The day after his phone call to Dot, Dart sounds as though he’s in a better mood. They’ve been moved to a new barracks, which turns out to be just as nice as the former one. Unfortunately he’ll be unable to avail himself of his new digs tonight because his early morning watch requires that he sleep aboard the ship.

He’s as enthusiastic about their phone conversation as Dot was. He loved hearing the sound of her voice and he was pleased that they both feel more natural and spontaneous when they talk than they have in the past.

Now he has to stop writing, but will take it up again tomorrow.

The next day – His delight in his new barracks has grown since yesterday. He tries to describe it without violating Naval security, leading me to wonder why it would be important to keep details of temporary living quarters secret, especially now that the US has no enemies. He describes the clean streets and nice grassy area in front of the barracks buildings. Included in those buildings are the chapel, movie theater, recreation area and athletic lockers. There are tennis courts, baseball diamonds and a football field outside. A four-winged mess hall offers separate dining for enlisted and officers, plus a beer hall and storage areas.

He’s especially impressed by the profusion of flowers and the neat, white fences that line the sidewalks. All the ground is covered by either grass or flowers. There’s an awning over some picnic tables to provide a shady spot to eat or read, and park benches sit in front of every building.  This entire description is accompanied by one of Dart’s neat diagrams of the place. He tells her the security is more lax than he’d expected, with wives, parents, girlfriends and kids allowed in to see “Daddy’s ship.”

He brags that he just earned a dollar for ironing a set of dress blues for another guy. “Not bad for 45 minutes of work.” (Well, some people might think he lost that deal!) Now he and Hal Martin plan to do some laundry over at the ship, hoping to charge some other fellows a buck or two to throw their stuff into the machine.

Echoing Dot’s thoughts, he tells her that the time until his leave seems to be passing way too slowly.

Dot writes a hurried and excited letter today. Gordon’s home! He was so happy to see his wife Betty that he scarcely noticed Dot or all the painting they’d done around the house. His homecoming prompted a huge feast, befitting a returning hero.

She assures Dart that nothing happened to her, although she admits to feeling that horseback ride for a few days. She quips that she’s built for the sport, with all the extra padding where it counts, but she’d advise him to avoid it. “If your scar is where I think it is, you’d be more than a bit sore after trotting around for an hour.”

She got a beautiful letter from his mother today, welcoming her to the Peterson clan. It gives her goose bumps every time she reads it. She’s completely charmed by Dart’s parents, and by their first-born son. How I wish that letter from my grandmother had survived with all these others. It’s hard not to be greedy.

No letters on the 19th, but Dot returns on the 20th.

Dart is blissfully satisfied with the way things went on his “72” in Greenwich. (72-hour pass, that is.) Dot had written before their reunion that she hoped he wouldn’t be disappointed when they finally saw each other again. He assures her that he was not disappointed in the least; in fact; he claims there is no luckier or happier guy in the world than he is right now. The only thing he would have changed about their two days together is that he would have given in more often to his impulse to kiss her.

In an earlier letter, Dot answered his query about ring size by making some crack about her huge size 7. He’s since learned that a 7 is a perfectly average ring size for a girl. He’s so tickled and thrilled by the whole engagement business that he can hardly stand to wait another few days to make it all official.

He tells her that in every way he’s luckier than most of the guys he knows on the Haggard. Some of them went to see their girls and came back to the ship broken-hearted and alone. Others found the girl they left behind to be far less interesting or desireable now.

In spite of Hal Martin’s teasing at Penn Station, Dart never doubted for a minute that Dot was there to meet him and that they’d find each other. How happy he was that she was, and they did!

He’s glad she got such a welcoming letter from his mother. He, too, felt very welcomed by Dot’s parents and siblings. He got a kick out of meeting Gordon, and was gratified by that veteran sailor’s advice: lipstick doesn’t show up on dark Navy blue. Dart will remember not to wear his whites the next time he’s out riding with a young lady.

Now that the war is over, he can talk more about it. Dot asked if he’d ever been scared. Yes, he admits he was lots of times. The worst was when they left Okinawa for their return trip to the States. They were supposed to rendezvous with a convoy that would travel together all the way across the Pacific to San Diego. When they got to the appointed spot, they learned that they were it! “One crippled tincan and four tiny, helpless yard minesweepers to herd a convoy of 45 slow, wallowing, lumbering LST’s, LSM’s and LCI’s home. We were the only ship with underwater sound gear. We were the only ship with depth charges. We were the only ship with guns larger than 40 mms. Were were the only warship among 52 craft of various types and sizes. A torpedo hit would surely sink us. We could not outmaneuver a submarine if he once got the favorable position, nor could we fire at planes.  We were scared. ”

He writes about another incident that had the entire crew in a nervous lather. With great detail, Dart outlines the call to general quarters, the tension as each position reported in, ready for duty. The voices from all corners of the ship calling coordinates. A submarine had been detected within close range of the Haggard, just off the stern. He describes the sound of the depth charge being fired, the lurch of the ship as she tries to put space between herself and the explosion below. The sound of a car door slamming, magnified several times, followed by the feel of the bottom of the ship being kicked hard. Then comes “a great boiling tower of foaming sea water and …dead fish! The “submarine” was actually a large school of harmless fish, but no sonar man has ever been able to accurately detect the difference between a submarine on the move and a school of fish or a whale. The tension the crew experienced was understable; a single torpedo can sink a destroyer in less than two minutes under the best of circumstances. The Haggard, severely damaged by then, was hardly traveling under the best of circumstances!

He wishes Dot a good night and a happy trip to Sunapee. He signs the letter “Yours all ways, always and forever.”

Dot is very chatty in this letter. Although she writes a little about what’s been happening in her life in the hours since Dart left, she spends most of the space on the pages telling Dart how she feels. In case there was any doubt, she’s wildly in love and very, very happy. She’s also, as always, looking on the bright side.

“The way I figure it, I won’t get a letter from you until next Tuesday when I get home from Sunapee. But by then I’ll be able to say ‘in 6 days I’ll see Dart, so it won’t be so bad.'”

She adds, “It’s been mighty lonesome without you, Dart. It doesn’t seem to matter that the house is always full of people. As long as you’re not among them, I’m not interested. When I settle down to sleep at night I keep thinking how much nicer it would be if I were sitting down on the couch with you. I thank God you were able to meet Gordon and that it won’t be too long before I get to see you again.”

She tells Dart that she got a letter from his friend Fred today. She hopes he’ll someday find a woman that means as much to him as his friends do. It would be a shame to waste an intellect like his rotting away on some foreign island in the Pacific, overcome by the less pleasant side of Marine life.

Her cousin Janie is giving her a belated birthday party tomorrow, with Cynthia joining them for dinner and then the three of them seeing a movie. She’ll get home too late to write, but she promises he’ll get a letter from her every single day until his leave begins.

Speaking of which, does he have any definite word on when that will be? Is it still September 10? What time will his train get in? Is it alright if she meets him at Penn Station at the top of the escalator?  She knows it’s premature to discuss these plans, but it allows her to think for a few moments about seeing him again. (There seems to be a theme forming in this letter!)

She’d like to make a correction to an assumption he made that she doesn’t like looking into people’s eyes; it’s his eyes she can’t look into for very long. “I love you so much and I’m afraid you’ll disappear if I look too much.” She makes a deal with him that if he’ll meet her back at 115 Mason St. she’ll be happy to stare into his eyes for as long as possible.

Now comes a discussion that seems quaint and old-fashioned by today’s standards. She reminds him that they never decided on whether they would have twin beds or a double! She has thought of another argument in favor of the double – it’s quicker and easier to make in the morning. “Leave it to Chamberlain to make things easier for herself,” she quips. Today’s couples generally decide between a queen and a king-sized bed. Doubles are nearly extinct and nobody would consider starting married life in a twin!

With a wish that he could come to Sunapee with them, and a hope that he will next year, she closes. Then she adds a P.S. “Besides – if we had a double bed it would make it easier for us to settle our disputes before we go to sleep, yes?” Now she’s thinking!

Because both of our writers sent such long letters today, there will be none tomorrow. Both return on the 31st.