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Pacific Islands no paradise
Topics: history, local history, World War II, Your Words
Posted by citizenjournalist Mon Oct 1, 2007 12:38:15 PDT
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0 responses 1 comment Army Sgt. Jack McCall fought at Guadalcanal, the Philippines and Okinawa. The letter was addressed to his wife, Helen, and toddler Dennis. Mrs. McCall was pregnant with Jim McCall, who submitted his dad’s letter.

Sgt. McCall died in Taft in 1996.

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Feb. 14, 1944

Dearest Helen and Denny,

Howdy honey and sonny —

I hope this finds my cute wife and cute baby fine. Yours truly is hitting on all cylinders. I’m getting used to living on an island. I’m really tanned now. I look like an Indian all except my legs, and they’ll soon respond to the rays of old Juke Pluvious as I run around in the day time, clad only in a pair of shorts, shoes and socks.

Remember that nice pair of gabardine slacks I wore home on my last furlough? Well, I cut the legs off, hemmed ’em up with the sewing kit Uncle Chet sent me for Xmas, and now they serve as my G.I. Island costume. I guess I’ll have to learn to wear clothes again, when I get back to the good old U.S.A.

By golly, I believe I’ve gained a little weight on this coconut island. I eat like a horse, and even my sparsely covered head is beginning to grow hair back. The guys in the tent I’m in said that now they know who is boss in my family — that you must have pulled nearly all my hair out while I was in the states and that I had to go to an island so it could grow again! Honey, I wish I was where you could yank it out if you wanted to, even if you never did.

I got a letter from mother today, and she said you were in Taft, and were going to H.P. soon. Therefore, I’ll address this letter to Huntington Park. Are you going to work in a defense plant, or at the telephone office? You do what you wish.

Bill is waiting for me to go with him to a spring to take a bath, so I’ll postpone this letter awhile, while I delouse myself.

Later:

Just got back from a nice “shower.” There’s a bunch of underground springs a quarter of a mile from here, and the water is nice and clear, and safe.

We soap up and splash water on ourselves with helmets. It’s really swell now. I’ll tuck my little old mosquito bar around my little old “sack,” and “hit the hay” for the night. I’m making a bracelet out of a piece of duralumin, off a downed Jap “Zero”. It’s nearly finished. It isn’t much, as I’m not an artist, but I’ll send it (to) you as soon as I finish it. So long for now. Kiss Denny for me, and lots of love and kisses to you, my little darling.

Jack

Sgt. J. McCall

P.S. I love you.

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Comment From: antman2251

do u have any pic from pearl harbor