Sept. 21, 1942 - Dear Audrey

Jan Palson

21 Sep 2026 — 5 min read

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My resistance to the cold isn’t what it should be.

Wow, Vick's has been around a long time. Good thing since it's getting cold and fall has only just begun. At least his barracks has some heat. Can you imagine living in even flimsier shacks? Guess where new recruits start out. And fingers crossed for getting more gas. Let's all think good thoughts for the Nahant Rationing Board. Once he knows when his next pass is, he'll write Amelia about something. And don't you just hate when you had one more thing but it slips your mind. Yeah.

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!

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September 21, 1942

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

Dear Audrey:

Boy the weather has taken a turn for the worse and after the weekend rain, it is really cold. There will be more than one fellow go out with his overcoat on tonight and the wind is blowing so hard they have gone out and anchored a couple of the flimsier shacks down. I’m glad where we are is fairly comfortable at night or at least so nearly so as possible. Yesterday I wrote you telling you what a h-ll of a husband I am to be spending all your money whenever I see you and now today I’m afraid I’m going to have to bum some more money off you. My cold is a little worse and I think a jar of Vicks would take care of it. My resistance to the cold isn’t what it should be. It must be the cold wind and the dampness. Some mornings we wake up and the fog is rolling down thru the barracks so thick I can’t see the lad in the next bunk. I even have to feel for my shoes and don’t think I’m exaggerating either. And the wind – it sweeps off the ocean like a virgin – unconquerable, untouchable, and defying everything. What a place to be next February? Well ole man, if you’ll slip me a dollar until payday, I’ll rewrite my insurance for you. I have a new lead on how to get some more gasoline up here. It doesn’t look as hopeless as it did. I’ll need the registration and the number you got on your sticker (that is the sticker you got from the Post Office and had to pay $5.00 for it) so mail them to me.

I’ll only need them for a couple of hours and then I can send them back and you won’t even miss them. I think I can get some satisfaction from the Nahant Rationing Board. I wish we had made our arguments a little stronger on that application for those retreads. I’m afraid they won’t recognize the need or necessity for better tires. If you get the registration up here this week I’ll have it back to you by the end of the month. I didn’t write the letter to Amelia after all because I think I had better wait until I’m sure of my three-day pass. We are so short of men here that they might refuse me, but I will try hard. We got a new recruit form Fort Devens the other day and because he hasn’t had any training of any sort they have stuck him the kitchen out of the way. He is disgusted and wants to get out of this place. I got to talking with him and he has been married for two years and his wife has been in the hospital for two years. What a life! He wishes he was in Stalingrad and I don’t blame him. I’m glad I have such a strong, husky, buxom ‘babe’ for a wife and I love you. If I was in Stalingrad, I would want you to be with me and to be truthful I wish you were going to be with me tonight to hold my head. I had something else I was going to write about but it has slipped me right now but I’ll probably think of it as soon as I get in bed and that is where I’m going as soon as this shift is over. I’m glad they have a good fire going in the barracks. I hope you are all right down there. I’m saving all my love for you.

Love,

Leonard