A Very Young Marine

A Very Young Marine
Boot Camp Parris Island

May 7, 2016

Letter # 4 May 7, 1944 "Cartoons and Musings By A Young Marine"



                               
" Dear Fran,"

 "Just reread your letter and thought of more to write, so here it is, before the urge goes away. Seriously now, I can't think of any reason either for not writing before, but look at all the paper we saved the Effort. Say, about this secretary business, in a way it sounds pretty good ( and in another it doesn't but who can blame the guy?). Glad to hear it though, Fran, and good luck. But going to school and working both are a little tough on a person especially at night- aw yeah, where's the school? Don't over do it Lewis (m- m -m that name is so nice to write). . .It was swell of you to reply so well to a V-Mail...  I'll be seeing you in only fifteen to twenty more months - not very long from now, no not long at all gr-r-r.  Ha! and Ollie's just coming over soon." 

 "This is a year of marriages all right - even Woody. That surprised me more than a little knowing him so well...That's like something that was in a magazine telling about a guy in the fleet who had a sign near his bunk; "I have given the best years of my wife to the Navy!" How 'bout that."

"We've been having some mutton  lately...this side of the world seems to abound in sheep... the story goes that its kept in a pit dug in the ground then covered over. In a few weeks the sheep begin to swell and when the dirt over them begins to push up ... they know it is now ripe and ready for serving. And you send those ice cream and stuff ads"

..."sometimes you'd be sitting outside the house on the steps and would speak the magic words "Hello Wick", Fran you really have a way of saying that, and every time you said it window shades would run up and down my back, it still haunts me..(The words) would float all the way across the street in low tones, just audible enough to reach my ears. I've seen a few sights like New York, Wilmington, Newark, Philly, ...etc. and an active volcano, earthquakes and a campaign but nothing compared with that sound. Ain't nature grand? ..."

"Well goodbye now and give my regards to your cherubic brother- who'll need all the luck now. Aw yeah, keep haunting me, Lovely Lewis,"

"Your Pal, Wick"













April 11, 2016

RICH CAFE




Wick sent this stub because it reads like a puzzle , anyway its great fun to look over. ! 
                                                       








April 4, 2016

" Franie by the Old Tree In the Park "








 I mailed a couple of photos to Wick, this one was taken by my girlfriend while we were in MacGruder Park. The old tree in the photo is a favorite place of ours. Wick calls it "the old stump".


March 21, 2016

Parris Island, SC 1942 "Boot Camp"

Marine Boot Camp August 31 - November11 
Some of the original squad would remain together until the end of WWII, nearly four years.








Wick is in the front row, third from the right.


January 15, 2016

Nominees For The 16th Academy Awards 1944



The nominees for the 16th  Academy Awards were recently made public. (Chosen from films released in 1943. ) The winners will be announced on Thursday, March 2,1944.

The Outstanding Motion Picture category includes; 
"For Whom The Bell Tolls"
"Heaven Can Wait"
"The Ox-Bow Incident"
"Watch On The Rhine"
"Madame Curie"
"Casablanca"

Nominees for leading roles are ;

Best Actress               Best Actor
Jean Arthur                Humphrey Bogart
Ingrid Bergman          Walter Pidgeon
Joan Fontaine            Mickey Rooney
Greer Garson            Paul Lukas
Jennifer Jones            Gary Cooper

January 5, 2016

Letter # 1 A Soldier Remembers "The first time I saw you"

     The Girl on the Front Porch  is a collection of WW II love letters. "A Soldier Remembers " tells of Wick's first encounter with  Franie. The letters that follow will be in chronological order for the year 1944.












September 3, 2015

The Great Atlantic Hurricane September 1944

The Great Atlantic Hurricane of 1944

A category four hurricane hit the Atlantic coast in September of 1944 disrupting  utilities and causing the loss of 390 lives and $100 million in damages. Several ships sank in the 70' high waves. The largest loss  occurred  when the Navy destroyer USS Warrenton went down with her crew of 248 sailors.