WW2 1943 letter sailor at Naval Station Newport RI to girl back home

$15.00 CAD

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Interesting letter from sailor in training at Naval Station in Rhode Island back home to a female friend.
Sent to: Miss Schlichter, Richmond Hill New York
 
Gardthraween(?) AS
U.S NT Station Newport R.I.
Commissary 1051

 

Aug 18, 43
…sorry you have to write during your supper…when I get home I will treat you to a soda just for working a month…since we got a radio up here the guys try to dance together. What fun!!...I have guard duty from 24:00 to 4:00…the dormitories are being watched because there is a crazy fellow who escaped from D-7 and they don’t want him to sleep on the beds. He has been out for 4 days and nobody knows where he is hiding…We were to have a lecture on air plane lookouts…The day was OK until they pulled a bag inspection on us…I passed it and everything was OK until chow. We had beans, potatoes, jelly , jello, -- coffee and more beans. Those guys from Boston always take a ribbing  when we have those beans…Yesterday we went into the dark room …the whole place is painted black. You stand on a certain spot...and you look at the stage. When all the lights go out you see a thin stream of lights across the stage. This is the horizon. You then try to spot a ship and give its bearings…The ship was 4 miles way and you had to spot it with 12 volts of light…We have been going swimming at 0545 every other morning since we got back from the rifle range…Some of the fellows went back to the dentist and so again we have toothless guys walking around…How is the rationing coming along?..
“Gardy”
 

Written on back ‘as we say in the Navy “this space clear for running” (I mean writing)

Letter written in pencil.

Written at top right of envelope "FREE" instead of stamp.

Folded in three,  7 ⅜” x 5 ⅛” pages

8 pages

 

The mission of the Naval Training Station was modified in 1943 when the recruit training mission was moved from Newport to allow for the Naval Training Station’s support of the Large Ship Pre-commissioning Training mission. By the time the last class of recruits had graduated from boot camp, there had been 204,115 recruits trained at the Training Station during World War II.

http://smallstatebighistory.com/naval-training-station-newport-place-u-s-naval-history/