Tents housing SeaBees on Adak Island, 1943
Dmitri Kissel – Time and Life Pictures/Getty Images
I have a couple more undated letters from my grandfather. These two have identical postmarks of September 10th, 1942, but I think they were written a few days before. I am posting this letter first because there has been a slight gap in the letters. My grandfather mentions this right in the first paragraph. His second letter mentions going to church that day. In 1942, Sunday fell on September 6th. So it may be possible that these letters were written earlier than I originally thought since I had been going by the postmarks. Luckily, the letter following these two is dated. I will no longer have to wonder. I will be posting the second of these two letters tomorrow.
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![September 5, 1942 (RSY) Envelope [postmark 9/10]](http://genealogylady.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/1942-09-05-rsy-envelope-postmark-10th.jpg?w=150&h=94)
- September 5, 1942 (RSY) Envelope [postmark 9/10]
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![September 5, 1942 (RSY), p. 1 [postmark 9/10]](http://genealogylady.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/1942-09-05-rsy-p-1-postmark-10th.jpg?w=94&h=150)
- September 5, 1942 (RSY), p. 1 [postmark 9/10]
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![September 5, 1942 (RSY), p. 2 [postmark 9/10]](http://genealogylady.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/1942-09-05-rsy-p-2-postmark-10th.jpg?w=95&h=150)
- September 5, 1942 (RSY), p. 2 [postmark 9/10]
Letter transcription:
[undated, written between September 3rd-10th , 1942]
Dear Mother,
Due to a shift in post office conditions I have been unable to write for a few days but that will be corrected shortly I hope.
We are now “sorta” located and by way of comparison the cabin we had in Wisconsin last year was pretty good. We are here four in a tent with “hot and” cold running water some distance up the hill. Each of us has a 3 gallon bucket for our very own. The bugler blows each AM around 6:00 and I think that means to get up at least it seems impossible to sleep after that. This outing is a little different than one expected but there is nothing that will be too hard on us. Just
(Page 2) a little hard on our pride. The food is good and plenty of it.
So far I haven’t received any mail from home but those letters I mentioned before. Maybe we’ll get some in a month or two.
So far I haven’t seen Dr. Lentz but I understand he will be here in a day or two. I have some of his clothing he with my things and it makes it rather crowded.
I’ll be writing again more often than in the last day or two I hope-
Love Daddy
It seems like the postal service was a major point of contention. Everything takes so long to be received that even when they do get a letter, there is always the question – He was fine two weeks ago, but is he (or are they) still alive and well?”
That is so true. I can imagine how hard it was for the families that received the final telegram and then, to continue getting letters after the fact.
That last thought is a depressing one, Deb. What a different world, now with email and Skype. And it’s hard for us to imagine that so much was accomplished in terms of moving people, supplies, weapons, etc. without benefit of computers. Just keeping track of people and where they were, and where to send the mail…what a challenge.
My dad’s subtle sense of humor shines through here. “…by way of comparison the cabin we had in Wisconsin last year was pretty good. We are here four in a tent with … cold running water some distance up the hill. Each of us has a 3 gallon bucket for our very own.” For our very own! For all the years I knew my father, he was not the outdoorsy type. The closest he came to that was working the yard. But there were no camping trips, no hiking in the woods, not even any picnics. He’d had enough of roughing it.
You have no idea how much I am appreciating your labor of love on these letters, Deb. I’m getting these rare glimpses into the life of the family before I arrived.
That bit about the cabin in Wisconsin….they must have gone on vacation there. I never knew.
I loved the bit about the cabin in Wisconsin. I wonder where they went.