August 27, 1942 - Dear Audrey

Jan Palson

27 Aug 2026 — 5 min read

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

After that he could see a little bit out of one eye.

Actually a pretty funny joke. And you can see through the paper that it's a form used for memos. Crazy being a great letter writer but lousy at communicating. Is that a man thing? A phone call probably won't be necessary since they have the plan worked out. She'll drive up using rationed gas, on old tires, at a max 40mph. There are no podcasts to keep her company. And no bluetooth. Luckily, toe-tapping tunes on the AM radio dial. At least I think the Packard has a radio. There's a typewriter in the back. Funny how he got the date wrong.

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 27, 1942

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

Dear Audrey:

It is a beautiful morning and it looks as if it will be a little warmer for a change. It has been cold as h-ll. If you needed me to keep you warm I could also have use you to keep me warm these past three nights. This morning I am on from four until eight and so I have seen the sun come up. I’ll be on this shift until Sunday and then I’ll change to eight to twelve. This is what I’ll do Sun. You’ll be here around eight o’clock and so I can’t go to work with you here. I’ll swap shifts with someone else so as to be just coming off when you get here. Then I’ll be off until eight the next morning so we can go someplace until then. I don’t think I can get out legally, but I don’t need a pass anyway. If you have any money we could take a room in a hotel for the night and I could get up early the next morning and drive over here in time to go to work. That sounds good when I am writing it and I don’t see why it shouldn’t work. If you think of it, bring the typewriter along and we can change over one of my old passes so it will get me in through the gate in the morning.

Then there is the problem of what you are going to do until I get out in the afternoon. Maybe you had better drive me over in the morning and then you can go visiting. That is if you can get out of bed. After I finish with you, you will want to sleep until noon. That is funny. I probably won’t be any good and you know it. But you are wonderful and I love you so very much. Here I have four whole days to wait for you and I’m like a little boy the night before Christmas. I’m on pins and needles. I suppose it’s childish and I’m mad at myself for being so but I can’t help it. I am crazy about you. That is unusual for an old married man like me to be like that. If I were like my old man I would tell you to meet me at Murphy’s sometime Tues. night. Last night I wrote if I didn’t hear from you by Sat. I would telephone you but I don’t think that will be necessary. Besides, I haven’t got enough money. Did Tony have a good time? When did he leave? You know what I did last night after I wrote you? I went down to the barracks and dug down in my dirty socks and winter underwear and got your picture out. I have to remember what you look like. Do you have light hair or dark?

What do you mean in one of your letters that I express myself better in my letters than I do at home. Don’t you know all married men have that same trouble. Their better half gives them little opportunity. I am pretty sharp this morning, don’t you think? It must be this early morning air. Which reminds me of the lad who claimed in all his thirty years of married life he only once raised his hand to his wife and then he was not able to look her in the eye for two weeks. After that he could see a little bit out of one eye. To change the subject. How do you like the paper? We use this for memos and it is the only thing laying around here this morning. Well I’ll close now. I didn’t have much to say and only wanted to kill time. I’ll be looking for you.

Love, Leonard