1946 July

"3 July 1946 

My very dearest Ellen,

At long last I have come to a lull long enough to enable me to write to you. I, like the rest of the guys that were with me at Awase, have been transferred to Yonabaro and such confusion I never have seen. It would make the O.P.A. look like a simple grammar book in comparison. We have been here since Sunday and finally today they realized that we were here. Nobody knows a thing about a thing and very few care. We have more officers than men and they want everybody to work except themselves. I had a racket for two days driving natives but I lost that and now I am the big man in the Transportation Division. We have about a thousand vehicles from jeeps to twenty ton cranes so I'll be as busy as a beaver for quite a while to come. A few of the chiefs will be going home next month as their 18 months will be up and they are due for rotation. That will make things easier as then I'll be looking forward to my turn at rotation. The time is going by rapidly but not quite fast enough for me as I want to get home to you as quick and as fast as I possibly can. Keep your chin and your spirit up. I have a couple of letters to answer that I haven't been able to answer for the past few days. Two I received prior to your vacation and I have two from you at Falmouth. My mail to you must be going back by rocket as it's getting there before the ink is dry it seems. I really hope that they keep it up as your mail is getting to me quickly and very regularly. Keep up your good work honey as I appreciate you and your letters more than words can say or than I can quite express. Hannie from my way of thinking is turning into quite a rum-soak if you will forgive my saying so. I'm no prude, nor am I without scruples, but there has to be a limit somewhere and Hannie had better draw the line somewhere. There is such a thing as taking a drink or two to be happy at a party and a wedding but it doesn't take too many more to turn into a God damned fool if you will excuse the jargon. Maybe some day she will catch on. At least I hope so. Well honey duty calls for the time being and I'll answer the other two letters tonight or tomorrow. Please take care of yourself and have a really swell time on your vacation. I love you with all my heart and soul and miss you terribly.

All my love

Always

John"

"My very dearest Ellen,                                                 4 July 1946

A glorious Fourth of July to you and I sincerely hope that you enjoyed yourself. It wasn't too bad out here as the Army Special Services put on a big show and we managed to finagle a holiday out of the Navy after a battle. The only setback is the fact that the army has a three day spree to use up and we resume work tomorrow. They had a parade this noon made up of floats submitted by various outfits on the rock. It was pretty short but nice just the same as they represented an awful lot of work for the builders. The army is also putting on a three day carnival over in their area aided and abetted by the Red Cross which is quite a novelty indeed. Boxing and other sports events are scheduled plus an air show by the Eight Air Force that is stationed on Okinawa. 

On Okinawa the Navy is too small and too busy to mess with that sort of an extravaganza so all we do for fun is work and try to get out of it.  They have made Yonabaro a receiving station for transient personnel out in this section of the Pacific. They seem to be getting assigned to every island except Okinawa. I guess they'll get around to us some time, at least I hope so anyway. If I was in telephone contact with you which is impossible, I'd ask you how you were enjoying your vacation at Falmouth but since I'm not, all I can say is how did you enjoy your sojourn? I sincerely hope that you had yourself a very good time as you certainly deserve it no fooling! I'm terribly sorry that I couldn't be with you but if it was at all possible you know that I would have done the same thing that I did last year; namely call you up and let you know that I was home. Just about this time I was on my way back to California after spending the best week of my life with the best little gal in the world. My only regret I that it didn't last long enough. Maybe it was best as only God knows what would have happened if we had a few more nights together. I really think that one or two more nights together and under the same conditions and surroundings our emotions would have exploded and Ellen would have been no longer a nice little girl. You would still have been my pride and joy nevertheless no matter what came about. I knew a chief out here who must have went thru the same experience with his girl that I did with you but he had those extra few days. As a result he had to go home on emergency leave and marry the girl as she had given birth to a bouncing baby boy. I often think about him and his situation and then I say to myself 'why couldn't I have had two or three more days and maybe I could go home too.' I only think about it, as I'd never want you in a predicament like that. After we are married alright but before marriage no, no, no. The more I think of us and all this wasted time that we are apart the madder I get. I promise as soon as I get home I'm going to make up this wasted time so we had better get married right away. I miss you so much that it's really pitiful. I love you with all my heart and soul, I want to marry you and be with you more than anything else and yet I can't. There just isn't any justice left in this world at all. Please send me some pictures, honey, especially your two piece swim suit. Of course you have to be in it. I hope that you fill it okay. I'll be the judge of that though, you just rush them along. I have to close now so take care. 

All my love 

Always

John

P.S. I have you on my brain. I can't even write my name."

My father had written Ellen instead of John in signing off. 

                

"12 July 1946

My very dearest Ellen,

Hello again! Is it hot out this way! I'm afraid that some day I'll wind up being a puddle of sweat. The whole trouble is that I'm not losing any weight that I notice, maybe it's because I put back all my expended weight by drinking beer and cokes. I guess I must be drinking about a case a day now not counting about a dozen cokes and ice water in between. It's a rough life kid but I can't complain. It's hotter in Hell from what I've been led to believe. We are working like slaves out here and with the heat and all maybe you have noticed the lengthened space between my letters. Please excuse it honey as some times it's almost impossible to write it's so hot. I keep telling the natives out here that it's too hot on Okinawa but they keep telling me that it won't last but three months more. I guess they think they are comforting me a bit in their own way but I only hope that I can hold out till then. My forearms and face is so red that I resemble a walking tomato. The whole trouble is that it keeps changing color. Sometimes it's red and other times it's tanned. I can't quite figure it out unless it's grease. Incidentally they gave us a shot today for sleeping sickness and when they daubed me with mercurichrome (?) I couldn't quite tell where my sunburn ended and the the stuff began. I guess I'm just a tender guy; you lucky kid you! I got a couple of letters from you that I must answer and a package that I must thank you for. It was really swell. Incidentally I'm using the Cheezits as a beer tantalizer. They really hit the spot. Thanks again. I'm very glad that you had a good time at Falmouth. As I have told you time and time again you earned it. I guess Madeline must react to the sun the same as me. Remember the Sunday that we went down Fieldstone and I go so burnt that I couldn't put my shoes on and I could hardly drive home. Such is life. I keep thinking of events that occurred during our interrupted heyday and I just sit around moaning and thinking for a few hours each day. If I keep it up I'm afraid that I'll get fired. I guess that last week that we spent together was the best of them all though. Agreed?

I'd give a billion dollars to get home, get married and then pick up where we left off. We will eventually but just to get back now would be well worth it. As far as being inexperienced in married relations is concerned, from what I've learned off hand it comes natural. As far as my own experience on the subject is concerned I'll remain vague as it may embarrass me. One thing is certain though, I'm not getting any experience out here. I wouldn't if I could. You see I'm saving myself for you, so that's that. Well honey I'll close out now and will continue tomorrow. I love you with my whole heart and miss you more than you'll ever know - All my love always 

John"

"13 July 1946

My very dearest Ellen,

It is now Sunday morning here on this beautiful island of Okinawa  and with the radio putting out the strains of some Johann Strauss' best work I can be in no other mood but a loving and sentimental mood. I just returned from Mass so my religious obligations for the day have been fulfilled. I intended to go to Confession and Communion but arrived at the Chapel a little too late. They hear Confessions before Mass for about thirty minutes and if I had had enough energy I could easily have made it. One of our chiefs was relieved from watch at about 6:30 and woke me up when he came in. That being a little to early I rolled over and didn't come to until 7:45. I dragged myself out of the sack, shaved washed and went off to Church. Up to now you can see that it has been a pretty exciting day but nevertheless I came to the firm conclusion that I should write to you now when it is comparatively cool, 85 degrees F, than wait until later on in the day.  I miss you like anything honey and wish that I could get home to see you for a while. Since I can't I'll have to keep on thinking and wishing that I was where I aut to be namely close by you. Our day will come eventually though the delay is driving me frantic. I'm not the only one who is dreaming dreams like that as there must be fifty guys from Mass. out here with me. The trouble with them is they just got married before coming out here and you should hear them beat their gums about this rock-bound duty. They could send for their wives and bring them out here but they would have to sign up to stay out here a year after the wife arrived. They have all been out here now for over a year and they can't see another year out here scoot. Rumors persist out here that our outfit will fold up around September. A bunch of seaman replacements are due next week plus a few wives of some of the officers but the word is spreading that they are being held up at Guam especially the seamen.  We aren't the only outfit that is short-handed. A carrier out here was so short handed that it couldn't leave port. When replacements went aboard they were piped aboard, an honor that is reserved for high ranking officers and dignitaries. Such is the manpower condition of the Navy at present. I guess they had better send me back to do some recruiting duty. Maybe they should send me back, period ... Incidentally my Polock buddy that was with my brother is now out here in the bay aboard a seaplane tender. He came ashore to see me the other day but I wasn't around. The whole trouble is that he can't get ashore to see me and I can't get a boat to go out to see him. We were also graced with the presence of Forrestall the Secretary of the Navy. He's a swell egg from the point of view of all sailors and I only hope that he stays in the Cabinet until Truman gets out. Well honey I have to close now and will write to you again in a day or two. Please take care of yourself. I miss you an awful lot And love you with all my heart now and 

Always

John"

"Sunday 21 July 1946

My very dearest Ellen,

Here it is the end of one week and the beginning of another. As you will undoubtedly solve yourself this is my first letter in almost a week but conditions have been so hectic out here for the past week that it was an impossibility to do anything at all. We have been sweating out a typhoon all week and it eventually wound up with seven days of solid rain to add a little more woe to our already miserable existence. I don't know nor can I understand where all the rain comes from. It just poured and poured for hour upon hour then it stopped only to commence once again in all its fury. I guess it must have been our belated rainy season catching up to us. Today is once again a sunny day and as I came and went to church the sun felt really good. I hope it keeps sunny now for a while to dry out our dampened clothes and bedding. I wrote to you last Saturday and as I didn't have any stamps I couldn't mail the letter. Just about that time they decided to close down the mail room for five days so you'll get both of them together. I got paid a week ago and I haven't been able to make out a money order to send home. On top of this I got a second shot for sleeping sickness that almost floored me. I still have a lump under my arm from it. I guess everything happens at once out here. All our broken down conditions are being remedied though slowly but surely. The mail room is opened once again and a registered mailman is now in charge so that will be running smooth for a change. I guess it will take time and Providence to clear up most of the other defects out here. We are getting replacements out here now so our work should be able to slow down for a while. A few of the chiefs I'm with are due to go home on 18 months rotation but due to the shortage of personal out here they are being retained as essential. They are really blowing their tops over it but there is nothing that they can do about it. With these replacements coming in maybe they'll get to go home pretty soon. As for me I'll be forced to sweat it out until late fall which out here doesn't seem to be to far away. I'm glad they are sending replacements out here and I hope they keep it up because when I get home I'd like to stay stateside for a while. Most of the guys who are coming out are guys who spent the past few years in the States and are now out here because someone caught up with them. They all came in this week and with the rain, mud and high winds they were left with a drab outlook on life. They will have to get used to it I'm afraid as they are due to be here for a long while. I saw Tom's buddy Ski out here last Sunday. He hasn't changed a bit. He is aboard a seaplane tender out here in the bay but is due to head Stateside in the near future. It felt funny meeting him out here as I always associated him with good times spent back in  Philly. He is supposed to drop in on Tom when he goes home. Well honey I'll close for the present and will write again after chow. I miss you an awful lot and wish that we could get together somewhere sometime preferably as soon as is humanly possible. I love you with all my heart honey and will always and 

Always

John"

"Sunday 21 July 1947

My very dearest Ellen,

Hello again honey. Here I am again and believe it or not the sun is still shining brilliantly for a change - maybe we will eventually get dried out and return to our every day routine. I have a couple of letters to answer I have a couple of packages to thank you for. I have only one complaint and that concerns the packages. They set you back to much money to send out here so just resort to the sport page in the future. I really appreciate it no end but I don't want you to be spending that kind of money on newspapers for me. According to your letters that vacation in Falmouth really wore you out instead of building you up. As long as you enjoyed yourself there is nothing else that can be desired. As for my boys I haven't heard from them for quite a while. I guess that old adage 'out of sight out of mind' is really correct as far as it goes. I did get a letter from my buddy in Atlantic City. They had a sort of reunion down at his house around the middle of June. From reports everyone had a swell time and all went home 'happy' if you know what I mean. As for my coming home soon I hope your womanly intuition is correct. I'm not expecting to go home but surprises are always in order as fas as I'm concerned. As for Pete Moran and his wife's impending blessed event, I guess he has the same point of view as me. Incidentally I wrote to him quite a while ago but never did get an answer of any sort. Maybe this married business is taking up too much of his time. The old married men tell me that the first year of married life is a busy, busy episode and takes up all of their time. Not being experienced on the subject I really wouldn't know but give me time and I'll find out for myself. As for your holding me to my statement that I will be a wolf when I get home I guess you won't have much to worry about on that subject. I wish I could be around now on those occasions when you are in a loving mood. I'd really give you a workout and I'm not kidding either because I get these moods as often as you if not more frequently. Oh, happy day, when I get home with you things will change from this drab rock-bound existence to something out of this world. Give me time, just give me time. As far as Madeline is concerned I think she'll be sweating out a man twenty years from now with the same luck that she's had so far. I have your housecoat with me and will send it as soon as I can get something to wrap it in. It's really nice although it may be a bit long but I guess that you can fix that. If I get any more of this stuff I'm afraid that you'll turn Oriental but as long as it's you I won't care a bit.  

Well honey I must draw to a close again for the second time today. I'll write again tomorrow so until then please take care of yourself. I love you with all my heart and soul and miss you terribly, really I do. All my love 

Always

John"

"Wednesday July 24, 1946

My very dearest Ellen,

Another day has passed which eventually means that I am a day nearer to getting home. It will be a while yet but nevertheless every day that passes is a day nearer to my arrival back to God's country. That will indeed be a happy day and the faster that it rolls around the happier this guy will be, and I ain't kidding either. Out here every thing is rapidly developing into a state of mass confusion. I don't know what's going on from day to day and every day I am losing more and more interest in the whole deal. I hope all the Navy isn't as confused as  N.A.B. Yonabaro or we'll just pack up and go home and give it up as a bad job. At present I am in the transportation division attempting to keep our motor vehicles rolling but the whole scoop is that for every unit we get running two others come to a screeching halt. You can't win no matter how hard you try. Don't worry about me working too hard as in a position similar to mine it's to no avail. Enough of my groans for now so I'll get into answering your letters. I have a couple here that I have to answer. I got two letters yesterday and two today plus a postcard that you sent from Falmouth. Undoubtedly the most prized of all was the letter with the pictures enclosed. Thanks a million millions kid as I appreciate them more than you can ever imagine. They really came out wonderful and you look as chic and as sharp as a tack. The biggest trouble is that I can't get home to see you soon enough after seeing the shots. You look really swell hon. I don't know why you are complaining about your hairdo as I personally think that  it's swell and does you a world of good. The picture that I'm in love with is the one where you are leaning against or sitting on the picket fence. You really look marvelous kid. Why in the name of all that's holy can't I get home so that I can marry you and be with you always and always instead of only having a picture to drool over? I guess I'm paying for my 'wicked' ways such as they are but someday I'll get a chance. All of the pictures as I said before turned out swell despite any statements you make to the contrary. As for your two piece suit it certainly does become you and it's most revealing, ribs and all. Gosh, (?) honey I miss you something awful, even more than usual. It's like seeing you for about ten seconds and then being dragged away without being able to speak to you. It's a crime at times no fooling and this is one of the times. Just wait until I get home honey and I'll love you so much that - well I can't think of a good comparison at present. It's getting late now so I'll close for now. I'm madly madly in love with you and the more I look at your pictures especially the one of you leaning against the fence the more I'm in love with you. I guess I'm swooning over you honey but that's the way it is. I love you with all my heart. Why we weren't married before I'll never know but please wait and I'll try in my humble way to repay all this wasted time. 

I love you and miss you dearly and will 

Always 

John

P.S. Thanks again for the pictures as you'll never realize how much of a boost they give me and how much more I miss you and love you if I could love and miss you anymore than I did before they arrived. I love you, always."

"26 July 1946

My very dearest Ellen

It is now Friday morning here on Okinawa and everything indicates that we will be forced to put up with a stifling hot day whether we like it or not. Our rainy season seems to have ended for the present as we haven't had any rain now for almost forty-eight hours which is exceptional to say the least. I'd better not crow too soon or else we'll be flooded once again. Outside of sunshine in place of rain everything continues to be the same. Confusion predominates all other activities and functions out here, so with everyone and everything in a hectic state nothing is being accomplished and since we are so low that we can't lose anything we are standing still but firm on rock bottom. I just got off watch at 8 am so I've taken an hour or so off to write to you and to rest up a bit. With that type of routine you can see that I'm not wearing myself out so you can drop any ideas that you may have that I am being overworked. Well, the dependents have finally arrived out here on Okinawa but it's a little too early to get any reactions either favorable or unfavorable from them. I guess when they outgrow the glamor and novelty of being at an outpost they will settle back and live in the same rut as the rest of us just sweating and swearing till we head east once again. Maybe now that a few wives are out here these Red Cross trollops will stop tossing their derriers and bosoms around in their enticing and accustomed manner. Some of them, Red Cross women that is, thought they were Lana Turners and the like when competition was nil but I guess they'll crawl back in their hole now until they return to the States and obscurity. I often wonder why Rita O'Hara never went into that racket. Then she wouldn't have manpower trouble whatsoever. They would be flocking around her like a bunch of ants on a lump of sugar. I guess she missed her chance. 

I just read over your last couple of letters and I guess we both agree that our last week together was the best whether you wish that you did turn out to be a 'wicked' woman as you put it and wound up with a bouncing bundle. I'm glad that it turned out as it did. I guess we'll have to classify that week as a sort of appetizer  or an entree of things to come when we get together once again. I guess if we keep planning as we are we'll have the first couple of years of our married life booked solid. I don't know what the waiting period is back home but I hope it isn't too long as it will only be time, cherished time too, going to waste. I guess we'll eventually catch up on our wasted time as, always, is an awful long time. Well honey I've got to close for now so take it easy. I love you with all my heart and miss you terribly. I'll write again tonight or tomorrow so until then All of my love to you 

Always

John"

"29 July 1946

My very dearest Ellen

I'd start with my usual 'Here I am again' but I guess you know that already. I haven't got much to say tonight but I can and will say continually as long as I'm out here that I love you with all my heart and miss you very very much. Speaking of missing you, quite a few of the Army and Navy Joes have overcome their loneliness as their wives came over and landed during the past few days. It'a quite a novelty yet to most of them but after it's all over I'm pretty sure that they will wish to God that they stayed back in the States and sweated out the old mans arrival. I guess they consider themselves adventurers and the like but their only adventure out here will be attempting to overcome the deep silent brooding monotony of not having anything to do except eat and sleep. After their year is up I don't imagine that they will want to hang around for another month or year. After the excitement of their arrival passed over we were alerted for an approaching typhoon that once again failed to hit us. It kept going around in circles between here and Iwo Jima and finally wasted itself at sea or at least I hope it did. They are getting nearer and nearer to us all of the time. Maybe next month we'll hit the jack-pot and have more than we can handle. That's about all we need now and then everyone would be blowing their tops for sure. Not one of our officers ever saw a typhoon and they are supposed to be our inspiration and guide. Such is life!

I just wrote to my mother and sent her five hundred bucks to add to my bank account. Maybe by the time I get home I'll have a few hundred thousand in the cash drawer of my favorite bank. That may be a little out of proportion in relation to reality but I'm after all that they give me and more if it's around. I guess we'll need it after seeing some of the food prices that exist in the states. Most of the guys are saving for a new car but they are now changing their minds quite a bit. I think that they will finally settle for a new pair of shoes, that is if there are any available. Well honey I've got to go to bed now so I'll close out for now and try to dream about you. It should be quite simple as I'm continually thinking about you. I love you dearly and miss you something awful. All of my love to you

Always

John"