June 5, 1942 - Dear Adre

Jan Palson

05 Jun 2026 — 6 min read

Fort Banks - 1940s - Artist Unknown

Nothing can interfere with the firing or so they say.

A 7 page letter! They're heading out for the practice firings on the 13th of the month. Outfitted in their summer duds. This life could be interesting if they didn't have to get up so early, skip breakfast, and lay around in wet sand. More married people stuff to manage and poor Grandmother is in the hospital in Natick. A lot is going on.

Original Letter

Transcript follows.

Transcript - June 5, 1942

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

Dear Adre,

Well this month certainly has gone by fast. Only 25 more days to go. And nothing done yet either. I haven’t spent last month’s pay and here is another pay day practically here. Well at least the week is gone. I’m counting the weeks (not days) when I will see you again. If I get any kind of a break at all. I’ll get down to see you somehow. I’ve kept my nose clean and so I should have a one break coming. That is, I’ve done everything I should when I should and so I don’t see why I can’t ask for some time off and get it. I’m thinking more of when we come back from the island then right now. You never can tell. Things are very uncertain.

They might cancel all the passes at any time. As I said last night, I think I’m going to lose that appointment with the Eye doctor for June 15^th because we are leaving here the 13^th. I’m trying to have it changed but I don’t think I can. Nothing can interfere with the firing or so they say.

Did I tell you they issued us our summer outfits, including underwear? I got some equipment to bring out to the island with me and so now I have quite a bit to carry. It is going to be heavy and I’m glad I won’t have to walk. Wow am I tired today. They kept us up there drilling last night until 11 o’clock. I slept thru a blackout. Then this morning they got us up at 4 o’clock for one of those flying columns (emergency riot calls). Just practice. We have to roll out and pile into the trucks and this morning they gave us a wild ride over to Lynn beach.

They try to simulate real battle conditions for us. If it wasn’t so early in the morning, it could be interesting. No breakfast and no time to wash and laying on that cold wet beach ruined my disposition. I laid there thinking of all kinds of things I could enjoy doing to the person who thought that up. I don’t expect this place to be any picnic, but they don’t have to make things so difficult. Did any one tell you yet that my Grandmother is in the Natick hospital and is going to be operated on? I don’t know what for or anything. Can you pick out a card or a letter for her? Bet we don’t know what her address is. She is in the Natick hospital and I don’t think she could go there living in Framingham. I’ll have to find out or you can. Bernice sent me a card and said they might be over Sunday and mentioned Grandma.

You haven’t said whether we owe any more on that wedding gift and what we shall do. I thought that we did. I got a letter from the Income Tax Collector in Boston with some forms to fill out if I wish to let the tax slide for the duration. I’ll fill them out and mail them to you and you can send in the forms I filled out. Be sure and keep a duplicate of the form so we can tell how much to pay later. They are having a sort of a barn dance up to the theatre tonite. The soldiers are wearing fatigues but they are suppose to be clean. I haven’t seen any clean ones around. They call it a “Cotton Dance”. I don’t feel up to it so I’ll stay in and clean things up for tomorrow. Your letters are nice and I look forward to them. I love you very much. There is not any room left inside of me to love anyone else. I am all yours and always will be.

Someday we are going to be together and then no one will ever get us apart. We will make up for all this time that we are separated. I’ll love you all day long. That will be wonderful, won’t it sweet? I don’t think you should worry too much about June graduating. I didn’t even know she was graduating but the more I think of it, I guess it’s right. She is getting old. Nancy will be graduating next. The old man better start looking around for a man worthy of her. Can’t let her get to be an old maid. Look how close you came to being one until I came to your rescue. (I couldn’t help putting that crack in. it was too good a chance). I’m glad the pictures we took came out good. I was afraid it would be too dark. How is that one we took of that odd tree with me in the background. You shouldn’t have bothered with a second set although the enlargement was a good idea.

I think your typewriting is good. No mistakes except there is no margin on the left side of the paper. Isn’t there an adjustment that automatically makes the left side come even? You just slam it back and it stops at a certain place. That is all I know about it. Oh yes, I was going to say if you still wanted to send June something, well do it. It makes no difference to me. If you do, don’t spend too much. Do you notice how quickly I’ve caught on to this married life? Already I’m tell my wife not to spend so much money. This usually takes two years for the average fellow, but I started in early. One of the secrets of keeping her from spending too much is to keep her hands out of your pants pockets at night. I do this by not living with her. Of course, I don’t recommend this as a good method.

In fact I don’t like it. I love my wife too much. If I couldn’t only sleep with her I would figure something else out. Something like sewing the pockets up or using mouse traps in them. She is much too nice to be treated like that, though. And so what I probably would do would be to love her so much she wouldn’t have time for anything else. I love you so much honey. Get your chin up.

Lots and Lots of Love

Leonard