Dear Pop — Project Dashboard
Cpl. Arthur M. Yena · 783rd Bomb Squadron · the family memoir
Updated 2026-05-22
Session 4 · 12 days since session 3
Voice Clone
ElevenLabs PVC, production-locked
5 / ~300
Letters Audio-Produced
letter-01 · 02 · 03 · 04 · 05 (Jan '44 · Apr 7 '45 to Mom · Mar 23 · Feb 22 · Apr 30)
8 / ~300
Letters Transcribed
7 from scans · 1 from prior photos
13
Wireframe Pages
Parts I, II, III stubbed
31:53
Voice Training Audio
4 clips · cleaned · ingested

Pipeline Progress

Letters · Scanned to processed/7 of ~300  ·  2.3%
Letters · Transcribed8 of ~300  ·  2.7%
Letters · Audio Produced5 of ~300  ·  1.7%
Voice Clone Pipelinecomplete
Book Wireframev1 built · not yet drafted
Voice & Audio PVC
Done
  • Source clips gathered: 4 occasions, 31:53 total '85–'90s
  • Audio pipeline: yt-dlp → ffmpeg → Adobe Podcast Enhance → ElevenLabs
  • Posthumous-cloning consent form filed 5/9
  • ElevenLabs PVC approved & trained 5/9–10
  • Production settings locked: s50 / sb75 / se0 / Multilingual v2
  • XTTS-v2 self-hosted backup proven (Plan D, archival)
  • Letter-01 shipped: Jan 23 '44 to Anne, ~2:14 5/10
  • Letter-02 shipped: Apr 7 '45 to Mom, ~4:30 5/22 first direct-to-Mom letter in corpus
  • Letter-03 shipped: Mar 23 '45 to Pop, ~2:30 5/22
  • Letter-04 shipped: Feb 22 '45 to Pop, ~2:58 5/22 first ChatGPT-pivot-validated production; Mom's-operation reveal
  • Letter-05 shipped: Apr 30 '45 to Pop, ~2:43 5/22 single-day historical anchor — morning Munich fell + Mussolini executed
In progress
  • Listen-test letter-01 → letter-05 end-to-end unconfirmed verify pacing, drift, signoffs on all five production audios
Letters 300
Done
  • Scanning workflow defined (SCANNING-GUIDE.md)
  • 3-tier folder convention: incoming → processed → transcripts
  • Letter-index schema established (16 columns)
  • 7 letters fully processed; 8 transcripts on disk 5/22
  • First letter to Mom in corpus: Apr 7 '45, typed 5/22 narrative milestone — Pops normally wrote through Pop; direct letter to Mom is rare
  • Under-glass scan workflow tested on Feb 22 '45 letter 5/22
  • Originals archive layer established (scans/originals/) 5/22 phone bytes preserved with original filenames; both batches backfilled
  • Box overview shots archived for context
  • Date convention locked (M/D/YYYY in index)
In progress
  • 2 cursive transcripts pending ChatGPT pass queued Mar 5 · Apr 6 — both to Pop; route via CHATGPT-CURSIVE-PROMPT.md
  • 5 transcripts CLEAN, audio shipped clean + audio letters 01 / 02 / 03 / 04 / 05 — all five live on the Letters tab
  • Camera workflow being dialed in (glass vs. no-glass, lighting) no-glass currently wins on glare; glass wins on flatness
  • Bulk scanning plan: neighborhood kid for remaining ~293 not yet hired
Book & Narrative 6×9
Done
  • Title locked: "Dear Pop"
  • Three-Part structure: Narrative · Letters · Behind the Book
  • 13-page wireframe built (narrative/wireframe/)
  • Cover designed: portrait + AAF insignia + airmail motif
  • Part III methodology fully written (5 pages)
  • Print decision: Blurb Trade Book, ~$18–22 / family copy
  • Hardcover keepsake earmarked for mom (~$45–55)
  • Story correction landed: letters were in Pops's own attic
In progress
  • Chapter 1 outline: "The Lace Mill on Quaker Lane" what letters anchor it · context wrapping · dual-voice shape

Family Lore & Voices

The pieces of the story that don't live in the letters themselves.

Done
  • 2010 thesis archived as scaffold (background files/)
  • Mom-interview questions drafted: 30 Qs in 5 acts
  • Mom's consent on voice clone confirmed (only surviving family-of-Pops)
In progress
  • Mom interview recording time-sensitive only living link from Pops's side; questions sit at family-interviews/mom-questions.md

Standing Decisions

Locked choices — don't relitigate without cause.

  • Audience: family heirloom, not publicsmall print run via Blurb
  • Voice structure: present-day Alex + AI-Pops reading letters
  • Voice clone: ElevenLabs PVC (primary); XTTS-v2 (insurance)
  • Tone: warm, intimate, less academic than the 2010 thesis
  • Corpus: full ~300 letters (not the 173-letter thesis subset)
  • Transcription: Claude first pass on cursive, Alex proofs
  • Print: Blurb Trade Book 6×9; hardcover keepsake for mom

Next Up · Session 4 Priorities

Third batch landed — ChatGPT cursive pivot validated at volume. Feb 22 and Apr 30 letters both produced as audio (letter-04, letter-05). Two cursive letters still pending ChatGPT pass.
  1. Listen-test letter-04 and letter-05 both shipped today from ChatGPT-validated transcripts — verify the voice clone holds across the new cursive-sourced text the same way it did on the typed letters
  2. Run Mar 5 + Apr 6 through ChatGPT last two Tranche-B cursive letters; once these clear, the entire 8-letter corpus is clean (modulo the blocked undated 1944 letter)
  3. Mom-interview prep using new family-tree finds Mom's operation (Feb 1945), the Swedebergs' missing relative, Hal & Lucille / Aunt Ida & Uncle Max, David, Diana — all surfaced this batch
  4. Confirm Jan 1944 letter date 23 vs 25 on the physical; rename files + update wireframe if 25
  5. Send Resemble.ai decline draft saved at family-interviews/resemble-decline-draft.md
  6. Chapter 1 outline "The Lace Mill on Quaker Lane" — now with 8 transcribed letters as fuel, including a direct-to-Mom letter