Post #245 - December 7, 1943 It Was a Thrill Just to Handle the Packages that Came from the Good Ole U.S.A.

 

Post #244 - December 6, 1943 Red is Still in Hospital and has been Transferred Out of the Company

 

Post #243 - December 4, 1943 What Us Yankees Haven’t Taught the English Lassies About Jitterbugging is a Sin and a Shame

 

Post #242 - December 2, 1943 Here’s My Usual London Letter with Caricature by “LAZ”

 

Post #241 - November 30, 1943 You Must Have Felt Pretty Much as I Did When I Read of the Train Wreck Near Philly that Took So Many Lives

  

On September 6, 1943, the Congressional Limited derailed at the Frankford Junction curve as a result of loose equipment in the train’s undercarriage. This accident left seventy-nine killed and 118 injured. In 2015, an Amtrak train approaching the curve at over 100 mph crashed in the same spot. (Special Collections Research Center, Temple University Libraries) 

London, November 7, 1943, Eyewitness account: Putney Dance Hall Bombing by Frank Wells

London, November 7, 1943, London Dance Hall Catastrophe photos.

Post #240 - November 29, 1943 This is the First Letter Your Dad has Ever Addressed to You

 

Post #239 - November 27, 1943 I Do Wish I Could Describe the Base Here

 

Post #238 - November 26, 1943 USO Show Titled “At Ease” with Hank Ladd as M.C.

There are no records on Google about this particular show, but I researched Hank Ladd.

Post #237 - November 25, 1943 A Dinner-Dance and Thanksgiving in England

 

A letter dated October 23, 1943, occurs previous to this one chronologically. It appears as Post #1 because when I began this project, I was anxious to show the quality of the writing in these letters and the detailed descriptions that are contained herein.

Post #236 - October 8, 1943 If I Crossed a Few More Oceans, I’m Convinced I Still Couldn’t Find a Girl Like You

 

Although I have gone through all my letters and files of letters that I have scanned over several years, there is a gap in the letters of about four months. During this period, we know from the dialogue, that my father was stationed at Fort Dix, New Jersey, which was only about 30 miles from my mother’s home in the Logan neighborhood of North Philadelphia. It is possible that the letters ceased for a while because my father was able to get passes or furloughs which allowed him to visit my mother more frequently until the time he was shipped out to the base where he spent the rest of his time during the war years of 1943, 1944 and half of 1945. Many of the letters that went between them were these v-mails which allowed the government to photograph and shrink the standard-size letters so that tens of thousands could be delivered by a single plane without wasting fuel.

Post #235 - May 30, 31, 1943 For a Wedding Gift, Goldie’s Father will Furnish Their Entire Home and I’ll Only Be Able to Stay a Few Hours, Sweet

 

There is a several-months gap between the above letter (#235) and the next one (#236). The missing dates are from May 31 (above) to October 8. So far, in going through the letters, I have found one that was misfiled and it occurs during the gap. I had assumed that Philip and Evelyn were together during these months, before he was shipped over to England and therefore didn’t write, but apparently, I was mistaken. I am updating this post on June 29, 2021. Below is the misfiled letter:

Post #234 - May 28, 29, 1943 My Mind is Full of a Million Thoughts and I’m Only Depressed as a Result of My Imaginings