Dad’s Letters Home
I Want to do a Good Job
December 31, 1943 and January 1, 1944. Dad writes a few letters home from Topeka. He spends New Year’s Eve staying in camp and enjoying the peace and quiet in the barracks. New Year’s Day sees him working in the office. He recounts a few stories from around camp, reflects on his service, comments on … Continue reading
On the Go
December 9, 10, 12, 17 and 20, 1943. Dad writes several letters home. For the most part they are fairly short. The first and last letters of the batch were written from Topeka Army Air Base while the others were written from locations throughout Nebraska as Dad and others were traveling on official duty. As … Continue reading
Not Even a Consolation Prize
December 2, 5, and 8, 1943. Dad writes several letters home to Albany from Topeka Army Air Base. Most of them are fairly short one page letters just to keep in touch. One of them runs a full four pages. All are handwritten. We get another little glimpse into his work, we learn how he … Continue reading
I Sure Made Up For All of You
November 20 and 25, 1943. Two letters home from Dad. He relays a story about one of the guys who had to ditch a girl in town who was taking advantage of him. He also writes a little about his work and gives a rundown on what was served on base for Thanksgiving. Finally, Dad … Continue reading
A Far Cry from Camp Upton
November 8, 1943. A handwritten letter home from Dad. He mentions getting Anna’s November 4th letter the day before. So if you were wondering, it takes about three days for letter to get from Albany to Topeka. He spends a good bit of his letter writing about the local weather, compares his experience in Topeka to other … Continue reading
They Deserve a Salute
November 1st and 5th, 1943. Dad writes two letters home from Topeka Army Air Base. He has received the last few letters from home and has really enjoyed reading about the exploits of his now one year old niece There is a new guy in the office and after a few minutes of talking with … Continue reading
On the Noisy Side
October 23 & 27, 1943. Two letters home from Dad while he is stationed at Topeka Army Air Base. The 21st Bomb Wing celebrated the first anniversary of its formation. Never one for big parties, Dad decided to stay back in the barracks with a few of the guys while the rest of the guys … Continue reading
Indian Summer in Topeka
October 17 and 21, 1943. Two letters home from Dad who is stationed at Topeka Army Air Base with the Headquarters Squadron of the 21st Bomb Wing. Dad reports that he had CQ duty last night and has the day off. This gives him a chance to catch up on his letter writing, He acknowledges … Continue reading
If It Ain’t One Thing It’s Another
October 9-13 1943. Several letters from Dad to home in quick succession. In the first letter of the batch, Dad gives an indication that he has time to write home when he specifies “There isn’t much going around except that the guys who were considered overages left for over-the-pond training…” He even has time to … Continue reading
I’d Like to Match His Experience
October 2nd and 5th 1943: a couple of letters from Dad to family back home in Albany. Dad comments on a few of the items mentioned by Anna in her last note: Regarding the bananas Eddie got from a customer – “We …don’t get bananas so darn often. I think we had them once since … Continue reading