Box 1

Scope and Contents

Stephen writes to his mother Helen and father Andreas, expressing excitement that he is 15 days away from seeing them. At the time of writing the letter, Stephen had just finished 8 weeks of mess hall duty. His parents are visiting from their hometown of San Antonio, TX to see him graduate as U.S.M.C. Private First Class on May 4th. (April 18. 1965 indicates the day letter was stamped at the post office)

Scope and Contents

Helen writes to her son Stephen, as she is excited that he will be arriving in San Antonio in 3 days. She is preparing for his arrival by charging his razor and preparing his clothes. She normally writes to update him with news from back home, but expresses that this time the most important news is that he will be coming home. Stephen's address according to the envelope is Camp Pendleton in Southern CA.

Scope and Contents This group of 8 letters was written from Stephen to his parents between October 1964 and November 1966. In the first letter, Stephen angrily reacts to news that a man from his old neighborhood was killed by a person of Asian descent. Stephen writes about potential career paths, living in San Diego, and purchasing a new car. After January 1966, the next letter on record is written in October 1966 where Stephen writes about his love for a girl named Gaylynn who he plans to marry when he leaves...

Scope and Contents

This letter is written by love interest Gaylynn Duncan expressing her love and admiration for 'Steve'. She misses him dearly and hopes to see him in San Antonio during her holiday break from school. She is in Corpus Christy, TX. but hopes to see him before he returns to California. Date recorded is the date stamped on the letter's envelope.

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This envelope was addressed from Stephen to his mother and contains 7 pages of poems Stephen wrote under the pen name Elonso Fantane.

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This particular letter stands out because Stephen is speaking relatively incoherently. He says that it's not long until he faces the "most nerve racking" experience of his life but does not elaborate on what that might be. He says he's had feelings that something dangerous will happen to the President of the United States. He states he's worried and would "get it over with" if he could. Letter's envelope is stamped October 24,1966.

Scope and Contents

In a letter to his parents, Stephen adds a copy of his testimony from the court hearing after his arrest. This is the first instance where his arrest is mentioned. In the letter, Stephen tells his parents that he does not know what will happen to him, but expresses that he's getting so annoyed that he does not care. The date listed above, 12-11-1966, is the date on the letter's envelope and may not be the date of his court hearing.

Scope and Contents This collection has 4 letters dated in December 1967, from Stephen to his parents. Stephen is primarily updating his parents with his expectations for the next board meeting in March. He is introspective about his past experiences and how meeting different people has changed him over time. In the last letter of this set, Stephen thanks his parents for sending the Christmas package earlier in the month and asks them to find out about Charlie, Lee Ann, and most importantly his "darling"...

Scope and Contents This set of 8 letters ranges in dates from early January to late February of 1968. In these letters to his parents, a recurring topic is his board meeting scheduled to be in early February. He transitions from having lots of faith in God and being ready for the meeting, to admitting that it is very hard to keep faith in religion when facing reality. In mid February he gets a concerning letter from a finance manager in Kansas City, MO to which Stephen owes money. The finance manager isn't...

Scope and Contents Stephen writes that he had lost hope of meeting the board with a clean record, as he spent 24 hours "in the hole". He does not give detail as to what happened, but tells his parents that maybe one day he will tell them. Luckily for Stephen, he was not found guilty of the incident and his record remains clean. Other than the board meeting, Stephen notes that he has gotten into a coffee drinking habit. He drinks so much that any deviation from his daily routine can cause anger or...