Typed letter signed : [Camp Gordon, Ga.], to [Mary Cheever], [1942 Oct. 25].

Record ID: 
380824
Accession number: 
MA 5026.81
Author: 
Cheever, John.
Credit: 
Gift of the Family of Carter Burden, 1998.
Description: 
1 item (2 p.) ; 26.6 cm + envelope
Notes: 

Envelope with postmark; date in brackets is from postmark.
Envelope addressed to "Mrs. John Cheever / 19 East 8th Street / New York City, N.Y." Return address is "Pvt. John Cheever, U.S. Army / Co. "E" 22nd Infantry / Camp Gordon, Georgia"; place of writing is based on return address.
Part of a large collection of letters from John Cheever to his wife, Mary Cheever. Letters are described in individual records; see MA 5026 for details.

Summary: 

Writing immediately after they talked on the phone; reporting that Capt. Ledbetter "left on Friday without saying goodbye to anyone" and "Lieutenant Alcorn is now in charge"; describing Lieutenant Alcorn, and commenting on how difficult it is to tell "what in hell [men] were in the past" once they are wearing a uniform; mentioning that the "Mexican peon" is "turning out to be quite a problem"; telling her, "more than with an enlisted man, the test of an officer lies in combat and most of our officers are going to last five or six minutes"; commenting on letters from Josie [Josephine Herbst] and "a Mary Ann Cheever in Springfield Illinois"; asking her to "send [him] a box of goodies"; telling her how much he enjoys getting letters from her every day of the week.

Provenance: 
The Carter Burden Collection of American Literature.