Author: AUNT MARY
Title: 1945 Gossipy World War II Homefront Letter to a Soldier Stationed in France from His Opinionated Aunt Two Days Before Japan Surrenders
Description: France, United States, 1945. Manuscript. On offer is a typewritten letter to a young soldier named James who is currently overseas serving in France from his Aunt Mary back home. The letter was written on August 12, 1945, six days after the United States dropped the bomb on Hiroshima, three days after the United States bombed Nagasaki and two days before Japan surrendered, ending World War II. It is no surprise, then, that the tone of Aunt Mary’s letter is anxious. She begins by sharing a paragraph about Snook, presumably her son, who joined the army one week before, and is in. She is desperately hoping Snook will find a way to come home for a visit. She then discusses the situation with the war, providing James with her personal analysis of the situation: “...Nothing has come through from Japan, well they will just have to take what we decide to give them, one would [think] they would learn a lesson from Germany but they must think they are better than any other army, so they will have to learn the [hard] way…”. The rest of her letter is written at an equally frenetic pace. She peppers the letter with names of community members, discussing who has returned from war, who has not, and how those in town are responding to the situation, her own plans to pass the time, car troubles, and more general chatter. This letter is a treasure trove of insight into the small town American homefront as the war drew to a close and would be a useful tool for a genealogist studying Honesdale and/or the Wayne County, Pennsylvania area. The letter is 1.5 typewritten pages, signed by Aunt Mary in black ink. The two pages measure 8.5” x 11” . There is evidence of age toning that does not interfere with readability. Bends and creases present but no rips or tears. Overall G. ; Letters; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; 2 pages; Signed by Author. Good with no dust jacket .

Keywords: 2 Japanese Effort Surrender