Letter or Postcard – Letter
Sender – Ralph Peterson
Recipient – Phyllis Peterson
Postmark Place – Red Bank, New Jersey
Postmark Date – 31 May 1943
Letter Date – 29 May 1943
Text:
My dearest wife and baby,
How are my two girls tonight? I hope you are both feeling good. I am getting along fine and I’m feeling good. Got my shoes and a letter from you today. Boy do those ever feel good on my feet after having those big army shoes on all the time. I am really grateful to you for sending them. Of course I know you would send anything I ask for. Please excuse this pen as the damn thing is leaking ink all over I think. I have got it fixed now. I am sorry to hear that you and your Mom aren’t getting along. I had an idea that it wouldn’t work out. Way back in my head I was hoping that your mother would get it out of her head that you was at last old enough to take care of yourself. I know she has some crazy ideas and of course you will be the one she will take it out on. I hope you can stay there until I come home, and then we can have our place all by ourself. I am just waiting for that day. Think you can wait, sweetheart? And don’t worry about everybody not wanting you. There is one little soldier boy who is your husband who wants you and needs you more than anything in the whole world. And don’t worry about our little Bonny girl not wanting you. I think something would happen to her if you wasn’t around, and if you didn’t care for me something what happened to me which I know would not be accidental, so I think if we all want and need each other we will come along all right. Just keep that in mind. I need you and you need me and our little Bonny girl needs us both. You think I am right? Say, baby, you asked me whether I would care if you worked at Chapman’s. If you really want to go there and work just go ahead. I don’t want to say whether you should or not, but if you really want to I say go ahead. But do you think Avis will be around all the time while you are away? I suppose she would, and you would be home at nights. It would be some time away from your mother. Go ahead, honey, and try it for a while and see if you like it. But don’t go falling for any of those grease monkeys down there unless it is for your pappy. There is not anything else to write about tonight and so I guess I will close until tomorrow, so night now, honey. Keep your chin up until I come home again. Give baby all my love. Ralph
Notes: Haven’t yet seen the letter from Mom yet but apparently she was fighting with her Mom and feeling down. Letter got pretty dark for a moment in the middle with the references to bad things happening that wouldn’t be accidental. I never met my Grandma Grant but I understand she was a strong personality. My Mom sure was, and I can easily picture those two personalities slamming heads from time to time. An earlier letter had mentioned that Grandpa Grant was working at Chapman’s.