Dutchie Darling, Love Bob

In this group of letters, Bob describes how hot it was in Alabama in the summer time and writes in detail about basic training.

Several times in this group of letters, he describes the house he wants for them some day. He writes that he wants a house like his Aunt Lou's (youngest sister of his mother, Elsie). Aunt Lou and Uncle George Murray lived in Melrose, in a traditional Cape Cod house. In the early 50's, once Bob had returned home from the war and completed college, he and Jean bought their first home in Natick, MA - a traditional Cape Cod. The upstairs was not finished, when they bought the house. He and his friends worked weekends to build out the second story bedrooms with dormers, for my sister and I. I still remember playing in the attic spaces. Our second house, which was in Trenton, NJ, was also a Cape Cod. Additionally, he writes that he wants a dog. When they moved to Natick, they bought a dog, a Boston Terrier named Rocky.

In one letter, he writes about buying a toy gun for his cousin, Kent. Kent was 16 years younger than Bob, and the son of Aunt Dot Smith, one of Bob's father's sisters.

Bob refers several times to the long wait he had in putting thru a telephone call to Jean. At this time in history, making a long distance call was very involved and there were not enough lines to handle the volume, especially on Sundays. Long distance calls were very expensive. You got the first three minutes for one price and thereafter, there was a charge per minute. Every home in the US, up thru the mid 80's, had a three minute egg timer by the phone, so that you could keep track of how long you were talking and hang up at the three minute mark. Also at this time, mail wasn't moved around using airplanes. It was moved on trains. So, a letter from Alabama to Boston could take almost a week to get there.

While he is in Basic Training, he and Jean decide to get engaged. His father generously offers him one of his mother's rings. Jean wore that ring until the day that she died.

Bob uses some acronyms that need definition: BAR- the Browning Automatic Rifle OCS- Officer Candidate School ASTP- Army Specialized Training Program IRTC- US Army Infantry Replacement Training Center

07/16/1943	07/17/1943	07/20/1943	07/21/1943	07/22/1943	07/23/1943	07/24/1943	07/25/1943	07/26/1943	07/27/1943
07/28/1943	07/29/1943	08/02/1943	08/03/1943	08/04/1943	08/05/1943	08/07/1943	08/08/1943	08/09/1943	08/10/1943
08/11/1943	08/12/1943	08/13/1943	08/16/1943	08/17/1943	08/19/1943	08/20/1943	08/21/1943	08/23/1943	08/24/1943
08/25/1943	08/26/1943	08/27/1943	08/28/1943	08/29/1943	08/30/1943	09/01/1943	09/02/1943	09/04/1943	09/07/1943
09/08/1943	09/09/1943	09/11/1943	09/12/1943	09/13/1943	09/15/1943	09/16/1943	09/18/1943	09/19/1943	09/20/1943
09/21/1943	09/23/1943	09/24/1943	09/26/1943	09/27/1943	09/29/1943	10/01/1943	10/02/1943	10/03/1943	10/06/1943
10/10/1943	10/11/1943	10/12/1943	10/13/1943	10/14/1943	10/16/1943

	Dutchie Darling . . . Love, Bob
	A Love Story © 2021 Patricia Jean Patten Evans All rights reserved