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A few years back, my cousin found this letter in a box in my late grandmother's basement, where it had sat undisturbed for more than 65 years. It was written by my father, William Wallace Stroby, in November 1942, shortly after his destroyer, the USS Cushing, was attacked and sunk by the Japanese in a major sea battle off Savo Island, in the South Pacific. Half the crew was killed. My father and his surviving shipmates were rescued at sea and taken to nearby Guadalcanal, where he quickly penned this V-Mail letter to his mother. He was 20 years old.
The letter reads:
Dear Mom, Just have time and paper for a few lines letting you know I am well and safe. Right now I am on Guadalcanal, Solomons. You will probably see by the papers why. Hope to be off in the near future, and maybe this time I will be able to come home for a few days. This is not such a bad place considering what it was a few months ago. Please don’t worry about me. I am well and safe. Not even wounded.
God bless you.
Love, Wally
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