Letter From........Somewhere

In 1944 you hardly ever saw a mature man in uptown Charlotte in civilian clothes. World War Two brought Americans together like nothing else had ever done.

Just about everyone either was in the military or working for the war effort in a civilian capacity.

Uncle Russel Jolly was in the Navy and he was the one who sent me the sailor cap that I wore throughout those war years. I don't remember if I took it off when I went to bed or not.

This letter was one he wrote from somewhere in the Pacific, Okinawa I believe it was.

A couple of stories that Uncle Russel told us kids after he returned from the war stick in my mind to this day. One of which was that fairly often when the American Sailors were sleeping in their their hammocks at night the Japs would sneak into camp and bayonet the sailors.

The other one I remember was that when he was assigned guard duty at night, he couldn't smoke, since the lit cigarette would let the enemy know of his location, so when the urge to smoke would get so great, he would unroll the cigarette....and chew the tobacco.

War really is Hell.