Letters, July - November 1945

In this series of letters, John reflects on the June 10 letter he sent to Irene. He also begins to deal with the reality of World War II coming to an end and the possibility of being sent home soon. On July 18, 1945, John writes that his tour of duty had officially ended and is only waiting for relief to arrive. On the envelope of a letter dated August 13, 1945, John writes “Aug 9 Atomic Bomb Dropped on Nagasaki”. In that letter he expresses that the situation overseas has gotten mixed up and he does not know when he’ll start to head home. On the envelope of a letter dated August 19, 1945, John writes “1st letter after cease fire end of War”. On the envelope of a letter dated August 25, 1945, John writes “Aboard Ship to the [Philipines]”. On the envelope of a letter dated September 13, 1945, John writes “Sept 2, 1945 McArthur signs peace treaty aboard USS Missouri”. In September and October, John’s day to day activities became more consistent and he had more time to play baseball and to write to Irene. John eventually finds out that his squadron is to report to the West Coast as soon as possible and his ship arrives on November 4, with expectations to be heading home by November 11. Among the notes that John writes on a portion of the envelopes, his letters express that he and Irene are back to normal expressing their feelings with each other.