BIB_ID
380631
Accession number
MA 5026.27
Creator
Cheever, John.
Display Date
"Wednesday" [1942 May 13].
Credit line
Gift of the Family of Carter Burden, 1998.
Description
1 item (1 p.) ; 26.5 cm + envelope
Notes
Envelope is addressed to "Mrs. Mary Cheever / 19 East 8th Street / New York City / New York." Cheever's return address is given as "Pvt. John Cheever / Company I / 1229 Reception Center / Fort Dix, N.J."; place of writing is based on this 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.
With postmark; date is based on postmark.
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.
With postmark; date is based on postmark.
Provenance
The Carter Burden Collection of American Literature.
Summary
Telling her that he "just bought a $25 fountain pen" and is "trying it out"; describing his day of waking up "at 4:30 for K.P." and "finish[ing] off at eight tonight"; noting that now he has had a shower and a glass of beer and feels "completely at peace with the world"; reporting that the "food seems much more palatable than it was and the place is more or less like a boy's camp"; observing that the army has "become more indiscriminate," and mentioning men he has met who are "feeble-minded" or who have "very poor vision," "bad feet, lame arms, etc."; concluding that most of the men "are able-bodied young men with high-school educations"; adding that maybe his handwriting will improve; asking her to write to him and explaining that they will forward her letters if they "ship [him] out"; ending by saying that he feels "more and more sure that [they] will come through this."
Catalog link
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