From the July 2009 issue: A Sidelined General Shares His Philosophy on Leadership
After slapping a hospitalized American soldier in Sicily in August 1943 and then making controversial remarks at the opening of a serviceman's club in Knutsford, England, in April 1944, Lt. Gen. George S. Patton Jr. came within inches of being relieved of his command. Instead, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower imposed a punishment almost as devastating: Patton would be relegated to an essentially minor role during the historic Normandy landings… Read Entire Article.
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From the May 2009 issue: An American Pilot Encounters the Ghosts of Buchenwald
On April 21, 1945, 1st Lt. James Carroll Jordan, a 23-year-old pilot from St. Paul, Minnesota, with the Ninth Army's 109th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, typed a three-page letter to his wife, Betty Anne, just hours after visiting Buchenwald. Troops normally refrained from describing the most horrific details of war, but Jordan—like many other soldiers who observed the concentration and extermination camps—chronicled in graphic and unflinching detail the true brutality of Hitler's Final Solution… Read Entire Article.
From the March 2009 Issue: A Father's Thoughts on the Importance of a Uniform
On the day he turned 18—May 3, 1943—a high school student named William Fee rushed to the local selective service office to register for the draft. Throughout William's childhood, his father, Dwight, who had fought in the devastating Meuse-Argonne offensive in World War I, strove to instill in his son the values he held dear: duty, honor, and integrity… Read Entire Article.
From the January 2009 issue: A Sailor's Horrific Tale of Life as a POW
Machinist's Mate 3rd Class Alvin A. Andrews died in 1961 at the age of 42, his life cut short by hardships he suffered while being held by the Japanese as a POW for three years during World War II. Andrews spoke little to his family about his wartime experiences, but his daughter Denise, who was five years old when he died, remembers his refusing to allow rice in the house. After his death, his family discovered a trunk containing memorabilia from his days in the Pacific. Among the items was a long letter by a fellow sailor named Arthur D. Emard, who apparently had been captured along with Andrews in Corregidor. Soon after the war, Emard wrote in vivid detail about what he and his fellow prisoners endured… Read Entire Article.
From the November 2008 issue: Sure, War is Hell – But Just Try Writing a Love Letter
Crafting the perfect love letter can be difficult under any circumstance, but for normally stoic GIs, the muse could be especially uncooperative. Newly married William Waldeck, a machinist's mate who served on the USS Baldwin, found this to be the case when he struggled to write an affectionate missive to his wife Mary after leaving for naval training in the spring of 1943. Waldeck ultimately relied on his somewhat mischievous—and gently bawdy—sense of humor to get him out of the pinch. The letter is undated but believed to have been written in March 1943… Read Entire Article.
From the September 2008 issue: Welcome Home. Now Brace Yourself…
As American troops over the years returned to the States following lengthy tours overseas, the culture shock that many of them experienced has become the subject of widely circulated humorous letters. One recent e-mail offered advice to the spouses of troops deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan on helping their loved ones acclimate to a more comfortable — although potentially disorienting — life back home… Read Entire Article.
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6 Comments to “War Letters: World War II Letters from the Legacy Project”
The most important aspect of World War 11 letter-writing from Europe was censorship. In over six months of combat, I never knew of, or saw, a letter that was not stamped and censored by an officer.
Today I consider it ridiculously useless; most soldiers knew where their foxholes and buddies were; and knew nothing about tactics,other units, objectives, etc. Nearly all wrote comforting personal news and solicited comforting personal news.
Even enemy capture of an entire infantry division's mail would have profited little, simply because the average soldier was told absolutely nothing, and knew nothing than a few feet from his foxhole or location.
By mitchell kaidy on Aug 22, 2008 at 2:05 pm
I would like to know where I could send family world war I and II letters as a donation.
Thank you,
Lee Kennedy
By lee kennedy on Sep 11, 2008 at 4:47 pm
You could always donate to the Veteran's History Project at the Library of Congress.
By Mike V on Jan 20, 2009 at 4:13 pm
Right–The Veterans History Project is a good start–as noted above, send a copy (not originals) to the Legacy Project, PO Box 53250, Washington, DC 20009, or e-mail WarLettersUS@aol.com
MHQ magazine also publishes first person accounts of wars other than World War II in its Experience of War column–feel free to query me about that possibility at MHQeditor@weiderhistorygroup.com
Bill Horne
Editor
World War II and MHQ Magazines
By BIll Horne on Feb 28, 2009 at 5:27 pm
yes on which war did america experience a military attack upon its territory?
By martin lucatero on Mar 11, 2009 at 12:46 pm
Martin: Mex-American war
Lee: Try the War Letter Archive http://www.war-letters.com
By Bill McMurray on May 18, 2009 at 11:13 pm