Encoded for the Experiencing War web site, "Special Bonds" release, for the Veterans History Project, 11/7/2003.
All letters in the Finn collection were digitized.
Documents are transcribed with minimal changes to the original text in an effort to preserve original appearance, content, and idiosyncrasies of composition. Period language and terminology are also retained. Transcription is literal with regard to the writer's capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and visible corrections (i.e. crossed out words). Spelling errors are indicated with [sic]. Crossed out words are presented {in braces}. Any special emphasis (i.e. underlining) is presented *between asterisks*. When the writer spells out the word "and" it appears spelled out; when a symbol is used for "and" the editor used the ampersand.
Alterations to the original text are consistent throughout and all editorial comments appear in [square brackets]: a single space is placed between sentences, nontextual symbols (circled page numbers, scribbles, etc.) have been changed to plain typographical characters when possible or omitted with a note, obvious slips of the pen have been silently corrected, and malformed letters are presented as the intended letter, based on spelling and context. All superscripts and underscored superscripts have been lowered to the regular line of text and are not underscored. Single word interlineations are indicated with a single caret (^) before the word; multiple word interlineations are presented ^surrounded by carets^.
[envelope]
Oct 20, 1941
Dear
You can tell Mom she doesn't need to feel slighted that I'm telling you where I am but didn't tell her. Just now got the word that we can tell the folks where we are at, but can't tell why we are , or for how long, or anything else. That secret isn't hard for me to keep because it is a secret to me and to everyone else in the squadron, including the officers. When we left
Well there was much griping and questioninng [sic]. "Whats up. And what the Hell's the idea of working us when it is our day off. etc. But all the comfort the boats would give us. Was that there was only one way to find out and that was to go down a [sic] and find out. And so when we did go down it was to find out that we were going to work all nite getting the planes ready for a quick trip to
When an outfit is shoving off on such short notice and a lot of its men are ashore, it is broadcast that they are wanted immediately. And they have to leave immediately what they are doing and get going, and no argument.
It really was hard on two fellows. One of them was a newlywed of two weeks, the other a bridegroom to be in a week. That is where the single fellows have it all over the married ones.
I had a lot to say the other nite, like I usually do the first nite whe [sic] hit a new place, but I's all evaporated now after the ifirst [sic] newness is worn off.The I don't doubt that we will be seeing a lot of new faces before long, and if we do and if it's my turn to write and all the othere [sic] circumstances and factors are favorable I might be able to get hot and tell something really interesting about something.
Have done hardly a lick of work since getting here. The weather is nasty and they don't fly in nasty weather unless it is an emergency. Ive been all morn-in the plane here, fooling around on this and that and using the radioman's typewriter to write letters to people.
Last nite I had to stand a watch on a plane morred, I mean moored, out on the water. There were three of us, a pilot, a radioman and me, a mechanic. If the plane shoudl [sic] drag its anchor somebody has to be there to see that it doesnt come drifing [sic] in onto the beach. Somebody is also be awake at all times on the plane but it is hard to check up on them without going to the trouble of getting out a boat and going out [illegible, switches to hand-written text] find out. So the senior men said to the two of us "We'll stand our watches in our bunks tonite. And if anyone asks how we stood our watches you,
Are you getting some prints of those Mosgaard pictures?
I had better stop before I get talking about matters which we have been instructed to say nothing of.