Since 1917

Feb. 6, 1943 was the last letter I mailed to SW from N.J. The next letter, stamped Feb.25th, came from “Somewhere in No. Africa”. This letter was on V-Mail stationary and was censored. That’s a period of three weeks. Really a long period of fear and anxiety for SW to cope with. I was on board ship and fearful of German U-boat attacks and suffering from sea-sickness. The only solace that I had was a letter from Shirley that I kept in my shirt pocket which I read often. It was her last letter I received prior to moving to the embarkation point in Ft. Hamilton. Her letter was very poignant. While writing this letter, she was listening to the radio and a song came on, sung by the popular Andrew Sisters, “I’ll Never Smile Again, etc. This caused SW to cry and a tear-drop fell on the letter and smudged the ink. This created a vision in my mind, which caused me to tear up. I can still recall going on deck during calm periods and reading the letter by moonlight.

If it weren’t for the letters that Shirley saved I would have very little to write about, except for the memories that I maintained . I have no memory of our move to the ships from our camp in N.J. I can’t recall boarding the Kaiser ships, which were built to transport troops overseas.                             These are my memories of my sea voyage………….              Canvas hammocks were strung up in chambers, 3 or 4 high, with step ladders for access to them. On the side , I hung up my helmet which was useful when I felt the need to throw up. I recall being in my sack for days on end and being fed crackers by an older G.I. who nursed me for most of my trip. I still carry this memory with me, but cannot bring up the face or the name. It’s really a shame. I don’t know if I ever thanked him for his compassion.
Another vision I have of this boat ride, was the long chow line. This snaked around the deck and was really long.   Sometimes it took 2 hours before one got to the kitchen with our aluminum food kit and aluminum coffee cup.  We had nothing to do except line up for food. So it was a social thing, actually.   But for me it proved to be a disaster. Before I got to the entrance of the kitchen, I smelled the food and immediately got sick. I needed to rush to the side of the ship, hold the rail and heave. I got back to my hammock and stayed there for days. My good samaritan fed me Krispy crackers. I don’t recall eating a good meal during the entire sea voyage.

We landed in Casablanca, But I have no memory of the movement off ship to our move to our camp on a barren hillside outside the city. We were quarantined for several weeks to adjust to the environment and await further orders.         (March letters to follow)