August 14, 1942 - Dear Audrey

Jan Palson

14 Aug 2026 — 6 min read

Big Guns! Casemated 12-inch gun at Fort Ruckman. Source: Wikipedia

There is everything lining the shore.

Really bad storm brings a shocker. It's even making the front page of the paper. And no, he did not run into the Nahant nitwit. It's just not something you see everyday. He's not very open minded either. I bet the guy sounded great singing on the rocks. The middle of the month brings concern. Who's leaving and who's gets the little old lady. Boy is that an old reference.

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Original Letter

Transcript follows.

Transcript

For some context, War Updates follow the transcript. It includes the front pages of The Daily Evening Item from Lynn, MA. (local to Fort Ruckman) and Mom's local Connecticut paper the Hartford Courant for updated news, plus the Women's Page so you're up on the latest recipes and styles, especially hats!

Research, learn, and support this work. Go to: Newspapers.com

August 14, 1942

Bat H - 9^th C.A., Fort Ruckman

Dear Audrey:

I have been going to say something about that nice kiss you sent me for the past couple of letters but each time I forget. And that brings up another point. That word “forget” can cause a lot of trouble. They tell me there is no such a thing as forgetfulness so I hereby resolve never to use the word again or at least for today. If it is impossible to forget then it is also impossible to be thoughtless, therefore, you should be on the ball all the time. Now, if you can not do these things, a person, place, or thing is misplaced, misunderstood, ignored, lost, busy, neglected, careless, or just over-sleeping, but he must be thoughtful. Well I’ll leave you there hanging and wondering what it is all about. If I continue much further it might get away from me. I can’t even remember how I got along that train of thought. Maybe it was in the rain last night. I can get some queer thoughts while walking in the rain. This morning I’m on the second half of my twenty-four hour shift and I’ve just come back from walking the beach. There was a bad storm last night and it has washed the remains of a wreck up on the beach. There is no way of telling how the ship came to grieve but he certainly must have been smashed bad from the amount of wreckage.

It is still very foggy and you walk along and things take on a funny shape until you get up to them. I try to guess what they are or what is a barrel or box and most of the time I am wrong. Once I saw something that could have been anything from a large roll of oilcloth to a barrel and as I got closer it looked more like a large white rock. So I gave it a kick and was I startled when my foot sunk into it two or three inches. It was a barrel of lard with the barrel gone. Just pure lard and what a mess my shoe is. There is everything lining the shore. The name on a pair of oars is L.W.B.A.C.O. but that means nothing. There are life preservers, men’s clothing, all kinds of food, (onions, corn, turnips, a jar of olives, dozens of cans of coffee, and other stuff and stuff), and a huge amount of broken wood and lumber. Another peculiar thing lying down there is a wagon shaft. What that was doing on a boat is beyond me. Another thing that baffles me, and this is really good, is a great many rubber safes lying on the beach. I have walked the beach before and seen one or two and never gave it more than a passing thought that some lad had himself a good time. But the beach is lined with them. I counted over a hundred in less than a quarter of a mile and then gave up. I don’t think they came off the boat. Some of them have knots tied in them so they were used. Aren’t you proud your husband is so observing? Well I got a kick out of seeing so many. It is unusual to see such a nice beach with so much debris on it.

I don’t see how anyone can go swimming until it is cleaned up. There is enough wood to keep two or three families in firewood this winter and that should mean something with this oil shortage. Oh yes, another thing happened while I was down there. As I mentioned before it was very foggy and as I walked along, I began to think I heard someone singing. At first I thought it was my imagination but then it couldn’t be so I started off investigating. Sure enough I found a fellow yelling his head off and waiving his arms around over the other side. I thought I had run into Nahant nitwit until he began to apologize to me. He claimed he was a singer (of which I have my doubts judging from the sounds) and that was the way he practiced. Out here where he thought he was all alone. If he wasn’t queer inside he certainly looked queer outside. Such a queer shaped head and clothes. Well I let him go on with his singing. If Germany wants to hire such species they can, but I hope they don’t send them to Nahant! Well I guess that covers your husband for the last few hours. Nothing much happened yesterday. Because I went on guard early last night I couldn’t write so I am doing it this morning while on duty. I do this quite a bit and it’s a good thing they don’t catch me. They might slap me in the guard house.

You know don’t you that I’m waiting for the middle of this month for two reasons. One of them is to see who is leaving here and the other is whether the little old lady comes to see you this month. (Is that right. It doesn’t sound exactly right) I don’t think I will jump with joy if she doesn’t but I might not worry so much. You are so nice and so … well not young but well dammit, so nice and I don’t want anything to happen to you. You are all mine and I don’t want anyone else by you. I want you forever and ever. It might be that long before this is over too. (I put that in as an afterthought). I love you very much. That is so easy to write and yet I want it to mean so very much. You are the only girl for me darling.

Love

Leonard

P.S.

I’m looking forward to your letter when I get back to camp at noon time. I don’t especially need any money except for some necessities. Shoe polish and some more insignias. You need some things for yourself and I wish you would spend it that way. I wish also you would try and get a car payment, that is if you can manage, ahead sometime before too long. But we have so many bills. Did you get the bill from Yeager’s I sent you? Pretty easy for me. Just send it to my wife. Well darling I am looking forward to seeing you in a couple of months.