The World War II Letters of Corporal Emil Kaminsky of the Sixth Field Artillery Battery in the Pacific Theater of Operations, 1942-44

A collection of approximately 74 long and detailed letters written by Corporal Emil Kaminsky, a soldier in the 6th Field Artillery Battalion, to his girlfriend in Philadelphia. Most of the letters date from 1944, when Kaminsky was stationed at San Francisco. Also included are four letters from 1942, when Kaminsky was in training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and another six letters posted from San Francisco dating from his arrival there in late 1943. Written in ink on quarto and some octavo sheets, the letters are easily legible: most range in length from five to eight pages and are retained in the original envelopes, all of which bear U.S. Army Examiner stamps. Included are two V-mails, Kaminsky's dogtag, and two Japanese Government Ten Pesos notes. All have been retained by Jean Krupka as folded, near fine overall. A cursory perusal of the letters reveals Kaminsky as conscientious and sincere in his affection for Krupka (the couple married upon his discharge in 1946), and eager to chat about his ongoing experiences in the Army, his fellow soldiers, classes he is taking, shows he attended, etc. For example, in a letter from July 11, 1944 he conveys his excitement at attending a show featuring both Fijian and African-American vocal groups: ". we had a Fijian show . and honey I never saw a stage show like it. The Fijians were great, had one there that beat Sinatra. All over I never heard a man sing like that before, if I could only get a record of it, and the next act was the five Jives . they were darn good and had the Ink Spots style ." Although another letter from July, 1944 provides a few clues as to where he is stationed, one would have to read several additional letters to determine his exact whereabouts: "You say it seems odd that there aren't any women here, well it's not odd. Nurse's and Wac's are send over here but they are not sent to an island where a battle is going on, in a way the fighting is done here and again it's not, for there are still a lot of Nips on the other side ." His retention of two Japanese Government bills suggests that he may have served on one or more of the South Sea Islands. A compelling collection of letters documenting the experiences of an ordinary American GI serving in the Pacific Theater during World War II.…