The Althing

Letter or Postcard – Letter

Sender – Ralph Peterson

Recipient – Phyllis Peterson

Postmark Place – St. Petersburg, Florida

Postmark Date – 4 April 1943

Letter Date – 3 April 1943

Text:

Dearest wife and baby,

Another day of laying around with nothing to do. The only thing I do now is eat, sleep, and write to you. It sure is one nice vacation. I only wish you was here so I could spend it with you. Better still, I wish I was up there. I got sent to headquarters today at noon for the mail for our squadron. I looked for a letter from you but I had one yesterday and couldn’t hardly expect one today. Still, there is a night mail I have to get yet. Nothing would please me more than getting a letter from you again today. I said I didn’t have nothing to do today. Well, I was a little wrong, as I had charge of quarters this forenoon. All I had to do was sit in the office of the hotel and answer the phone and keep everything in order. That isn’t very hard to do with only eleven men here. I listen to the radio most of the time. Right now I just got back from the 4th floor. I was laying up in the sun for about two hours. I do that every day. It makes me feel a lot better. We are supposed to be out of quarantine next Monday. If we are we will be moving to another hotel. Hold it. The guy’s just came back from the field and the Sarge told all of them that they were not going to move. They are all happy because this is a hell of a nice hotel. I am reading a real interesting book. The name of it is “Guadalcanal Diary.”

It tells all about the first bunch of Marines who landed in Guadalcanal. It’s a 275 page book and is it ever good. How is the baby feeling now? I hope she is a lot better, and you too, honey. Please take as good care of yourself as you can, and if you need me just send for me and I will try and come home. I can’t think of anything to send you and Bonny so I will send you a little money. It won’t be much but it will help you out a little. I am not going to send it by money order. I can’t get out to do that. That will leave me about $8 for the rest of the month. I’m going to buy what I need now and send the rest of it. You will have more use for it than I will. Let me know when you get it. That will help pay back the $10 I borrowed from you. This is about all for now, but if I get a letter from you tonight I will write you another one. Until next time, all my love and kisses to the dearest wife and baby of mine from your soldier daddy Ralph.

Notes: Dad was not known for his recreational reading. I never recall him reading a book for enjoyment although he read the newspaper daily.

Letter or Postcard – Letter

Sender – Ralph Peterson

Recipient – Phyllis Peterson

Postmark Place – St. Petersburg, Florida

Postmark Date – 4 April 1943

Letter Date – 3 April 1943

Text:

Dearest mother and baby,

Well I got your letter tonight on the last mail call. Now to answer some of the questions that you asked me. First, I am so glad that you and the baby are getting along a lot better. It makes me feel awful good to get letters like that one. Just don’t worry about me so much and take good care of yourself and Bonny. That’s the only important thing in the world. As long as you are alright and getting along good then everything will be alright. So your company at last left. Maybe you can get some peace and quiet for a while. I am glad you had a picture taken of you and Bonny, as now I can see what my little daughter looks like. Boy am I going to like that. What are you and Joy doing, having a little competition over the babies? I think ours will win because if she takes after her mother she is a cinch to. If your Dad wants to wear any of my clothes and he can fit them let him have them. They will be too small for me when I come out of here. He liked that glass belt of mine pretty well so if you want to and he will wear it let him have it. Is he still working at Chapman’s or isn’t he? You ask your Mom what she wants to do. I mean running out without her shoes on. Tell her I will come home and give her the devil. I bet you have already. Whatever gave you the idea that I would want the other side of your breast? You know I never did that before. Or did I? Maybe you can prove different when I get home. We will wait and see. If Bonny girl likes it I sure as the devil will, and I won’t have any trouble hanging on. I don’t want you to lose any sleep or be getting sick over writing to me. Just wait until you feel better, then you can make up for it. Don’t worry about the army changing me, because I will still be the little blonde Dane that you love no matter where I am. This is all for tonight, honey. More tomorrow. Love and kisses to my sweetest wife and baby from Ralph.

PS – That $10 will be a part of a birthday present. More later.

Note: Joy was Mom’s sister-in-law, wife of her brother Alvin. They had their first child, my cousin Alan Grant, just six days after my sister Bonny was born. No comment on the sexual reference, no matter how benign.

Letter or Postcard – Letter

Sender – Ralph Peterson

Recipient – Phyllis Peterson

Postmark Place – St. Petersburg, Florida

Postmark Date – 3 April 1943

Letter Date – 2 April 1943

Text:

Dearest Phyllis and Bonny,

Here it is the second day of April and I am still quarantined in. I will be put back to work about next Monday or Tuesday, at least I hope so. If nothing else happens I will be shipped out sometime next week. There is still 65 guys in our squadron so I will get to go with someone I know. After tonight the eleven of us in quarantine will be the only ones left in our hotel. The rest of them will be moved to another hotel. It is a beautiful day down here. I am writing this letter on the porch of the second floor sitting on a soft bench in the shade of a palm tree. It really is swell up here now. The only thing to make it perfect is to have you and Bonny right beside me. That’s the reason I would like a picture of you and our baby. It would make me feel more like a Daddy. I didn’t get a letter yet today from you, so I will wait until tonight and finish this. Maybe I will have a letter from you then. I just got back from getting the mail. When I seen I had a registered letter from you I’m telling you honey, I couldn’t hardly open the letter. I was so darned scared that something that happened to you or the baby. When I opened it up I was quite a little relieved, but I’m still awfully worried over you still being sick. About this furlough business…I can’t get one until I get shipped to school, which will be about a week from now. Of course if it is absolutely necessary I can get an emergency furlough. If you need me at home for something you have your mother send a telegram down here saying that you are real bad. If it is possible it would be a lot better if I waited until I get shipped to school. With all that company you had there’s no wonder that you aren’t more sick than you are. That’s an awful pile of people to have over a few days in the condition you are in. If it could be quieter you would feel a lot better. Gosh, honey, take good care of Bonny and yourself as that is the only family I have and I don’t want anything to happen to you. If anything did happen to either of you I guess I would kill myself. I got a letter from my pal who was shipped out last week. Bill Pick is along with them. They are in Camp Lee, Virginia, not much closer to home at that. I’m sorry about not answering that telegram, but when I got it I was almost broke and now that I got some money I can’t get out to send one. I sure am in one hell of a fix. This is about all for now, as I can’t think of much more to write about. Until next time, lots of love and kisses and God bless my wife and baby, Ralph

PS – Take care of yourself.

Notes: Some more of the strange “young Ralph” hyperbole and change of speed here. “I guess I would kill myself. I got a letter from my pal…”

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.

Letter or Postcard – Letter

Sender – Ralph Peterson

Recipient – Phyllis Peterson

Postmark Place – St. Petersburg, Florida

Postmark Date – 1 April 1943

Letter Date – 31 March 1943

Text:

My dearest wife and baby,

Hi, sweetheart. How are you today? I hope you are better then you have been lately. I haven’t got the measles yet but I’m still quarantined in. It will last from three to seven days I hope it is only three, as it is doggone tiresome laying around with nothing to do. The shipment I was supposed to be on left at 12:30 this noon. There was only one guy from Waushara County that left with them, so I still have three boys from up there to keep me company. Marvin Roeske from Wautoma is still down here. This was one morning that I didn’t have to get up when the bugle blew. I went to bed last night at nine and didn’t get up this morning until seven. Did that ever feel good, when a guy could wake up when the bugle blew and then drop off to sleep for a couple more hours. It’s a real nice day down here today. The sun is nice and bright and a nice cool wind is blowing. We’re supposed to stay in our room, but we go out and sit on the porch and we even go down to chow. Today is the last day of the month, so I will get paid either today or tomorrow. You will get your payment the first of the month. I suppose that will come in pretty handy for you. Let me know as quick as you get it, will you, and also how much you get. As quick as I get to a permanent station I will have you send me Bonny’s birth certificate so you can get some money for her. Out of our Squadron of 200 men we only have about 75 or 80. I have to close now as I am called out to get paid. Here I am back again. It is about five hours since I started the first part. I got the whole amount of $20.17. That will keep me going for the next month. I don’t need nothing except soap and stuff like that. I hope you get your allotment soon. This is the longest day I have had since I have been down here. Another shipment just is going out as I am writing this letter. A kid from Redgranite is going them. His name is Rex Carey. Now all who are left from Waushara County are Marvin Roeske from Wautoma, Harold Sullivan from Hancock, and myself. I only hope that I can get to go with one of them. This is about all I can think of now, honey, so have to close. All my love and kisses to my honey and baby, from Daddy.

PS – No letter from you today, but I bet I get one tomorrow.

Notes: Dad mentioned Marvin Roeske and Rex Carey several times in this first part of his military training. I haven’t been able to find much on them after perfunctory searches. I did find Harold Sullivan’s obituary.

Letter or Postcard – Letter

Sender – Ralph Peterson

Recipient – Phyllis Peterson

Postmark Place – St. Petersburg, Florida

Postmark Date – 31 March 1943

Letter Date – 30 March 1943

Text:

My dearest Phyllis and Bonny,

I got your letter today and I’m going to sit right down and write you one back. That makes two letters in two days and that is the way I like to get them. I got some news for you. I was supposed to be shipped tomorrow but a guy in our room came down with the measles, so I won’t be able to be out for the next seven days. I have to stay in my room all the time except at mealtimes. That isn’t the hardest part of it, though. There were six guys in our room and they were all going up to Truax Field at Madison. At least that is what they told us. If it is true and I have to stay here I will be so damn mad that I don’t know what I will do. The guy that came down with them is one of the guys that just moved in our room yesterday. All the rest of the guys in our room that were going to go are pretty mad, too, as they are all from Wisconsin. All I have to do is stay in my room all day so I can catch up on some of the letters I have to write. I will send about two or three to you every day. I am so doggone mad that I don’t even know if I can write a whole letter now, but I will try to forget it and write. So the baby looks like me. I wish it didn’t as I want it to be good looking like you. You know yourself that I ain’t much to look at. I look in the mirror and wonder what you ever seen in me anyway. Now I bet you married me for my money, didn’t you? Ha, ha! After looking at myself in the mirror and then looking at your picture it makes me wonder all the more how you ever started going with me. I guess I was just pretty lucky. I have your picture sitting in front of me now and every time I look at it I get so  darn lonesome for you. In fact I darn near bawl every time I look at it. You are so far away from me and there is nothing I can do about it. I knocked one guy flat on his rear end for saying something I didn’t like about you. After he found out you were my wife he apologized for saying what he did. He thought that you were just some girl I had back home, but anybody that says anything against you or your picture has something on them hard, and that thing will be me. So you are spoiling our baby already. Well you had better do your share of it before I get home because when I get there I’m going to do a little spoiling of my own, and I really mean spoiling. When I get there I’m going to take her in my arms and I ain’t going to let her go for all the time I am there. I am also going to get a hold of you and not let anybody else touch you while I am there. I tell you honey, it is getting to be just hell being away from you. We will make it up when I come home, won’t we? You asked me whether you should get the baby baptized now and where you should have her baptized. As long as we were married in a Methodist church and you belong there I think we should have it one there. When I come home and if you want me to I will join the church. I suppose she will have to be baptized pretty soon, won’t she? If she didn’t have to be baptized for a while I would like to be home when she was. ‘Course if she has to be baptized right away you will have to go ahead and have done by yourself. I would like  awfully much to be there though. You know I made one hell of a mess of everything when I left. I should have saved some money last summer but I didn’t know what it was to take care of anybody. Now that I know I could cheerfully kick myself right square in, well, you know where. I will make it all up to you honey after this is all over. I promise that I will make it up and ten times more. I will give up everything have got if I can make it easier for you. You know, you never told me if you got my pictures or not. But you must have if you showed them to Clarence. Yes, I got them taken on the same spot as he did. Tampa, where he was, is only across the bay from here just a short boat ride. The way you talk about our baby makes me all the more mad because I can’t come home. It’s just the same as your picture. That don’t take your place at all but it sort of helps. I would so much rather have you right beside me in person. Gee, why if that could only be so. I don’t want you to spend any money on me because you need all of it that you can get. Of course if you want to send some homemade cookies or something down here that will be all right. Stuff like that really hits the spot. What do you mean I have a stubborn chin? You know very well that I never get mad at you, don’t you? Maybe I am wrong, though. How well I remember when I used to drive like the devil when we had a little argument about something. The best part of that was when you would snuggle up to me and tell me you was sorry for something you never did. It was all my fault in the beginning, but I couldn’t see that. How does my radio play since you got it fixed? I hope it is a lot better than it did when I left. Just had an interruption. One of our fire drills. We cleared the place in less than two minutes. There isn’t much more to write about now and it is getting along to nine and lights out, so just keep on sending my mail down here for a while yet. Until tomorrow night, sweetheart. Ralph

PS – More news tomorrow.

Notes: Neither of my parents were particularly religious. Dad was raised Lutheran and was confirmed. Mom was raised a strict Methodist of the variety that didn’t do much on Sunday other than go to church. By the time I came around in the 60’s we went to church once a year on Easter, other than some brief forays to local churches, mostly by us kids. In Daytona that meant a brief time at a neighborhood Baptist church, and later in St. Augustine a similar span at a Methodist church near the bakery. As for the pre-war, pre-marriage fights between my folks and Dad “driving like the devil,” we heard this story as kids. These “fights” were all entirely verbal. Never saw my folks raise a hand or anything else to each other, but they would damn sure raise their voices. Dad’s first car was a 1932 Chevrolet with a rumble seat (like the one pictured below) which, I believe, he bought from his older brother Clarence. He and Mom would be on a date and they would fight, and Dad would then start driving like a wild man down the narrow dirt roads of Waushara County.

Letter or Postcard – Letter

Sender – Ralph Peterson

Recipient – Phyllis Peterson

Postmark Place – St. Petersburg, Florida

Postmark Date – 30 March 1943

Letter Date – 29 March 1943

Text:

My dearest wife and baby,

Well, I got your letter today and I am telling you honey I sure was glad to hear from you. I was so  darn glad to hear from you that I just sat down and read it right where I was, and I was sitting right in the sand. I got my (?) khaki suit all dirty but I didn’t give a damn as long as I heard from you. So you had a big party up there when Alvin was home. I wish I was there. Not to get drunk. I tell you sweetheart, I have not touched one drop of liquor since I have been down here. In fact, I haven’t even been in a tavern, and for me that is pretty good. But I promised you I wouldn’t touch a drop of that stuff and I’m going to keep that promise, or any other one that I make, and that is the whole truth, honey. I am sorry that you had such a bad time when Alvin and the rest of them were home. So you stepped in between your Dad and Alvin again. Listen, honey, if they want to fight I don’t want you stepping in between them anymore. You might get hurt, or something like that, so if they start anything again and I ain’t around I want you to step aside and let them go at it. It isn’t your place to do that. All the hell you give to anybody I want you (?) to me. If I only was home now I bet you would have something to say to me after what I wrote, but don’t be mad because I think it isn’t your place to do that. Maybe it is, but this is just my idea. Let Joy give Alvin hell and I think your Mama can take care of herself. I am glad that Clarence came down and saw you. I suppose he was the only one of my relations that did, but I think you understand how they are. So the big brother even got something for you. Well I will tell him when I write him again after all I had something to do with it. If you have too much candy you can send some of it down here to me. I can’t even buy a candy bar or any kind of loose candy down here. By the way, you can’t send it down here to me as I won’t be here by the time you get this letter. Yes, at last my name came up in the shipping order and I think I will move out tomorrow or the next day. And then again I might go in the next hour. You can never tell when you were going, but I will have time to write you a letter or two tomorrow if I haven’t gone by then. I am glad that I am going to get out of here. I got your two letters that you sent me by special delivery. They didn’t get here any quicker than any of your other letters did. I got the little lock of hair that you (?). I put it right in my pocket book where I will be sure to always have it. This is all the time I will have to write to you tonight but I will write more tomorrow, and that I promise. I won’t be able to send a telegram because I am sort of broke right now, but I will write you all the way on the trip wherever I go. I only hope that I get off at Madison. If I can scrape enough money together I will send you a telegram. Until tomorrow I will close with all my love to the sweetest wife and baby from Daddy

PS – Keep on with the writing.

Notes: The thought of my Grandpa Grant and Uncle Alvin fighting is somewhat comical. Grandpa was well under five feet tall while Alvin was over six feet. Mom herself wasn’t much more than five feet tall and could not be viewed as a peacemaker, at least as most people envision. Still, I saw her break up a fight or two over the years and she wasn’t afraid to wade in between combatants regardless of their size. My Dad in later years wasn’t much of a drinker, perhaps a beer at a restaurant once a month. I do know he drank a bit more in his younger years. As for his promise that he had not gone into any taverns down in St. Petersburg, that may be true…or it may not. He was in the Tampa/St. Pete area more than once before the war and during one of those times he did see Sally Rand do her fan dance at a club somewhere, but that might have been later.

Letter or Postcard – Letter

Sender – Ralph Peterson

Recipient – Phyllis Peterson

Postmark Place – St. Petersburg, Florida

Postmark Date – 29 March 1943

Letter Date – 27/28 March 1943

Text:

My dearest wife and baby,

Hi sweetheart,

How are you and my baby making out in all of this heat? I forgot. It isn’t warm up there yet. I suppose it even freezes once in awhile. If the weather gets any hotter here than it was today I think I will start baking. I don’t mean bread, either. Just my skin. My nose was badly peeled at first but now it is getting better. I am writing this letter in the middle of the afternoon. I don’t have nothing to do now until six tonight. Then the whole Squadron is going on guard for 24 hours from six tonight until six tomorrow night. I will be two hours on and then I will have four off. It will be my first taste of guard, but it won’t be so bad as we will have Monday off. All I have to do is walk back and forth of one of these hotels. Another bunch of guys left today but I am still here. I will be gone by next Wednesday. No letter from you yet today, but we have had no mail call. I hope there is one there from you. We will get it after chow, so I will not write no more until then.

(continued the next day)

Well here it is one day later and I didn’t even have time to finish the other letter. I was just pulled out of my room last night and put on guard. I was posted in front of a hotel and was on guard two hours and off four. I am telling you, I sure am tired. My feet feel like they are burning up. I got one great big blister on one of them so I don’t think I will work tomorrow. I sure could use the sleep. When we are on guard duty we are on for 24 hours. We take our blankets and stay in a big hotel. We sleep with our clothes on all the time and I tell you sweetheart it gets mighty lonesome walking a post about two in the morning. I got your telegram today about two. I thought something had happened when I first got it. I thought something had happened, but when I opened it up I was surely relieved. I sure was glad to hear that the baby and you are getting along good. I should know better than to think you was mad at me. I might write some things that I don’t mean so try and overlook at if you can. About 60 more guys from our squadron are being shipped out tomorrow, but I’m still here so far. I just got word that I will be permanently stationed here. It is just a wild story. It might be true and it might not. If I’m stationed here I think I can get a furlough and come home. I will let you know more about it tomorrow, if I can. I am so damn tired that I can’t write another word, honey, so I will have to close with loads of love and kisses to the dearest wife and baby in the world. Night, now. Ralph

PS – How is Bonny? Are you home yet?

Letter or Postcard – Letter

Sender – Ralph Peterson

Recipient – Phyllis Peterson

Postmark Place – St. Petersburg, Florida

Postmark Date – 27 March 1943

Letter Date – 26 March 1943

Text:

My dearest wife and baby,

Another day and time to write to you again. This is the part of the day that I really enjoy, when I can sit down at a desk and write you a letter. I try to get a nice corner so I can think, but with my head that is kind of hard to do. Nice cool day here today. It was cloudy all day and that was sure a relief from all that hot weather we have been used to. It even looks a little like rain as I am writing this. I suppose up there you are thinking about planting a garden. Or isn’t the snow all gone yet? I would like to get up there in time to see some snow once again. I really miss that stuff. It may sound funny when I have the whole town of St Pete with all its sunshine. Two days have gone by since I last got a letter from you. I will stay writing and tell you it is raining like hell now. As I was saying, I didn’t get a letter from you today but I got one from Harold Button. He is a PFC now, already a step higher than I am. He is a second cook in the mess hall. He was home on a furlough the first part of this month. While he was there he got married. He congratulated me on being a daddy and hoped you and the baby got along all right. He is one hell of a nice guy. I think you said you talked to him once, didn’t you, at a dance or something? We didn’t do much work today, just sort of laid around and took it easy. We did have one big fight with another squadron. They lined up guys up sixteen at a time about 100 yards apart, then at the sound of a whistle both sides would tear into each other. They could do anything to the other guy as long as he set him down on his rear. I came out of it all right. I didn’t win and I didn’t lose. They called it a draw. Lot of fun, though, seeing all of these guys kicking the devil out of each other in about a foot of soft white sand. The best part of it was, though, that before we had this they gave us a three hour instruction in this Japanese fighting called Ju Jitsu. I didn’t know how to spell that but it is close enough. They taught us how to cripple an enemy in the quickest way possible, the dirtier fighting the better. We learned how to break wrists, necks, backbones and how to put a person’s eyes out. You better watch out when I come home. I will be one tough, rough son of a gun. But I guess they can never change me so much. Tonight it is kind of lonesome in my room. There’s only one guy in here besides me. Bill and this other guy left last night as I told you yesterday. The Sarge said we will all be shipped out by next week so maybe next week I will be a lot closer to you. I hope so, anyway. I guess the reason why I am not getting any letters from you is that you have moved back home and you haven’t had much time to do anything besides take care of our little Bonny girl. But when you get all settled down I want you to write me a letter every single day. You will do that, won’t you? I guess I will have to close now as I didn’t get time to write to Sookie last night and I want to do it now, so I will close with lots of love to my dearest wife and baby from Daddy.

PS – Take care of yourself and write real soon. RP

Notes: In transcribing these letters one can forget this was military training and there was a war going on. Still, casual chat with your young wife seems an odd place to describe gouging an enemy’s eyes out. Harold Button was Dad’s former brother-in-law. Sookie was my Mom’s sister Virginia.

Letter or Postcard – Letter

Sender – Ralph Peterson

Recipient – Phyllis Peterson

Postmark Place – St. Petersburg, Florida

Postmark Date – 26 March 1943

Letter Date – 25 March 1943

Text:

My dearest wife and baby,

Hw is my wife and little girl today? I hope you are getting along fine. I’m feeling very good, but the sunburn got a little the best of  my nose. It looks like a ripe tomato and boy is it ever sore. The way the weather has been down here lately it is no wonder that I have not got my face burned more than it is. Today it was way up to 96. I didn’t get a letter from you today, but I got my present from Sookie. She sent me down a real nice box of candy and she also slipped in a dollar bill along with a nice card. She wrote me a real nice letter. She said that she sent a present to you. I want you to tell me what she sent you. She said she thought maybe Alvin was a daddy already and that she was coming home the same time as he was. That was the last of this month. Today was our last day in our own squadron. All that are left of us now are in a squadron call X. This is just a place where all men go after their basic training is over and they are not shipped out. I will still get my mail though, addressed to 400S. I lost two of my pals from Waushara County tonight. They were shipped out to school about seven tonight. The guys were Bill Pick and the kid I got my picture took with. Say, by the way, did you ever get those pictures I sent to you? You never said anything about them so I don’t know if you got them or not? Let me know if you did or not. Nobody knows where those guys are going that went out tonight, but they were ordered to put on their winter uniform and carry their overcoats, so they will be shipped somewhere up north. When you find out where Pick is let me know so I can write to him. You can find out from Barney and Thelma where he is. I only hope when they send me out they will tell me that I’m going up near you someplace. Then I could come home and see what our little Bonny girl looks like. There I go again, wishing for the impossible again. But it won’t hurt to wish a little bit, I guess. Say, honey, there’s something I want you to do after I get shipped. When I get to where I’m going to stay awhile I want you to send down my underwear. I mean a couple pairs of shirts and shorts. They issued us three pairs but I seem to get them so doggone dirty so quick. I will let you know when to send them to me. I suppose by now it is starting to get a little bit warmer up there. For your and the baby’s sake I hope it gets warmed up real quick this year, and when I come home on my furlough I want to see you and the baby out on the front lawn. When I get there she had better be able to smile at her Daddy or else he is going to be awfully mad. I think I am pretty good at making them smile at me. Maybe it is because I am funny looking, or something like that. I can’t think of much else to write now as there is nothing to write about. When I get a letter from you I will have more to write about. I guess I will have to close now, as I have to write Alvin and Sookie yet tonight. That is, if I have time, and I think I will. This is all for now, honey. Love and kisses to my sweetest wife and baby from your soldier husband Ralph

PS – Send me some pictures of you. I miss you so doggone much that I like to see your face once in awhile. Night, now. RP

Notes: My cousin Sharon, daughter of Mom’s sister Marian, confirmed that “Sookie” was Mom’s sister Virginia. She was also in the military during the war, though I don’t know the details. Brother Alvin was indeed a dad by the time this letter was written, with the birth of his oldest child Alan Gene Grant on 20 March 1943. The “kid I got my picture took with” was Johnny Premo.