"1 April 1947
My very dearest darling Ellen,
I'm writing again today to answer your letters that I was so very glad to receive and which I appreciate so much. You are wonderful, honey! You bet I'm yours, and yours alone, forever, and ever. That's all that I ever want to be, just yours and you mine, to love and cherish for eternity. It's so wonderful to be married and I'm so happy over it also. I never could possibly be as happy as I am now since we got married and it's something that I've wanted for so long. I've dreamed of marrying you for so long that when it happened I was relieved and happy. With the war on and being overseas and all I thought I'd be a 'man of distinction' before the ceremony was performed. But luck was with us. Being separated from you for so long and getting married made a new man out of me. Your nearness and love and kindness was all that I needed. Your love and affection mean so much to me and I want to thank you so very much. I love you so much that this being apart hurts deep down inside but since we will be together again soon I think I'll stand up under it. You are so very wonderful, honest you are. When you write letters telling me how much you love me and miss me, it makes me miss you and love you so very, very much.
I got your pictures today and they came out swell. They are clear and perfect. I guess you did get a little thin during our honeymoon but going into a new life and new experiences I guess one does lose weight due to anticipation of coming events. I wish we were still on our honeymoon as it was so wonderful being with you for so long. I want you and need you and miss and love you so much. I'm desperately madly and insanely in love with you Ellen, and I will be until the day that I die, believe me. No one else means a thing to me or never ever will. It's you and only you that I want always and always.
Please don't worry about me working too hard as most of it is routine and light work. It's interesting and nice. As for my funds please don't worry about them either as I'll make out. I got paid yesterday so I'm back on my feet again. When the heat gets to bad down here I can always crawl up close to an ice box we have in our shop. Everything will work out fine.
Of course, I worry about your figure but the beer that you drink won't affect your figure much as it doesn't stay with you long. When I sit down to drink beer with a bunch of guys it goes like water. After a few beer sittings it begins to show in the waistline and sit-down. I'm getting back to my normal weight now and I feel much better. The mugginess & heat during the night makes you feel drowsy in the morning and if I ever came in beered up I'd never wake up. So, very little bear for yours truly. I'm taking things quiet and easy and I'm in no hurry to do anything. It's easy living and restful so I'll relax while I'm down here.
I'd like to be home these cold nights to perform my husbandly duty of keeping you warm by snuggling up close to you and hugging and loving you like mad. I miss our nightlife an awful lot as it was so enjoyable. It took us a little time to get accustomed to each other but we succeeded at last. I tried to be as gentle as I possibly could and I hope that I didn't cause you any pain or bad effects. You were wonderful and understanding. I'm so very, very glad that we are us, as we are such understanding people. I love you.
I'll send the pictures back in this letter that you checked. They came out beautiful honey and you look swell as you always do. I think that you are the swellest girl and wife in this whole wide world. I miss you so much after not seeing you for over a month now but maybe the next few months will roll along faster than the last one. I'm hoping on it very very much as I'm pining and aching to see you and be with you once again. I thought working steadily would take my mind off missing you so much but it doesn't. I think of you all through the day and all night long. Working just takes my mind off concentrating on missing you but that in itself saves me grief and anguish as it eases my day and only lets me concentrate at night when I can write to you. I missed you an awful lot before I was married but never, never like this. It's as though I left a great big piece of my self behind me and when I reach for it I reach in vain. You are the greatest and most important thing in my life and I realize it more and more each day and especially now since we are not together. You are my life, my love, my everything that means so much to me. I love you very much honey and once we get together to stay I'll try by everything in my power to make you happy and be a good husband. I'll close for now and I'll write again tomorrow. I miss you, kid.
All my love to you and
God bless you
Always.
John x"
"1 April 1947
My very dearest darling Ellen,
I am indeed very happy today as I received two letters from you today and I didn't have to run around the base to get it either. It means that I'll be receiving your mail regularly from now on in. Oh that makes me feel so very good as I look forward to your mail so much and when I'm not getting any mail I get so blue and sad. You are so wonderful and dependable in writing to me that I can never thank you enough. I know how much mail means to both of us that's why I'm writing so much. It's the very least that I can do for you and since mail makes you happy, and that's the way I want you to be, I'll continue writing as often as I possibly can. When I write to you it makes me feel good as I almost feel as though I'm talking to you. Things are going along as usual down here and the days seem to be getting shorter and shorter as I get into the swing of things. Maybe in a little while everything will be working smoothly and the time will really roll along. You told me when I was home to grow a mustache so I'm growing one just to see what happens. It's been growing now for two days and it's at its awkward stage. I can't say for yet what will develop but I'll keep you informed as to how it progresses. I filed my claim for my unused terminal leave that I had in excess of sixty days and my check or bond will be mailed to me at your address. They told me that it should get to you in about a month.
I went down town tonight and bought your Aunt Hannah an Easter card. I asked you for your Aunt's address but I guess I should have asked you for the spelling of her marriage name. I'll make out the best I can though but if I spell it wrong I'm afraid one of us will hear about it. I'm sending you some flowers for Easter and I hope you like them. I was looking for a present to send to you but I couldn't find anything worthwhile so I'll resort to flowers. You should get them Saturday sometime. I wish that they had something nice around here that I could send to you but things are scarce down here and what they have isn't much good anyway. I'm afraid I'll have to say it with flowers until something real nice comes along that I think you'll like. I'll close out for now and will proceed to answer your letters presently.
I love you with all my heart and soul and I miss you so very very much. Please take care of yourself honey and all my love you and
God Bless You
Always
John x"
"1 April 1947
My dearest, dearest wife Ellen,
I'm thinking of you so much that I have to write this 'quickie' to close out my day. I've been looking over our honeymoon pictures and just the sight of your smiling face and the thoughts of our honeymoon makes me feel so wonderful and happy. Just loving you and you loving me fills me with joy and elation. I'm so glad and happy that someone invented the camera because without it this would be a drab world. I love you so much honey. Your picture makes me want you so much but since you're not near I'll just imagine and try to be happy that way. Why do honeymoons have to end and the world go on in its usual cruel bleak way? I can recall so vividly our honeymoon which was the greatest finest and best time in my life. If I have my way our life is going to be one great continual honeymoon and nothing will mar our joy and happiness. We'll pick up where we left off when we meet again and continue in that way always. I guess I'd better sign off till tomorrow or I'll run out of things to say. I love you and miss you more than words can say.
All my love to you always
God Bless You
Always
John x"
"2 April 1947
My dearest darling Ellen,
Hello once again! I haven't got much to say tonight as I think I wrote myself out last night. I can smell the Bond Street that you spilled on one of the letters and it sort of sets me spinning down Memory Lane. It captivates me but only when you use it. It fits you I guess and when you are near it does things to me. I didn't get any mail from you today so I guess the Pony Express must have broken down somewhere along the line. I hope that you are getting mine all right. Tomorrow I should make out but if I don't I guess I'll run all over the base again looking for mail that may not have been properly routed. Today was another long day as there wasn't much doing so I spent my time walking around seeing what other people were doing. It all added up to zero as no one else was doing much either. I'll have a watch tomorrow night from midnite until four in the morning so tomorrow should seem endless to me but who knows. I'm developing the attitude now of take it or leave it as far as work goes and if that works out all right I'll continue in the same way. I'd work if there was anything steady to do but in my shop it comes in cycles so you don't get to do much most of the time. The civilians are getting paid for the work so they don't want the sailors to do much. The civilians just do so much every day, no more and no less and when the sailors help out it deprives the civilians of work. Sometimes I think that they do less than I do at times but I don't begrudge them; it isn't their fault.
I just returned from the movies. I saw 'Nora Prentiss' with Ann Sheridan. It was a pretty good show but so confusing. I guess it came out all right in the end for all concerned. Before I left California I saw the 'Fabulous Dorseys' and it stinks. I guess that terrific advertising campaign will let them break even. It seems good though to see half way decent movies instead of replays like we had overseas, so I won't pan them too much. I checked the airlines yesterday by the way and flying time from here to home is about seventeen hours if the planes are on schedule. That's as far as Houston. I don't know how long a lay over you'll have before you can get a hop down here to Corpus Christi. I guess you'll be able to make connections all right at an airlines office when you decide to come down. Corpus Christi is on the map but I think it's there thru a matter of courtesy to the Chamber of Commerce. I love you so very much kid and I miss you constantly that sometimes I don't know exactly what to do with myself. I guess I had better go to bed as that will do me more good than anything else I can think of at present. I'll close out for now honey and bid you a good 'good night.'
All my love to you Always
God Bless you
Always
John
P.S. I still have my mustache but I don't like it at all."
"3 April 1947
My very dearest darling Ellen,
It's so stuffy and muggy down here tonight that I'm almost suffocating from it all. It's been this way all day long and is due to stay with us for a few more days. Its been pea soup foggy all day and with the heat and lack of breeze you can imagine how it is. What with a watch at midnight I'm afraid that I'll be worn to a frazzle. I just returned from the library where I devoured Saturday and Sundays Boston Post. It makes me feel at home, reading them over and get the first hand knowledge of the home scene. Prices seem to be a lot lower in Boston than in most places and especially down here. They throw up a shack down here without any cellar and as big as a cracker box and charge you ten thousand dollars for it. Veterans, the poor suckers, get first choice. Some of the cottages at the beach during the summer are bigger and better. The house that Peggie and Paul are living in is a pretty good idea of the size of them. Somebody is buying them as they are all taken and the people have moved in. For ten thousand dollars at home you can buy a three decker and let it pay for itself with the rents. Maybe in time things will settle down and we can invest in a home of our own. I figure that by the time I get out of the Navy things will have settled down somewhat and then we can see what's what. I received a letter from you today so my mind is at ease again. I was all set to tour all the mail rooms but your letter saved me an awful lot of walking. Thanks an awful lot honey, your letters mean so much to me. I really count on them as it makes my day seem full and complete. It's too bad that Hannie can't connect us at work as it would certainly feel swell to talk to you during the day. How much Bond Street did you spill on the letter the other day! I can still get a strong whiff of it and it smells very nice. Too bad that you aren't here in person so I could appreciate it so much more. To get back on the subject, I guess I'll be getting mail regularly now that it's finally straightened out and will arrive on schedule. I'm glad things are all right at home, my house I mean, but how Joe can afford a car I'll never quite understand. He can hardly keep himself in cigarettes never mind gasoline and oil. He really is a character but a swell character though. Imagine buying a car and not knowing how to drive. I can't understand him but I guess he'll do all right as he is the devil may care type and doesn't care if it rains or shines as long as he's happy. I guess he's going to school too so his time is well occupied what with learning refrigeration and also how to drive.
Now that Tom and Edwina have settled down to housekeeping permanently maybe my father and mother can relax for awhile. Getting that house purchased and set up caused a lot of excitement when I was home but now things should run smoothly for a while, I hope.
About the apartments down here there isn't too much to tell. I put in an application for an apartment unfurnished that with luck I should be informed of in about four months. They are about four miles from the base by bus and out in a dusty section of the hinterlands. We would have to buy furniture for them and furnish them before we lived in them and when we moved we'd have to get rid of the furniture or ship it home. It doesn't sound very nice and when I saw the place I kind of hesitated to register but since I put myself out to get there I signed up. If we did get a place we would have to get a car if we wanted to do anything or go anywhere as the bus service is poor and far between. I sincerely think that we are better off as we are now as I know that your days are full and that you are among friends and are happy. Down here it would be so different that I'm afraid that you would be lonely and unhappy. The watches and all that come my way would mean lonesome nights and sometimes lonesome weekends when I had the duty. As you say we only have a little over a year to go along like this and then we'll be together for always. With my leaves and all we can see each other every three or four months for a couple of weeks anyway which isn't bad. I wish I could speak to you in person and then we could understand the situation. I miss you very much and I want you with me but if you came to stay I know that you would be lonely and unhappy down here just as I am now. I guess we'll go along as planned. You can visit me and I can take leaves to see you. I think you would be much happier that way and that's the way I want you to be - happy always. If you come down I'll show you the set up and you can form your own opinions about the whole deal. As far as the apartment is concerned I'm not obliged to take it so I can cancel it. I'll wait for your opinion though before I do anything about it. Let me know about it as soon as you make up your mind.
As for my loving you always as I do now please never fear. I'll love you more and more each day of my life until I die and with God's help I'll go on loving you after that. You mean more than life itself to me Ellen and you always will, believe me. If this letter reaches you before Sunday I hope that the weather is wonderful and clear and that you are the queen of the Easter Parade.
I'll have to close now until tomorrow. Until then
All my love to you and
God Bless you
Always
John x"
Below is the house where Peggy and Paul lived on Hardy Pond Road.
Tom and Edwina were living at 9 Cedar Street, Mattapan in 1947 - my grandparents were at 11 Cedar Street.
"4 April 1947
My dearest darling Ellen,
I received a letter from you today so my day is complete. I guess they have straightened the mail situation out now so my mail should be coming in quite regularly. For a while I thought that they were censoring it as it crossed the Texas border but now it's different. After a watch last night and a pretty good days work today your letter really hit the spot. I worked steady today for a change and I hope it continues that way for a while as it eased my mind and taut nerves quite a bit. The time also went along at a pretty good pace but my work makes watching the clock a necessity as we can only leave the metal in the ovens a certain length of time in order to get it up to specifications. Nevertheless when you keep doing something all day the day passes as it should instead of dragging along. Today is Good Friday and Easter is only two days away. I hope that it's a good day in Watertown so you can send me some pictures of your new Easter get up as I'm dying to see how you look. I only wish that I could be home with you for Easter but since it's out of the question you can send me some pictures which will make up for my absence in a small way. What weather we are having down here. In the morning when I wake up it's a dense fog that prevails, but during the day a terrific wind blows up and chases the fog away but night fall brings back the fog. I can't get accustomed to it at all. When I got off watch last night the fog was so thick I could hardly find my way to the barracks. I made it after a while though but after the long trek I had to have my uniform pressed today as the fog made it baggy. I guess I had better answer your letter now. I thought the pictures were swell honey and I'm sorry also that we didn't take more. I guess with all the newness of the situation we didn't do or get to all the places that we should have. If you want to go to New York again we will go. We will make it a honeymoon all over again which will indeed be something wonderful to look forward to.
I'm glad that your bruises cleared up all right because every now and then I think of them and commence to worry. I guess they were the result of our not being accustomed to this marriage business which we know something about now. It will be so wonderful to get back to married life once again. I was just getting to know you as a wife and you to know me as a husband when we had to part. It was wonderful honey being with you and knowing you and I look forward to seeing you again so very much. As for renting out your half of the bed well I don't know. You see that I have a lifetime lease on any bed that you sleep in and when the time comes I'll occupy that bed all day and all night until our lost time is made up. I love you with all my heart & soul and I miss you terribly.
All my love to you
God Bless you
Always
John x"
"5 April 1947
My very dearest darling Ellen,
After speaking to you for so long over the phone today I'm at a loss for words but I'll think of something to write. Hannie is wonderful for connecting us today and for so long. I really needed a long talk with you honey and it did me a world of good, honest. Nothing at all matters to me only you. Right after we hung up I ate chow and went down town. There is still nothing doing down there but I had a prescription filled and bought a suit of whites. Don't worry about the prescription as it was only a bottle of hydrogen peroxide to use as a mouth wash. I went to the dentist and he prescribed it as I have bleeding gums. The whites I'll never like but since I'll need them for monthly inspections I had to have them. Now I guess I'll have to get some white shoes. This uniform deal is getting me confused and overloaded with clothes. I'll have to buy a suitcase I'm afraid if I get to go home. I have one more uniform to buy and that's a tropical worsted khaki affair which I'll manage to get in due time. It's a good thing I have a closet to hang them up in as a locker would be too small for me. After our shopping tour I went to a show 'The Shocking Miss Pilgrim' with Betty Grable and Dick Haymes and killed a couple of hours. The picture stunk but I can't have everything.
After coming back to the base I went to Church in an attempt at Confession. The church was crowded so I came back to my room and listened to the radio until eight. I went again to Church and a few minutes ago at ten o'clock I made my confession, and returned. It's not bad enough walking around all day but I had to stand for two hours for Confession. My poor feet and legs are dog tired from it all. I'll go to Communion and offer it up for you and us asking God to help us and keep us happy always and hope and pray that we can be together soon for always. I miss you an awful lot honey and everything that I see or hear sets me thinking of you and longing for you. I wish that we could settle down and have a permanent home and be together always. It will come eventually I know but it seems so far off. Well honey I'll close out now before I work myself up into a melancholy mood. I hope you have a wonderful Easter.
I love you with all my heart and soul and I miss you dearly all of the time.
All my love to you and
God Bless you
Always
John x"
"6 April 1947
My very dearest darling Ellen,
It was a very beautiful Easter Sunday here today with the sun beaming down and the wind was at a minimum. I hope it was as nice back home. If I could have transplanted the weather up there I know that it would have been perfect. I went to Mass at ten this morning and to my dismay the Mass was being sung by a five or six person choir. It was really sung very well too considering that it's a job to train a choir to sing a Mass. It was swell. All the wives were there all decked out in their new clothes and the kids too. It was in a small way a regular Easter Sunday. I went to Communion also and as I told you I would I offered up the Mass and Holy Communion for you and us that we'll be happy and blessed through our married life for always and always. That's all I'll ever want, just a goodly share of happiness for both of us all thru our lives. I miss you very very much and today especially. It seems that we never get to see each other on these festive days. I thought that when I came back from overseas we would see a lot of each other but that doesn't seem to be the case. I guess we just don't get the breaks that's all. I have a consolation though, and it's the fact that the days are beginning to move along now and I can only hope and pray that they move ever so much faster in the future. It will mean that I'll be ever so much closer to being with you for always. It will be a dream come true and a longing and yearning that will be satisfied at long last.
I hope that you had a good Easter at home and that everything went along fine. I wish so very much that I could have been home with you today but instead I had to be down here in this land of heat and wind just thinking of you. Oh the pity of it all. I guess I'll have to pray to have my luck changed for the best. I wish I had something to say but it all adds up to I love you with my heart and soul and I miss you terribly all the time. You are uppermost in my mind and heart always, and my greatest want and desire is to be with you forever. You are all I ever want and always will be. I'll have to close out for now and I'll write to you again tomorrow. I hope I get some mail so that my week will start off perfect.
All my love to you
God Bless you
Always
John x"
"7 April 1947
My very dearest darling Ellen,
The fog is rolling in on us again, and once more, I guess we will be blanketed by the mysterious mists of a Texas fog. I don't really know which place is the worse San Francisco, London or this forsaken spot on Gods earth, called Corpus Christi 'the body of Christ.' The weather I guess is like my moods, working continually in cycles. Fog or no fog I'm in a happy frame of mind as I hit the jackpot as far as mail is concerned. I got three letters from you today plus an Easter card and also a letter from a friend of mine in Atlantic city. One of your letters was forwarded here from California, so I guess I'm all caught up with your mail at long last. It made me feel wonderful as it's the most mail I've received in one day since God knows how long. I'm full of inspiration now and will be able to write for quite a few days. Your Easter card was swell honey. You have a good taste for cards and a nice taste for lyrics also. As for your message on the card honey, well I may not be the best husband in the world, but I promise you from the bottom of my heart that I'll never stop trying to be, and that shall continue for always. There isn't much that I can do about it while I'm down here but once I get free and settled down to real married life then things will be different. Right now I'm madly in love with you and very lonely for you and not being able to be with you sort of dampens my initiative and push. You are my life & love.
The letter from Atlantic City as you may have suspected is from the guy who invited me to his wedding. I wrote to him a week or so ago explaining why we didn't get there. Its too bad we didn't go though as it would have been a reunion of my old Willow Grove crowd. All the guys from around Philadelphia were there and Aleo came down from home to attend. There is one guy I should have invited to my own wedding but I forgot all about him. I almost forgot to invite Tom & Edwina. With all the preparations and running around my mind was confused I guess. If I see him when I get home next time I'll have to explain it to him. He sent me a picture of his wife in the letter and he said that she is dying to meet me. What is this appeal that I have when women who don't even know me are dying to meet me? All kidding aside I'd like to see him again as he is a swell kid and has swell folks.
In your letter of April second you said you were listening to Bing Crosby & Al Jolson the night they sang 'Mammy' and the 'Banks of the Wabash.' Honey we must be psychic(?) or something as I just finished writing to you when I turned it on. I just sat up on the edge of the bed and floated miles and miles away in sweet and pleasant memories of us together. It was swell and every time I hear Jolson sing, no matter what, it brings back such vivid memories of happy days that we shared. So much and so many things bring back memories and sweet moments and thoughts of you that I'm constantly and continually reminded of you no matter what I am doing or where I am doing it. You are just the very best that there is and I love you very very much. According to your phone talk Saturday you got my Easter card all right. I held back mailing it until the last minute so that it would (not) arrive too soon. I guess my timing was good for a change and you got it in time. I hope the flowers came all right because if they didn't I'll tear this old witches hair out downtown at the florists. For Easter they jacked the prices up a bit but they are still not outlandishly expensive. I guess that telegraph service raises expenses a bit but it's well worth all the extra price just to make you happy.
The reason I love you so very much is because you are my wife and you deserve (it.) Since I love you so much from this far off imagine how much I'll love you when I have you close by me all the time. I guess I'll cherish you for always. At night I say extra prayers for us and on Sundays too. I had intentions of going to Mass mornings here on the base but my job prevents it. Since we got married I have a new lease on life that makes me happy and thankful to be alive. Even though I am lonely I still have a happy feeling that some day soon everything will be fine and dandy and we will be happy for always. I'll close out for tonight as my room-mate is sleeping and the light disturbs him.
All my love to you always
God Bless you
Always
John x
P.S. I love you with all my heart & soul"
"8 April 1947
My very dearest darling Ellen,
How are you, my dear? I hope everything is fine as my complaints are at a minimum down here. My only real complaint is the fact that we are having an inspection Saturday morning and I have never liked attending them. This one will be in whites much to my disgust as it's beginning to get hot now. I have one consolation though they leave us run around in shirt sleeves but we must leave our sleeves rolled down and wear a necktie. When they give you a break they also throw something in with it. You never can get really comfortable, but I guess a break is a break so I am not complaining too hard.
I got a letter from you today, the one that you wrote Easter Sunday. It was postmarked yesterday at 11 in the morning and I got it this afternoon. I guess the air mail is really going air mail now. When I didn't get a letter this morning, I thought that I had missed out but the afternoon mail pulled me thru. I'm glad that you miss me as I miss you so very much. On Easter I missed you like mad and I was figuring the world was working against me, but it (didn't) do me much good except get a little blue. I'm glad that the day turned out nice for everyone and that you could get some pictures taken of your Easter bonnet. With you blue over the fact that everyone was home with their loved ones I guess you know how I feel down here. It won't be forever thank God and I'm counting the days weeks and months until my time is up. I put my bid in for a leave for early July and I think it will possibly go through all right. I'll get it in July but I'd like to hit it about second of July so that I could be with you for one holiday at least. The fourth lands on Friday this year so we would have a good weekend as a start. Here's hoping.
The roses arrived all right I see, and I'm glad you liked them and they provided a little consolation for my absence. I hope that I'll be able to get home for Easter next year and I'm going to look forward to it. You said I'm the best husband that you ever had, pray tell where are the other poor guys? But I'm glad I'm the best and that you love me very much. It makes me feel as though I have a booster down here who cheers me on day by day. I keep telling you that you are my inspiration and hope and I sincerely want and hope that you believe me.
You are wonderful and swell to me and always have been and I can never express my thanks enough. This is one of hundreds of reasons that I love you so much and will always.
I've been listening to Vox Pop on the radio (note: radio show that originated in Houston, Texas but eventually went nationwide) and these Texans are blowing their stacks as to how swell Texas is and how beautiful their women are. I've seen a few of these Texas females and I've seen them just as homely and ugly all over. There must be some beauties in Texas somewhere, the law of averages works that way but if they have them I haven't seen them. The ones I've seen are hard, cold and calculating. The nicest looking are the Mexicans but down here they rate equal to the colored unless they have a sock full of dough. I'll close out for now honey so please take care of yourself for me. I love you with all my heart and soul and miss you so much. All my love to you.
God Bless you
Always ~ John x"
"8 April 1947
My dearest darling Ellen,
I'm going to write you a 'quickie' before I hit the sack for the night. It's tough going to bed alone and since letter writing brings you close to me I usually write just before I go to bed. I didn't tell you that I'm all through with the dentist now and my gums are all better ~ I think I still have to use peroxide for a mouth wash for a while but I'm glad that it's over. That guy wielded that long thin pick of his like a crowbar. My frowns, grunts and pleading eyes didn't phase him at all as he just kept jabbing and dragging. Every time he rinsed out my mouth I swore he cut my throat or yanked out my tonsils. If I went a couple more times I'm afraid that I'd need a transfusion to build up my strength so that I could carry on. I wouldn't want him as a permanent fixture in any dental office that I ever went too. See how lucky you civilians are, all the butchers and gougers are in the Navy Dental Corp. Now that the telephone strike is on how is the telephone situation at home and is Hannie out picketing? That N.E. Tel& Tel. is a confusing outfit as far as the rest of the Bell System is concerned. At home the telephone company seems organized, elsewhere it's a mess of confusion. I guess the New England operators are all educated. Now that I've started this letter I guess I might just as well answer one of your letters that I haven't quite caught up on as yet. Your mail is is swamping me especially on weekends but please keep it up as it does my aching heart a world of good and it's so very wonderful to hear from you every day. I didn't do much preparation for Easter I'm afraid but I did manage to get to Confession and Communion. Now that I'm off once again I think I'll go to Communion every Sunday just for us. I have nothing else to do and since I go to Church each Sunday I might as well go to Communion also. I had intentions of going to church during Holy Week but distractions prevailed and I failed as usual. I'll make up for it though over a course of time if God is willing. I'm glad that you are praying for a long and happy married life for us as with two of us praying for the very same thing I know that our pleas and requests will be answered. With God's help everything is bound to be all right.
I'm glad the War Bonds are coming thru all right once again and I hope that you will soon be receiving the allotment checks that I made out to you. You should be receiving them soon and when you do let me know. If they don't get there in a reasonable length of time I'll put a tracer on the allotments to speed it up some. Please don't worry about my financial conditions as I'll manage. I never run out and if ever anything important arises I'll telegraph you for the necessary funds to tide me over. All my big purchases are about over now and I'll be able to get along very well from now on in. I don't do too much spending as there is nothing to spend it on that is worthwhile. I'll start putting a little aside each pay day now to pay for my plane fare home this summer. I'm looking forward to my leave longingly and just the thoughts of seeing you make me want these weeks to roll by very fast. I think they will too.
I guess I'll close out now honey as I think this 'quickie' has grown a bit. I love you so very much that it hurts me very much to be away from you but since it won't be for ever I'm happy in a way that eases my mind. Again I'll say that I love you very much and miss you terribly.
All my love to you
God Bless you
Always
John x"
"9 April 1947
My very dearest darling Ellen
Another day has come and gone by and I'm getting closer to you all the time. I got a letter from you today and I must say that the mails are getting confused. I received your letter of Sunday yesterday and Saturdays letter today. It's confusing but as long as I receive mail from you I don't care in what order they come to me. Keep them coming honey. Today was another slow day but it managed to move along. Everyone is thinking about the coming inspection this Saturday so our minds are partially occupied. I went downtown to pick up my whites tonight and took them back here and washed them. We have a Bendix washing machine so no work was involved. I guess the big trouble will be to keep them from getting soiled while they are drying. It's blowing like mad outside so I'll have to try to dry them in my room and hang them outside tomorrow morning. I still have to get a pair of white shoes. I saw a pair downtown for six bucks that I think I'll get. The only time I'll wear them will be at inspections once a month so I'm not going to invest too heavily. I guess I was lucky to order my whites when I did as they are all sold out down town and ship service hasn't any for sale either. Just my dumb luck I guess. My trip downtown was fast and sweet. After picking up my uniforms I went and got something to eat, a steak and French fries, and then returned to the base. The town gives me the creeps most of the time and since I had to wash my whites I had a pretty good excuse to return early. Usually when I go to town I partake of a beer or two but tonight I didn't bother.
I had a dream about you last night and I woke up in a sweat. It was all jumbled up and I couldn't make head nor tail of it. I guess it was because the wind kept waking me up and I kept jumping from one end of the dream to the other. It was swell though and it ended with bells ringing. I got up and turned off the Chime Alarm clock that the chief with me uses for our reveille. We had only one child when I woke up but who knows what tonight will bring. I know that I was out of the Navy and that we were very happy. I guess I worked up a sweat awaiting the arrival of an heir.
I guess I had better answer your letter now before I forget it. I'm glad the roses turned out nice and made you happy as that's the the way that I want you to be, always. I love to send you gifts and presents and stuff because you appreciate them and enjoy them and mostly because I love you very much. With you loving me so very much and missing me so much and my feeling the same way our next meeting is going to be quite a love scene. I'm looking forward to it with all my heart. My leaves are going to be like way stations on my journey to discharge. It will break up the long wait and will help time to pass by more quickly.
Being married for two months doesn't seem long but when most of the time we've been separated from one another thru no fault of our own it seems ages. I guess it's just a time-out in our game of love. We are married but we are resting before we commence to work at it. I guess we will have to take a couple of honeymoons to reacquaint ourselves with married life. I haven't forgotten our first but a honeymoon is something I'm always ready to go on. We shall have to make definite plans just before I get discharged to go on one nice long one. Okay?
As for that phone call, tell Hannie to thank her co-worker for me and that I appreciated the call more than I can say. It was just wonderful to be able to talk to you for so long at one time. It was simply swell. I wish I could have completed your happiness by being present Easter Sunday as it would have made me so very happy to be there with you. I'll try next year if all goes well with the Navy. It's unpredictable, this outfit but if it remains normal I'll try to make it. I'm looking forward to the Fourth of July now and that will be I hope, our first holiday together as a married couple. I'll pray and hope that I make it.
I'm so very glad and happy just knowing that you were happy on Easter and that everything turned out so well. You deserve all the happiness in the world and I shall do all in my power to make you happy, always. If you're happy then I know that I'll be happy. I'll close out for now and hit the sack. I hope the wind doesn't blow me out of bed tonight or I'll be sending for you to anchor me down.
I love you with all my heart and soul honey and I miss you so very very much.
All my love to you
God Bless You
Always
John x"
"10 April 1947
My very dearest darling Ellen,
I got two letters today, one from you and one from my mother. They both boosted my morale sky-high. Thanks an awful lot honey you are very very good to me and I appreciate it so very much. I'm listening to Bing Crosby so if this letter becomes confusing for the next few paragraphs please blame it on him. He hasn't got Al Jolson with him tonight so I don't think I'll have any nostalgic memories tonight. I think of you all of the time anyway but when certain songs or anything that reminds me of you comes along the memories seem to throb and everything seems vivid instead of staying quiet. I love you with all my heart and soul honey and I will always and always.
You are doing swell in the letter writing department - honey so please don't worry about doing enough writing. I have plenty of time on my hands and can write to you quite frequently as I have been doing. All I need to write is an inspiration or a thought of you and down I sit pen in hand and start scribbling it off. Alec Templeton is playing DeBussey's 'Clair De Lune' one of my favorite piano selections so I'm enjoying it. I guess my sojourn overseas brought out my appreciation for some of the better music but not all of it. Speaking of overseas a bunch of the guys down here are getting shipped out. They have been down here for two or three years so they have been expecting it all along. The chief that works with me has been here for three years. They will all wind up at San Diego for further assignment to a forward area. Better them than me I say.
I'll be standing by Saturday morning as usual awaiting your phone call. With this phone strike I don't know if it will come thru all right as I really want to talk to you, not necessarily to say anything but just to hear your voice once again.
Down here you never can tell what will pop up on the radio. I've been trying to tune in Christopher Lynch but I guess they don't appreciate him down here in Texas. The only singers they know down here is Bing Crosby and Gene Autry. All day long you hear these nasal twanging tunes that the hillbillies love so much but which drives us crazy. If you ever come down here you'll understand what I mean.
I wish that I could see you in your pajamas once again as I'm afraid that I'd almost be tempted to stay with you and not come back to the Navy. I'd risk it but I don't want any more time to do in this Navy than I have to so I guess I would be forced to leave whether I liked it or not. I guess I better get home in a hurry if your memory is slipping. I guess it's only natural since we have been together so little since we've been married. That's why I want to get home so that we can start off now, immediately on our married life instead of having to get accustomed to each other all over again. I've only been with you for two months in almost two years and I want to be with you forever. Marrying you was the first thing that I ever did that made sense and that really matters. I wanted you very much but since I've married you I want you so very much more. It's hard to realize I guess, how much I love you but I do love you very very much. You shall never never disappoint me honey so never think about it. All I ask of you is your love and affection, always. I know that you will be a good wife and I promise you that I'll be a good husband and try with all my heart to make you happy. There is no one better than you and to me there never will be. You are the best there is and always will be. I married the very best girl on earth honey and there is none better now or ever. I guess I had better close out now and get some sleep so that I can work tomorrow in my hot house. It's not too hot yet but I can imagine what it will be like soon. I say Good night for now. - I love you honey and I miss you very very much.
All of my love to you
God Bless you
Always
John x"
"11 April 11 1947
My very dearest darling Ellen,
I guess I'm confused by the way I dated this letter but I guess it's the Inspection tomorrow plus the humidity down here, especially tonight. I was shining my shoes and perspiration was squirting out of me. Dear old Texas weather. Sometimes I think that it's more unpredictable than New England weather but you can always count on having heat down here. The cadets are night flying tonight and I'm afraid that they will drive me nuts if they don't stop soon. These training planes make more noise than a boiler factory. I got another letter from you today so my day is complete now except for my finishing writing to you. That closes out my day every day honey and I guess it's beginning to become a ritual with me.
I think I get around to answering your letter about now as nothing much is happening around here these days. I guess my mail must be pouring in on you lately as I've been writing quite a bit. All my correspondence is to you with an occasional letter to my mother thrown in for good measure. Some nights when I get in the mood I write a couple of letters to you just to keep my morale on a high level. As I've told you before, writing to you eases my mind and since it's our only means of contact and conversation I want to keep it flowing.
My mustache I'm afraid is a thing of the past as I shaved it off. It looked lousy by my standards and made me feel as though I hadn't shaved for a week. I guess I'm not the hair-faced type. As far as our smooching scenes go I think it would be an impediment. I can imagine kissing you and having my mustache tickle you in the process. That would never do, so that is possibly another reason why I shaved it off. I don't think you would like me with a mustache honey so I've forgotten it. When I get home you can draw one on me with eye brow pencil and then you will get an idea of how one looks on me.
These uniforms are really a burden at times. I never get to wear them much except the greens which I always wear. I don't know when I'll wear my blues again but if I haven't got them I'd be forced to get them anyway. You never can tell where you will be next and each section has a uniform of its own. The whites are strictly for inspection and we never wear them except on special occasions. They are to hard to keep clean and in order to appear neat and clean all of the time I'd have to have a couple of sets a day. Khaki worsted will be the summer uniform pretty soon so that will be another uniform to process. I'm afraid I'll be out of the Navy for years before I wear them out. They are made of really good material and wear like iron. If you don't see me in them so you will see me in them eventually. If I had a camera with me I could possibly send you some pictures. Maybe before I leave here I'll send you some snapshots.
My quarters are quite nice. I am in a room with another chief and we have bureaus and closets to stow our clothes in. It's a lot different than sleeping in a barracks and living out of a locker. This was a cadets barracks and when the flight training program dwindled the chiefs took over the barracks. It's not bad honey. I can stand it for a year I think. That Easter Confession wait was quite the deal but I've recovered from it all.
I guess I'll have to get home to keep you on the straight and narrow. I think it would be a very pleasant permanent job and I'm just the guy that can do it, believe me. You scare me when you day that you're not as good as I think you are.What do you do that's so awful and out of the ordinary? Pray tell!
I guess I had better sign off for now as it's getting late and I have an early rising and a hectic morning to look forward to. I'll be waiting for your call around noon and I really hope that it can get thru despite the strike. I'm counting on it a lot. I love you honey with all my heart and miss you very much all of the time.
All y love to you
God Bless you
Always
John x"
"12 April 1947
My very dearest darling Ellen,
I'm sorry we were disconnected before I could tell you how much I loved you and how much I missed you. Your voice really cheered me up one hundred percent and I thank the powers that be for letting us talk once again. Our phone talk was the only bright spot in an otherwise drab dismal day. While I was talking to you the sun came out and after the rain all morning it seemed for a while as though we were going to have a nice day of it. I went down town after dinner and after cruising around to see if anything had changed it once again began to rain. I decided that I'd attend a movie but there wasn't a good show in town so I came back here to the base. After supper I went to the show and saw 'The Guilt of Janet Ames' and when I came out of the show it was raining again. My whites that I wore at inspection this morning are all wet and dirty and now my greens are wet. They should dry out by morning so that I can go to Mass in them. It's flashing lightening like mad and claps of thunder are rumbling across the sky. I hope it ceases so that I can get some sleep. The rain has cooled us off a bit from the mugginess that has lingered around us all week. I sometimes wonder why they don't call this the tropics as it's humid and hot enough. The closets are all beginning to get that damp musty smell so I guess I'll have to air out my clothes before they get green with mold and get that sour damp smell. When I get my tropical worsteds I'll probably send my blues and greens home to you until late fall when I will need them again. I haven't worn my top coat since I left home and with this heat I probably won't wear it again until next winter sometime. I guess I'll have to wear it out as a civilian or put it among my souvenirs. The way that I've been figuring it won't take long for me to join the rank and file of the ordinary citizens but it seems quite a way off. I want so much to settle down to leading a normal life that at times I begin building castles in the air. They all tumble down on me though when reality breaks thru to arouse me out of my dreams. After we ended our phone conversation I came down here to my room and tried to imagine how you looked phoning in your pajamas with your newly washed hair. When you have your hair done up and put a kerchief or turban or whatever it is on, I think that you look as pretty as a picture. You're pretty anyway but this way you look fresh and different. You know, that freshly scrubbed look. I love you so much anyway you are that I can hardly express it. All I do is keep longing for you and thinking of how you looked at different times and loving you and missing you with all my heart. Nothing else matters at all right now except my getting home to you and being home to stay. It will be wonderful after kicking around for so long and not settling down to anything. I hope and pray each night that the days roll by faster and they seem to be a little. My target is my leaves, in that way the time will be split up nicely and it should go by faster.
As you suggested over the phone we shall go somewhere when I get my leave. Somewhere that we can be alone and carefree and can get acquainted once again so to speak. You pick some place that you like and off we will go. Make arrangements for the two of us and I know that we will be very very happy. Please don't choose a spot too far removed from civilization but just far enough away so that we can relax and be away from it all. Okay? I'll try to get home for the Fourth if it's possible, and I'm hoping that it will be. Tell Hannie that I thank her very much for arranging these calls and that I won't forget her. She has been swell to us, hasn't she! Well honey I've got to close for tonight and hit the hay once again. I'm going to Communion tomorrow and once again I'll offer it up for us. I shouldn't be selfish with my prayers and requests but I think that we could use God's love and blessings as well as anyone else. I'll keep praying for a break until one comes along and I hope that it will be soon.
I love you with all my heart and soul and I miss you very very much all of the time.
All of my love to you
God Bless you
Always
John x
P.S. I hope that you are back on schedule once again, if not I'll have to go home and do something about it. Love always
x"
"13 April 1947
My very dearest sweetheart Ellen,
Good evening honey how goes it all? Tomorrow begins a new week and already the month is half gone. I guess the time is moving right along but I'm too fidgety to notice it. I just returned from the show and when I turned on the radio they commenced to sing 'I'll see you in my dreams.' How psychic some people are these days. That's what I do all of the time but the reminder convinced me that I'm not alone. Sunday with its many and varied musical programs kept me glued to the radio as it was too windy and chilly to lay around in the usual sunshine. I've always liked Sunday afternoon programs even when I was in high school as all the good dreamy music is on then. Memories galore they bring back to me and most of them relate to you. The only Sundays that I recall are the ones I spent at home before I came into service and the week-ends that I spent with you while I was along the East Coast. It would be really wonderful to be back there once again. I had better stop reminiscing or else I'll work up a case of deep blues. I went to Mass and Communion this morning as I told you last night and offered it up for us that we may be happy together and for a long happy and serene married life. The Chaplain that we have here is a swell priest an everyone seems to like him. He is straight forward and not as evasive as most chaplains. If he has anything to say or comment about he comes right out with it and he doesn't pull any punches. There should be more like him. I'm going to try to go to Communion every Sunday if it's possible. I guess marriage has sort of given me a new lease and outlook on life and with God's help I hope I can follow it always.
I went to the show tonight as I told you earlier and saw the 'Blaze of Noon.' It's about early aviation and mail traffic by the early airline pilots. It's factual and scary at spots especially the aerial acrobatics. I guess we get to scoop them early as down town the pictures are all oldies or those cowboy thrillers for kids. What a spot. The cowboys even thrill these cowtown kids who are in reality the cow pokes the stories are written about.
During the course of the day I also listen to news commentaries and opinions and they paint a pretty drab picture of things to come if prices don't settle down real soon. I have a hunch that we will have a recession before Christmas if things don't change. It may sound crazy and stuff but that's my long shot prediction. If we ever do have a deep recession God help the poor people who are getting soaked by high prices and higher taxes. Do I sound morbid honey? I guess reading Time & Newsweek magazine and reading all the editorials of the newspapers I'm becoming an amateur economist or something.
I guess I better close out till tomorrow. I hope that the wind doesn't blow me out of bed as it almost did last night. I need you for support and stuff. I love you with all my heart and miss you so very very much ~ All of my love and God
Bless you Always
John x"
"14 April 1947
My very dearest darling Ellen,
Here it is Monday night and I decided to stay around and listen to Christopher Lynch but to my sorrow and chagrin the poor boy wasn't on tonight but will be on next Monday night. I guess my mind isn't reacting properly or the radio schedules that I read are outdated. I haven't anything to do tonight except sleep. I saw the movies last night so my evening is unoccupied. I received a letter from you today, one that you wrote to me last Wednesday. I guess it must have been held up somewhere but I loved it nevertheless. Next to you I love your letters and phone calls the best. I'm sorry that things are dull at home but they are pretty dull down here also. I guess we need each other to cheer each other up and keep ourselves company. By the way I've taken up the reading habit but since new books are rare I'm forced to read a few oldies. It kills a few hours for me and helps me fall asleep on sleepless nights. I'll have to pay a few visits to the libraries in town I guess in order to get some recent books. I am also thinking of going to work nights to while away the time. They are paying one fifty five an hour down on the docks and you can work just as long as you choose. It isn't hard work but it's steady work and that's what I'd like. It would be something to do on weekends to kill time and also to pick up a few bucks now and then. I guess Annie is all set for her wedding since she has already bought her wedding gown. I think married life will do her a world of good. How is Tom Malloy these days? I guess he won't change one way or the other. That was quite a night we had at Bond's with him that night when he ordered me a drink and drank it himself. Quite a character! I got a new man in my unit now so I guess we will all have to toss coins to see who does the work these days. There are seven of us doing the work of three men so it's going to be dreary days ahead unless I work out a rugged schedule for my self. I'm awaiting your Easter pictures anxiously and because you didn't get a new Easter outfit please don't think that I'll be disappointed as I never will be disappointed in you, ever. I'd like to buy you an Easter outfit sometime and if possible I'll do it next year. As far as the fog and your hair is concerned you can keep it up in curlers if you wish and that will solve it. As for your permanent and short hair - well. I faintly remember you once with short hair but I don't recall if I disapproved or not. I'll tell you what, if I don't like your permanent when I see it I'll get my hair cut short and then we'll both be in the same boat and watch each others hair grow out. Agree? I wish that I could be with you also honey or you with me but since our separation is only for a short while I think I can bear up under it. I love you honey so very much and I think of you constantly. I repeat my promise never to stray from you or home once I get back there permanently. Being tied down as you put it is one thing that I'd relish right about now and tied down to no one else but you. For Always.
Please don't you work to hard as it would be indeed ironical to have you overworked after preaching to me for so long to take it easy. Life is short honey so take it easy. I'm sorry everything is so muddled up at work and that you can't get away for a week or so. Maybe it will straighten out in a week or two or three and you will be able to drop down to see me. If you can't possibly get away by the 15 May in the 1 June stay put until I get home in July and then you and I can have all our time together for a couple of weeks at least. I have my eyes set on early July and it isn't to far off either. Let me know honey how things stand and your possibilities of an early break.
I've got to close out for now honey and go to bed early for a change. I miss you an awful lot honey and I love you with all my heart and soul.
All of my love to you
God Bless you
Always
John x"
"15 April 1947
My very dearest wife Ellen,
I'm here once again after a very strenuous day of doing absolutely nothing at all. Not one blessed tap of work did I do but the day moved along as usual. I guess I have my daily routine all set up now so things shouldn't go to badly from now on in. I got paid today so at least there was one ray of sunshine in my otherwise uneventful day. Sometimes I think that I am being overpaid but after a few minutes deliberation it all comes out all right. I tried to by some tropical worsted khakis but they haven't my size in stock. I was informed by the tailor at the Ship Services Store that they would have some in ten days or two weeks so I'll have to wait until next pay day. I decided to put at least three quarters of my bi-monthly stipend in the bank but since the initial deposit must be at least a hundred dollars I am forced to sit on my wealth until I can get down town to open an account. If I don't bank it the money just flies thru my fingers in a happy go lucky fashion. I'm going to try to save enough for my round trip airline trip home in that way I won't be passing withdrawal slips to the bank teller at home. I'm still looking for a night job around here that will sort of prepare me in simple sort of way for what to expect when I get out of this Navy and go back to civilian life. I have to learn civilian ways and customs all over again and it will be a tough grind after growing accustomed to this soft job Navy routine. By getting a job here at night and over the weekends I will be able to take stock of myself and see what I can accomplish. The Navy spoils good workers and kills incentive in a guy because when they get a good worker in a job they keep him at it till he dies at it. The pay down here is good so that's another point to look into. By the time I get out things should be almost back to normal so I want to lay my hands on some of this good money they are passing out down here. There are two or three different jobs some hard most dirty but the money they give you makes it pay off. I could work nights and sleep on Navy time and no one would know the difference at my shop.
Please let me know when your allotment checks start to arrive honey and the dates that they cover. Right after I filed for my allowance the pay officer moved to another building and I may have been overlooked in the shuffle. I got x-rayed for T.B. yesterday as a matter of routine and if I don't hear from them I'll be all right. A lot of guys got x-rayed when they had colds and the negative showed it up. It scared them for a while but they turned out all right. The only disease or sickness that I have is a heart ailment called loneliness and no doctor or scientist can cure it. You are my only salvation, You my beloved wife and a little more time in the Navy until my discharge and I'll be A-1 once again. In my case you are my miracle woman, the cure for what ails me. I'll close out for now till tomorrow.
All my love always
God Bless you
Always
John x
P.S. No mail plane today so no inspiration - must go out for a quick beer."
