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Letters, April - August, 1943

 File — Box: 1, Folder: 3
Identifier: id136135

Scope and Contents

This folder contains love letters written to Sykes by Dansby, now a Private again, from new Army installations. It also contains two cards issued by the War Department notifying Sykes of Dansby's arrivals at the new destinations. Letters written between April and the end of May seem to have been sent from Camp Stoneman in Pittsburg, California and the San Francisco Port of Embarkation, California. On the other hand, letters written thereafter seem to have been sent from a classified location in the South Pacific since a September letter from the next folder reveals that and since the second War Department card was mailed on 29 May and the new APO number listed on it was the same number as the one listed on the envelope accompanying Dansby's letter dated 7 June. Unlike envelopes in folders #1 and #2, all envelopes in folder #3 show evidence of cencorship. They are stamped as Passed by Army Examiner. Dansby wrote about censorship quite often and complained to Sykes that it made it difficult for him to be as personable as he had been prior to its institution. On 14 April, he mentioned that his first letter from Camp Stoneman did not pass cencorship and was returned to him, and on 7 and 14 June, he mentioned the same regarding his first letters from the port of embarkation. While the letters in this folder mention Dansby's letters being rejected by the censors, they do not mention any letters from Sykes to Dansby as being rejected. Many letters also shed light on the way censorship was conducted. For example, in letters dated 14 and 20 April, respectively, Dansby mentioned that he was forbidden to send personal correspondence while being moved from Missouri to California and that he was not allowed to scratch words out. Further, in a letter dated 12 August, he explained to Sykes that the small cut out in his letter from 14 June was due to his having used two question marks, while censorship only allowed one. One can find more examples of such cut-outs in the letter of 14 July. Despite censorship, Dansby continued writing about his everyday life. He was satisfied with Camp Stoneman, as well as the California climate and landscape, all of which he much preferred to Camp Shelby and Mississippi. However, after moving to the South Pacific location, his morale sank more and more until he hit his low point on Christmas Day, 1943. Sykes, on the other hand, moved to another address in St. Louis and was in the process of a divorce and a lawsuit (both had not been mentioned before), which she ultimately lost. It appears she had a son nicknamed "Snookie."

Dates

  • Creation: April - August, 1943

Creator

Language of Materials

From the Collection:

English

Conditions Governing Access:

Collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.

Extent

From the Collection: 0.40 Linear Feet (1 Full Hollinger box.)

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections Research Center Repository

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