Dart writes this letter from the deck on a sunny spring day. There is just enough of a breeze to kick up an occasional white cap on the dark blue surface. He’d like to describe the scene around him, but he dare not. I suspect that means there’s an impressive fleet of warships all around and the censor would stop his description at first word.
Somehow, mail was delivered to the ship today, even though it is at sea. He received only one letter – that one from his mother. He’s still in the dark about Dot’s April 10th interview with the WAVEs. I’m sure his anguish on that topic is undiminished, but he has the grace not to say anything about it in this letter.
This is the first letter Helen Peterson has written to her son since learning that he was part of the raid on Tokyo. She was stunned that he would see heavy action so soon after arriving on the ship. Dart admits that, at the time, he was pretty stunned himself. The news of the raid hit the US just as Helen and Dot were shopping in downtown Cleveland.
He writes that he starts his new job in the mess on Tuesday. He’s steadfastly determined to withhold judgement on the new assignment until he’s had a chance to test it out. He’s heard there are some advantages to this post, such as no nightly watches. That means he’ll be able to stay in the sack for the whole night. He should be getting plenty to eat, and a few extra treats along the way. It’s unclear whether he’ll be eligible for an increase in rate during his tenure in the mess, but he doubts it. He welcomes the extra $5 per month in pay while on this assignment.
It being a fine day for taking pictures, the watch captain did just that today. He photographed the whole watch crew, two-by-two out on the deck. Dart says they had lots of fun in the process. He’ll try to send a shot of him and a buddy in front of one of the “Varga” girls.
He learned in his mother’s letter that a close friend, Homer Singer has been in a hospital in France for quite some time and will probably be getting an early discharge soon. His parents think he has malaria. That’s a far better fate than some of the Shaw classmates have seen.
Failing to think of any way to tell Dot how much he loves her, he says it in the same old way and then signs off.
What neither Dart nor the reader can know is that this letter is written on a fateful day in the life of the USS Haggard. Later that evening, a kamikazi pilot will crash his plane into the mid section of this proud ship, causing fire, destruction and a loss of lives from which the Haggard never fully recovers. You’ll not read one hint of it in these letters, but I’ll let the story unfold in it’s time.
Naturally, there will be no letters from Dart for a few days.
