August 22, 1942 - Dear Audrey

Jan Palson

22 Aug 2026 — 7 min read

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

I have had a feeling for weeks on this.

Any midnight to 4:00am shift is tough. He's got a good attitude considering he didn't have a choice in the situation. No worries, his focus is the logistics of the upcoming pass - he's got a surprise for her and she may have a surprise for him. Spoiler alert: both are in the letter. Considering how the war is progressing, he's got it so easy. Probably easier than Mom since she has to deal with the rationing, blackouts, gas and tire shortages. An oil change couldn't have been easy. And get this, they have to cut coffee consumption down again!

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, Massachusetts (local to Fort Ruckman) and Mom's local Connecticut paper the Hartford Courant for additional 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 22, 1942

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

Dear Audrey:

This twelve to four shift is no good. It breaks your night up more than anything else and then you have to get your sleep in the daytime. It is too hot and too much noise to sleep well and so none of these shifts are any good, which makes the job a tough one. But the job is so easy and looks good that if you mention to anyone that it hard on you they immediately accuse you of griping. On one shift I don’t get any sleep and on the next one I don’t get anything to eat and on the third one I lose out on the Math class. I don’t like to miss the Math class either. The cooks are just starting to get breakfast ready at four o’clock and so I can eat something then, if it appeals to me. I came in this morning at four o’clock and I laid down in my “sack” but I couldn’t get to sleep. I just laid there thinking of next Sunday when I would be starting off to see my girl. Well than it strikes me that if Monday is your regular day off and you said something about it might be possible to have Tuesday off then why don’t you drive up here Sun. afternoon when you get thru work.

I’ll get off around five o’clock and could meet you in Natick at seven o’clock Sunday night. It is only a thought and you can tell me what you think of it. It all depends on what you planned on doing down there when I get there. Please don’t wait until I get there and then tell me because it’s my day off and you want to do what I want. I want to do what you would like. Don’t forget we have some shopping to do. Some socks for me! Oh yes, about the end of this week, I am going up to the office and ask for Wed off too and I think I have a pretty good chance of getting. If you do come up here and I succeed in getting Wed. off, I’ll drive back with you Tues. night. So will you see if you can arrange for a dentist appointment for Wed. for me and I can see him no matter what we decide. Just imagine having three days with you. It is almost too much to hope for. But here is something else to consider. This is the end of the month and you have to make the payments with no help from me this month because of the way pay day falls. If you come up here it is apt to cost you too much money. How do you stand this month?

I’ve got Shep Olin, the king of the Polka, on the radio and I like him. By the way this is Sunday afternoon and I am writing this letter in snatches like I do most of your letters. I started this this morning and I hope to finish tonight. Right now, I have to stop every other sentence and copy something down. Afternoons, but Sunday afternoons, are especially busy. When this is over I shall apply for a telephone operator job. I am discovering it is not easy to handle two phones while another is ringing. So you’ve have the oil changed. I think the car needs greasing and a check-up. I think also I should buy a quart of that anti-freeze for this winter that I was telling you about. One of the boys just came in for his bathing suit and so I guess there is a bunch going swimming. The beach is nice but the water looks cold. Personally I would rather the shower than salt water. With the shower I tell the water what to do but the other way the water tells me. If a big wave wants to come up and slap me in the face it does and if it wants to sneak up behind me and knock me off my feet there isn’t much I can do about it. What a sissy.

Yesterday morning I took my book and went down on the rocks and it was real peaceful down there. I only wish you were there with me. I’m reading “For Whom the Bell Tolls” and it is pretty good. It is about the Spanish Revolution and so is right down my alley. Remind me to ask you something about one part so far that I did not understand. The man and girl had a “piece” (that is the word used in the book) and the girl wanted to know if the earth moved for him as it did for her. She put the utmost importance on this and said it only happened to two people only three times in a lifetime. Does that make sense to you? If I use my imagination I can think of something but it doesn’t make sense. It is quite a book. A great many ruthless killings and the Spanish people seem so silly and useless but I guess they aren’t so different from people here. There are problems here that are similar to theirs but the difference is in the approach to their solution. They used guns and knifes and here people aren’t quite as drastic as that. I got a letter from you yesterday and your article on what I should know. Are you willing to admit the little old lady won’t visit you this month and so you are stuck.

I have had a feeling for weeks on this. I think you are afraid to tell me. Of course I realize that you can’t be sure and anything can happen but if it does what are we going to do. It beats me and I worry about what will happen to you. Nothing will happen to you, will they? My darling you are the only girl for me. I love you very much. I had been sort of saving a little surprise for you but I guess it isn’t much. I had my first rating given to me a week or so ago and I was going to let you find out when you see. It is not much anyway especially after I got a letter from my brother-in-law who is now a sergeant. It gave me a satisfied feeling and it rather difficult to get up here. It is not that I begrudge him but on the contrary I am very glad to hear of it, but it is just that even a Private First Class is still not much. Oh well, shall we call it just another stepping stone to something higher. Now don’t tell me you are proud of me and would rather have me a P.F.C. than a General.

I myself would rather be something else. Well I’ll close now and I can hardly wait for this week to skip by. I love you and want to see you.

All my love -

Leonard