Author Archives: John
About 250 Gallons of Beer
September 21 and 26, 1943. Two letters to Dad from his brother Stanley. Writing from Cut Bank, Montana, it looks like Stanley and the rest of the 401st are getting ready for overseas deployment. Both letters are relatively short one page affairs. On the 21st he writes that they “had a camouflage school…in a theater … Continue reading
He Will Be a One Man Army
September 15 and 19, 1943. A couple of letters home from Dad while stationed in Topeka. Both letters seem to have been written in the evening while he was relaxing in the barracks with the radio on. The programming that he mentions on the radio includes Nelson Eddy and Susanna Foster in the “Phantom of … Continue reading
Albany is Getting Important
September 13 & 16, 1943. Two letters to the boys from home. Albany is in the grips of the in-between season when it can get hot during the day and extremely cold at night and then it is cold and rainy the next day. Anna explains that “through the night the weather gets cold and … Continue reading
A Lot of Time and Typewriters
September 6 and 11, 1943.Two letters from Dad to home. He spends a good bit of the September 6th letter advising Anna on the status of his income tax payments. He essentially tells his sister that she should advise the IRS that he is in the Army. “…it would be a good idea to let … Continue reading
That Little Wailing Voice
August 31 and September 2, 1943. A couple of letters from home. There is no real news in the letter of the 31st. Anna mentions that Joe Miller is home again for the weekend. It looks like he manages to spend a lot of weekends home as he is stationed in the Boston area. A … Continue reading
The Blackfoot Indians
August 31 and September 3, 1943. Two letters from Stanley to Dad. The 31st was payday, so Stanley has been busy the last few days of the month getting everything in order. On the last day of the month Stanley managed to knock off work early and spend some time in the orderly room catching … Continue reading
It Feels Fine to Be Sgt.
August 30 & September 1, 1943. A couple of letters home from Dad while he is stationed at Topeka Army Air Base. He starts off with the news of another promotion, this time to Sergeant after being a corporal for only month and a half. He boasts, “How does it feel to have two brothers … Continue reading
Jenny DeCaro Gets Married
August 24 & 27, 1943. A couple of letters from home. Baby Theresa is about 10 months old and continues to grow and learn all kinds of important things. Anna reports that “when you stand her up in the crib she grabs a hold of the spokes and stands up all by herself. She also … Continue reading
Chief Clerk of Everything
August 24 and 27, 1943. A letter home to Albany from Dad while stationed in Topeka. It looks like he is back into the swing of things having been back at camp for a week since his furlough, even though he reminisces “when I was home mama fixed up such eats which I never get … Continue reading
I Never Saw Such Beauty
August 22 and 23, 1943. Two letters from Stanley. In the good news department, Stanley has been promoted to Staff Sergeant effective on August 20. Stanley boasts, “I am the top ranking man in our family” referencing that he outranks not only his brother but a few of their cousins as well. Most of the … Continue reading