Dear Pop — Letters
The corpus library · click any letter to read, hear, or open its source
Updated 2026-05-22 · 3rd batch
8 letters indexed · 5 audio-produced

The Letters

Cpl. Arthur M. Yena · 783rd Bomb Squadron · letters home, 1944–1945

8indexed
5🟢 audio produced
2🟡 awaiting ChatGPT pass
1🔴 blocked

23 January 1944

To Anne · McCook, NE

letter-01
Jan 23 1944 letter page 1
🔊 Audio~2:14

Typewritten · Errol Flynn line + Army-philosophy paragraph. Page 1 only — page 2 with signoff not yet surfaced.

📝 Transcript · 📂 Source

Undated · 1944

To Pop · ~Aug–Oct 1944 (per box tag)

blocked
Undated 1944 envelope
Blocked on rescan — current scans too low quality

Cursive · bundled with the "August Sept Oct 1944" tagged group in the box. Family update + Anna wedding mention.

📝 Transcript (partial) · 📂 Scans

22 February 1945

To Pop · Italy (APO 520) · Mom's-operation reveal

letter-04
Feb 22 1945 envelope
🔊 Audio~2:58

Cursive · 3 pages · first explicit mention of Mom's operation. ChatGPT-validated transcription. Packages from Hal & Lucille and Aunt Ida & Uncle Max. Rome trip with David. Chuck transferred out. The 1940 Ford. "26 letters behind!"

📝 Transcript · 📂 Scans

5 March 1945

To Pop · Italy (APO 520)

draft · proof needed
Mar 5 1945 group shot
Awaiting Alex's proof pass — ~55% transcription confidence

Cursive · 3 pages · darkroom equipment list (17 rolls of film, No. 3 enlarger). "I guess they really are giving Berlin Hell now." Pops as the unit photographer.

📝 Transcript · 📂 Scans

23 March 1945

To Pop · Italy (APO 520)

letter-03
Mar 23 1945 envelope
🔊 Audio~2:30

Typewritten · YANK pin-ups, cigarettes scarcity rant, Doc Wittig clipping. "It's almost the end of March again and I keep wondering how long we're going to stay here" — six weeks before V-E Day.

📝 Transcript · 📂 Scans

6 April 1945

To Pop · Italy (APO 520) · Friday night, his 21st birthday

draft · proof needed
Apr 6 1945 envelope
Awaiting Alex's proof pass — ~55% transcription confidence

Cursive · 3 pages · tent-improvement project (Model-T salvage wood). Paired with Apr 7 to Mom — written across the same weekend. Mentions Mrs. Wheelbarg, Anna's misfortune.

📝 Transcript · 📂 Scans

7 April 1945 ⭐

To Mom · Italy (APO 520) · first direct-to-Mom letter

letter-02
Apr 7 1945 envelope
🔊 Audio~4:30

Typewritten · 3 pages · first direct letter to Mom in the corpus. Easter card thank-you, gardenia bud, $2, billfold gift. Closes "love to Pop, Johnny & Kathleen, Johnny Boy, and Tommy Arthur."

📝 Transcript · 📂 Scans

30 April 1945 ★

To Pop · Italy (APO 520) · the morning Munich fell

letter-05
Apr 30 1945 envelope
🔊 Audio~2:43

Cursive · 3 pages · single-day historical anchor. Written the morning Munich fell (Apr 30 1945); two days after Mussolini's execution; 8 days before V-E Day. Carbine & .45 target practice. The Swedebergs and their missing relative. Pops's Psychology course (the thesis 3-college-credits seed).

📝 Transcript · 📂 Scans

💡 Audio playback and envelope thumbnails work on both the local copy and the deployed Cloudflare version — the bundle includes audio-final-pops/ and the envelope/group/page images from scans/processed/.