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- April 19, 1943 envelope
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- April 19, 1943, p. 1
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- April 19, 1943, p. 2
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- April 19, 1943, p. 3
Letter transcription:
Apr. 19, 1943
Lieut R. S. Yegerlehner USNR
Navy 60
Fleet P.O.
San Francisco Calif.
Dear Mother,
Have been buzzing around this A.M. as much as the tropic will allow but as a whole I’ve felt good since coming to this area, although Alaska would be appreciated along about now.
Glad to hear in your letter that finances are coming along OK but I’ll try to send a little home if there is any way to get some of that on the book. What I’d
[page 2] like to do is increase the allotment when and if I get to a place where that is possible. Sometimes when that is done the old ones have to be dropped for a month before the new starts and if that be the case I’d have to send some in order to tide you over. And the much talked of uniform money has not arrived also I think your transportation will be paid only one way to Norfolk. Even that is more than I expected but
[page 3] I’m beginning to wonder if any of that will arrive.
We didn’t have the steak for dinner yesterday but on the whole our chow is better than a few weeks ago with prospects of continual increase in “goodness.”
Well that’s all for this time –
Love Daddy
Russell Islands
Image by Kelisi at Wikipedia.com (Wikipedia Commons license)
©2014 copyright owned and transcribed by Deborah Sweeney
Post originally found: https://genealogylady.net/2014/04/24/alaska-would-be-appreciated-roscoe/
Genealogy Lady 
I guess I’m confused about the pay situation. Were US dollars actually shipped to the South Pacific? How could they be spent there? Then service members mailed the cash back to relatives in the states?
From what I understand, American dollars were given to the soldiers. They could buy things from military stores. I am betting some of the locals also accepted American currency. I think it was very similar to how the soldiers were paid on MASH. You could draw out your pay or keep it in the books for a later withdrawal. If the soldiers needed to send money home, they got money orders. Before Roscoe left the states, he arranged in allotment to be sent directly to Kentland for Gladys to use.