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A collection of 227 typed pages with some handwritten notes. Slight edgewear and folding from mailing else near fine. A collection of letters following a large New England family, The Parkers, during World War II. To update each other on the comings and goings of their immediate family they used a "round robin" letter technique. Each family unit named their correspondence similarly to a Newspaper with titles such as the "Baptist Rumour," "The Parker Prattler," "The Parker Prattler Junior," and the "Eglin Eliminator." The letters attempt to sum of the news from the family and local areas, including Keene, New Hampshire and Palmer, Massachusetts, from new babies to weather. They discuss the war and life on the home front including rationing and discussions of current affairs. One letter reads, "There were load of planes around all afternoon mostly p-47s and B-25s. At one time there were 32 in groups of 4. These warm days seems to bring them out like flies." Another reads, "We were somewhat disappointed in the Casablanca conference. It seemed rather foolish for the President to have taken suck a risk to have accomplished so little." They are active in committees and church groups including the Social Action Committee and the local Women s Club. In one note they write, "We are beginning to do a little serious thinking on the kind of a peace we would like to see." Three brothers in the family are involved in the war effort. "Chink" is stationed at Elgin Field, Florida testing experimental bomb sites; another, Ted, is in the European Theater; and a third, Pete, is killed in action while serving with the Marines in the Pacific Theater during the Guadalcanal Campaign. "One year ago tonight the Japs were pouring round after round of explosives from their warships into the area where Pete and his comrades were staying. This happened every nite [sic] in those days…The whole course of the war depended upon the fortitude of picked men who were sent to stop them the Japs at the front. And stop them they did. The airfield the Japs built on Guadalcanal was the last offensive one they built. The tide was turned by the bravery of individuals….We will be thinking of Pete especially next Friday and of the many boys who had to die with him on that nite [sic] of especially intense bombarding." An earlier letter which mentions Pete reads, "Pete was the first to take this war seriously and his self-sacrifice in picking the traditionally toughest service is an inspiration to all." Ted is mentioned throughout the letters with family praising his service; "Ted seems to be piling up a nice record. He had to enter the army the hard way thru no fault of his, and he is now working hard on his way up. Look to your laurels, Lieutenant." Chink wrote his own newsletter, "The Elgin Examiner," 38 "issues" are included here, roughly 67 pages. Chink is the most prolific of the men serving writing "editorials," discussing events on base, and inquiring about the family. He mentions his work when he can and other activities in and around the base. In one letter he writes that, "This job as bombsight officer sure keeps me hopping." Later he details what he is able about a new experiment, "At the moment I have two tests which with my other duties keep me on the jump especially that d*** chemical warfare." He often laments the secretive nature of his job writing in one note, "it is difficult not to be able to tell you all about the work because it is so interesting. After the war I will be able to tell a few things." He later writes, "I can t say much about it [work] other than it is an attempt toward standardization of our bombing equipment and the British." He eventually married a woman he met on base, Allene or "Torchy" as he refers to her.
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