much going on so there isn’t much to write about, so until tomorrow all my love and kisses to the sweetest wife and baby in the whole world from Daddy.
PS – I am glad you and the baby are well. Just keep on that way. Night, now. Ralph
Notes: Kind of pathetic to see Dad bumming a couple bucks off Mom and then blaming his smoking habit.