Forty-Five Letters from a World War Ii Sailor: How to Fulfill Your American Dreams

By Robert W. Bradshaw

As an eighteen-year-old young man, Frank B. Bradshaw Jr. served in World War II as a sailor in the Merchant Marine Corps from 1944 to 1946. In Forty-Five Letters from a World War II Sailor, Robert W. Bradshaw presents a collection of letters his father, Frank, wrote to his parents during a two-year period. It was a dangerous time in history when mariners died at a rate of one in twenty-four, the highest rate of casualties of any service.

From a cold-blooded slaughter in the Ukraine, to illicit sex on the high seas, to coping with food shortages and a loony captain, Frank shares the day-to-day happenings of the life of a sailor on a cargo ship.

Forty-Five Letters from a World War II Sailor delivers firsthand World War II global insights and a unique historical perspective from the view of an eighteen-year-old man. It provides fodder for future generations to fulfill their American dreams.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Sep 25, 2015
• ISBN: 9781491771860

Robert W. Bradshaw

Robert W. Bradshaw is the author of Forty-Five Letters From a World War II Sailor which was also published by iUniverse.

Book preview

FORTY-FIVE LETTERS FROM A WORLD WAR II SAILOR

HOW TO FULF ILL YOUR AMERICAN DREAMS

Copyright © 2015 Robert W. Bradshaw.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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ISBN: 978-1-4917-7185-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4917-7186-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015913405

iUniverse rev. date: 09/23/2015

Contents

Introduction

Letter 1

Letter 2

Letter 3

Letter 4

Letter 5

Letter 6

Letter 7

Letter 8

Letter 9

Letter 10

Letter 11

Letter 12

Letter 13

Letter 14

Letter 15

Letter 16

Letter 17

Letter 18

Letter 19

Letter 20

Letter 21

Letter 22

Letter 23

Letter 24

Letter 25

Letter 26

Letter 27

Letter 28

Letter 29

Letter 30

Letter 31

Letter 32

Letter 33

Letter 34

Letter 35

Letter 36

Letter 37

Letter 38

Letter 39

Letter 40

Letter 41

Letter 42

Letter 43

Postcard

Letter 44

Letter 45

Conclusion Part I

Conclusion Part II

Conclusion Part III

Afterword

Appendix

Introduction

intro.jpg

Frank B. Bradshaw Jr. (1926–1996) was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and received his college education from Cornell University, graduating from Cornell Engineering College in three years. He served in World War II as a sailor in the US Merchant Marine Corps, during which time he wrote forty-five letters to his Dearest Mother and Daddy. He served in the Cold War as a US Air Force officer in the Special Weapons Command at Manzano Base, southeast of Sandia, which currently provides counterterrorism response for weapons of mass destruction.

The purpose of Forty-Five is to honor the memory of my father, Frank B. Bradshaw Jr., for students of American history and for students of American dreams, thereby illustrating a son’s love for his family and country so that future generations will have a road map to fulfill their dreams.

This is a story of a sailor in World War II.

Letter 1

Pass Christian, Mississippi, USA

December 21, 1944

Love for Family

Love for Country

Dear Mother and Daddy, Ann, and Charlie,

I’m a pretty poor excuse as a letter writer, but I guess you all will just have to put up with me. I’ve had good intentions of writing for the last three nights, but it’s just one thing after another, so I haven’t gotten it done.

For the last three days, they’ve worked our heads off. Tomorrow we’re going on a trip on the ocean all day long, and we’re really looking forward to it.

It’s not any use talking about it, and I might have done the wrong thing by not coming home Christmas, but you all can just remember I’ll be thinking about you all and wishing I was with you. I’d rather be there than any place on earth. Tell everyone hello for me at the Christmas Eve dinner and I wish I could be there to see them all.

Love you all,

Frank

This is for Mother, Ann, and Charlie, and I’ll fix Daddy up when I get home.

Letter 2

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

March 5, 1945

Love for Family

Love for Country

Dearest Mother and Daddy,

Got here with all my baggage and had it all checked at the train station except one bag. The train was approximately on time.

The biggest change in the weather took place when we were in about the middle part of Mississippi. I imagine you can guess that it became about twenty degrees hotter all of a sudden. It is really hot here in New Orleans.

I got a room at the Roosevelt, and the room is really nice. It cost a little more, but it was the only one I could get here.

I ate a couple of meals on the train, and much to my astonishment, they were good. The train I came down on was clean, and no coal peeped into the coaches.

Everything so far is going fine, and tomorrow at nine, I’ll find out the news. I’ll reach you before this letter though. I’m sure.

I didn’t tell you all exactly how much my stay at