I have finished scanning all 40 or more letters home. CDP averaged one or two per month between early 1944 and early 1946. The stationery is almost as interesting as the letters themselves. One has sailor-themed pinup art I am excited to show you.
This is the first of the letters. It is the only letter I do not have dated. However, it is the same stationery as the second letter, and both are discussing his time in the hospital, getting ready to ship off…so I know this letter predates that letter by a week or more (that letter is May 8th).
Below are scans of the letter, along with a transcription that will be easier to read. His mentions of “Don” are his baby brother (remember Chuck was adopted, so the brother is not his blood).
At the time of this letter, CDP had finished basic training in 1943 and hadn’t yet been shipped off to Hawaii in preparation for battle. That would happen later in this year. He mentions having earned his MoMM 3/c ranking, which is the Motor Machinist’s Mate, 3rd Class. In his audio letter home, from December 1943, he says he is just starting to take classes on motors—so it was roughly a six-month training program between then and now.