June 11, 1943. Anna writes a letter to Dad. For the most part she is responding to letters that her brothers Stanley and Anthony have been writing home. Anna assures Dad (Anthony) that his father has made the second quarterly payment on his income tax. She also addresses a comment Dad made in an earlier letter that he was considering Officer Candidate Training which might interfere with his ability to get a furlough. Anna passes on his mother’s advice that he take the opportunity even if it delays his coming home.
Anna also responds to the letter that Stanley sent in which he detailed his ride in a B-17 to get to Geiger Field from Ephrata, commenting, “I am glad that you enjoyed your plane ride.” She also tells Stanley that she sent the pictures taken of him while he was on furlough but that it might take a while for him to receive them as they were sent to Ephrata before Anna knew he had moved.
Anna also asks if Dad had sewn on his Private stripe yet. She encourages him to do so, so that when he comes home he “will have something to show off.”
In non-war related world news, apparently Dad had sent Anna an article about the first successful transport of human sperm used for human artificial insemination. It was likely an article reporting on this paper in the May 15, 1943 Journal of the American Medical Association. Anna refers to the Article as “Plane Stork for Test-tube Canada Baby” although the procedure has little to do with in-vitro fertilization. Anyway, it seems that Dad (as a devout Catholic just barely out of his teens at the time) had some questions about the procedure. Anna writes, “…that is true. Lots of babies happen that way when the husband is sterile. Mostly men object to something like that because they feel they…are not man enough to be fathers, but I think that is silly. If you can’t have it one way have it the other.” This is a pretty progressive attitude coming from an aunt that I always saw as having very traditional beliefs.
In other news from home:
- The family received a V-mail letter from their cousin Eddie Morawski. Anna mentions that she will be writing him back. From what I can find online, Eddie enlisted shortly after the Pearl Harbor attack and saw action in the Southwest Pacific, including on the island of Guadalcanal.
- They also received a letter from their friend Joe Miller who expressed his gratitude for all that Anna’s husband had done for him. Joe asks that they continue to write him.
- Anna’s husband Eddie received another 2A classification that good until November 14, 1943. Anna reacts, “That is better anyway and when the six months are up I hope they give him another six.”