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# Letter — filed 11 May 1943 (envelope) · letter dated 14 Feb 1944, to Anna

**Sender**: *Envelope return:* Cpl. Arthur M. Yena, Sub-Air Base No. 1, A.A.B., Sp. Intelligence Class 43-54, Barracks 12, Salt Lake City, Utah. *Letter heading:* Cpl. Arthur M. Yena, 783rd Bomb. Sqd. (H), 465th Bomb. Gp. (H), A.P.O. #9566, c/o Postmaster N.Y., N.Y.
**Recipient**: Miss Anna L. Yena, Quaker Lane, West Warwick, Rhode Island
**Date written**: Letter dated **February 14, 1944** (envelope postmarked May 11 1943 — see Note)
**Postmark**: Salt Lake City, Utah, **May 11 1943, 10 AM**
**Stationery**: Plain — written at the Service Club. Envelope is Salt Lake City / Sp. Intelligence return.
**Type**: Handwritten
**Scan location**: `scans/processed/1943-05-11_to-anna/` *(scan-mapping pending)*
**Transcription source**: Gemini/ChatGPT vision pass 2026-06-06, 2-pass QC 2026-06-07
**Confidence**: Transcription clean (~95%) — but **envelope/letter DATE MISMATCH** (see Note)
**Note**: ⚠️ **DATE CONFLICT — the headline of this item.** The **envelope** is postmarked Salt Lake City May 11 1943 with Pops's Sp. Intelligence Class 43-54 / Barracks 12 return — placing it squarely in his Salt Lake City period (cf. the May 17 1943 letter, same class & barracks). But the **enclosed letter** carries the 783rd Bomb Sq / 465th Bomb Gp / APO #9566 overseas letterhead and is dated **February 14, 1944**, referencing two letters from Anna ("one from McCook and one from New York"), Ma's letter scribed by Mrs. Pepin, Manny's deferment, Louie's 2 AM Chicago call, Howard's marriage, and Walt finding "a home in the Army." The letter is unambiguously **Feb 1944**, almost certainly a mismatched/reused envelope or a mis-grouped scan. Per the locked plan it is **filed under 1943-05-11** (postmark + SLC return), but the conflict is flagged below and in Open questions; **Alex to verify whether the letter body should move to ~Feb 14 1944.**

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## Transcript

> Cpl. Arthur M. Yena
> 783rd Bomb. Sqd. (H)
> 465th Bomb. Gp. (H)
> A.P.O. #9566
> c/o Postmaster N.Y. N.Y.
> February 14, 1944.
>
> Dear Anna,
>
> Well at last I'm getting down to write a decent letter to you for a change. I have two letters here from you, one from McCook and one from New York.
>
> This letter answering for the past two months has become a problem for me. I have some dated December still unanswered. I have managed to answer the one's at home at least anyway.
>
> Right now I'm writing at the Service Club which is a fairly nice place and most of all it gives me more of a mood to write.
>
> Today I got a letter from Ma written for her by Mrs Pepin. In it she said Manny had been deferred. I thought he was rejected. Which is it?
>
> Came back from my 24 hr. Pass O.K. and had a fairly nice time.
>
> The picture that got to Connie by mistake, I got the other day from her. When I get a chance to I'll send them down to you. You had the idea in one of your letters to keep on writing to this address even if you don't hear from me for a while, because eventually they'll all get to me.
>
> You know I thought of calling a couple of times when I first got in the Army but I was always too far away. The other morning Louie called home to Chicago and it gave me an idea. I guess it was sort of a funny time to call at 2 in the morning, but on the other hand we got thru rather a lot quicker and we got there rather late as it was. I thought it would be better to call collect, because there was a lot of red tape connected the other way. That was the same way as that package I sent.
>
> I have enough money and ought to be paid soon so all I have to do is catch a furlough and I'll be all set. (Oh yeah)
>
> Howard is a fast worker in everything he does, even model airplanes, but that doesn't say necessarily that he is a good worker. I only hope he makes a better job of his marriage than he [?] usually does of everything else.
>
> I guess in a way Walt must have found a home in the Army if he's looking so good.
>
> Well, when I started I figured I'd have a lot to write about, but now that I've written a little and thought over what I can write and can't write, I guess I've said about everything so I'll close.
>
> So far I have everything I need including money and I'm feeling fine. Tell her not to worry because I'll write as often as I can. Send my love to mom and Pop and all at home.
>
> Love Arthur

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## Major content / narrative significance

- ⚠️⭐⭐ **ENVELOPE/LETTER DATE MISMATCH — the defining feature of this item.** The Salt Lake City envelope (May 11 1943, Sp. Intelligence Class 43-54, Bks. 12) and the Feb 14 1944 overseas letter (783rd BS / 465th BG / APO #9566) cannot both be right for one mailing. The envelope return matches the **17 May 1943** letter precisely (same class, same barracks) — that envelope is genuinely a Salt Lake 1943 artifact. The letter body, by contrast, is unmistakably **early 1944 from Italy**. Most likely an envelope was reused, or a 1943 envelope was mis-grouped with a 1944 letter during scanning. **Filed under 1943-05-11 per the locked plan, but flagged for Alex to verify a possible move to ~14 Feb 1944.**
- ⭐⭐ **If the letter is read at its true Feb 14 1944 date, it FILLS the big 1944 gap.** The corpus's confirmed 1944 letters cluster around Jan and then Dec; a genuine Feb 14 1944 letter from the 783rd BS / 465th BG would sit in the sparse early-1944 overseas window — the months Pops was settling into his cryptographer role in Italy. *"This letter answering for the past two months has become a problem... I have some dated December still unanswered"* shows a real correspondence backlog through the winter of 1943–44.
- ⭐⭐ **"McCook" reference reshapes the Connie timeline.** *"I have two letters here from you, one from McCook and one from New York."* Anna was writing **from McCook** (McCook Army Air Field, Nebraska) — the same McCook that memory ties to the "McCook girlfriend" thread. This corroborates the earlier finding that **Connie corresponds pre-/around McCook**; here a picture "got to Connie by mistake" and Anna is connected to McCook correspondence, knotting the Anna / Connie / McCook strands together. **Strong Mom-interview item: what was the family's McCook connection — did Anna or Connie live/work near McCook AAF, NE?**
- ⭐ **Mrs. Pepin scribes Ma's letter** — *"Today I got a letter from Ma written for her by Mrs Pepin."* Confirms the established pattern that **Ma (Elizabeth) did not write her own letters** (Grandma and others scribed for her); here **Mrs Pepin** is the scribe. Ties to the Pepin family already in the corpus (Junior Pepin). **Confirmed read: "Mrs Pepin" (not "Rosa").**
- ⭐ **Manny — deferred or rejected?** *"In it she said Manny had been deferred. I thought he was rejected. Which is it?"* A West Warwick draft-status thread: Manny's Selective Service outcome is in flux (deferment vs. rejection). Adds to the running roster of hometown men and their service fates.
- ⭐ **Louie's 2 AM Chicago phone call — and Pops's furlough longing.** *"The other morning Louie called home to Chicago... at 2 in the morning, but... we got thru rather a lot quicker."* (**Confirmed read: "we got thru," correct.**) Overseas/long-distance calling logistics, collect-call "red tape," and Pops musing *"all I have to do is catch a furlough and I'll be all set. (Oh yeah)"* — the parenthetical sarcasm capturing how unattainable a furlough was for a soldier in Italy.
- ⭐ **Howard's marriage** (**confirmed read: "Howard," not "Armand"**) — *"Howard is a fast worker in everything he does, even model airplanes... I only hope he makes a better job of his marriage than he [?] usually does of everything else."* Pops's dry wit about the hometown Howard/Howie thread; ties to memory's "Howie engaged to Mildred Moorehead." This pins Howard's **marriage** to roughly late 1943 / early 1944.
- ⭐ **"Walt must have found a home in the Army if he's looking so good."** Walt/Walter (Hildebrandt) is thriving in service — a light, approving line about a hometown friend's adjustment to Army life.
- **Service-Club voice + censorship awareness.** *"Right now I'm writing at the Service Club... it gives me more of a mood to write"* and *"thought over what I can write and can't write"* — the overseas cryptographer's self-censorship is explicit: he weighs what is permissible before committing it to paper, a recurring tell of his secrecy-bound role.
- **Affectionate close, money reassurance.** *"So far I have everything I need including money and I'm feeling fine. Tell her not to worry..."* — the standard reassurance refrain to the family; "Tell her" (Ma) echoes the Mrs-Pepin-scribed letter he's answering.

## Family-tree refresh from this letter

- **Anna L. Yena** — sister, recipient; writing to Pops from **McCook** and from New York. Locked middle initial **L.**
- **Ma (Elizabeth Yena)** — sent a letter scribed by Mrs Pepin; Pops sends his love and reassurance ("Tell her not to worry").
- ⭐ **Mrs Pepin** — scribed Ma's letter (confirmed, not "Rosa"). Connects to the Pepin family (Junior Pepin) already in the corpus.
- ⭐ **Manny** — hometown man; draft status uncertain — **deferred** (per Ma) vs. **rejected** (Pops's prior understanding). New/clarified service-status thread.
- **Connie** — girlfriend-correspondent; a picture reached her "by mistake," now returned to Pops. Tied to the McCook thread.
- ⭐ **Louie** — called home **to Chicago** at 2 AM; got through quickly (collect). Establishes Louie's family is in **Chicago**.
- **Howard / Howie** — got **married** (~late 1943/early 1944); builds model airplanes; Pops's affectionate ribbing. Cross-ref: "Howie engaged to Mildred Moorehead."
- **Walt / Walter (Hildebrandt)** — "found a home in the Army," looking good.
- **Mom & Pop and "all at home"** — love sent.

## Open questions

- ⚠️⭐⭐ **DATE: which date is canonical?** Envelope = Salt Lake City **May 11 1943**; letter body = **Feb 14 1944** (783rd BS / 465th BG / APO #9566). Filed under 1943-05-11 per the locked plan, but **Alex should verify** whether the letter belongs at ~14 Feb 1944 (a genuine early-1944 overseas letter that would fill the 1944 gap) and whether the May 1943 envelope should be catalogued as a separate Salt Lake artifact.
- ⭐ **McCook connection** — why was Anna writing from McCook AAF, Nebraska? Did Anna (or Connie) live/work near McCook? Resolving this could finally untangle the Connie / McCook-girlfriend memory. **Top Mom-interview item.**
- **Manny** — deferred or rejected? Who is Manny in the West Warwick roster, and did he ultimately serve?
- **Louie in Chicago** — is this the same Louie (Louis) elsewhere in the corpus, or a service buddy whose family is in Chicago?
- **The "picture that got to Connie by mistake"** — what photo, and does it survive? Pops planned to forward "them" (plural pictures) to Anna.
- **[?] read** — *"a better job of his marriage than he [?] usually does"* — one uncertain word in the Howard line; otherwise transcription is clean.

## Themes

date-conflict-envelope-vs-letter · DATE-MISMATCH-MAY-1943-VS-FEB-1944 · 783rd-bomb-sq-465th-bomb-gp · APO-9566-italy · FILLS-1944-GAP-IF-DATED-FEB-1944 · MCCOOK-CONNECTION · anna-writing-from-mccook · connie-picture-by-mistake · mrs-pepin-scribed-mas-letter · ma-does-not-write-own-letters · manny-deferred-or-rejected · LOUIE-2AM-CHICAGO-CALL · collect-call-red-tape · furlough-longing · howard-married · model-airplanes · walt-found-a-home-in-the-army · service-club · what-i-can-and-cant-write-censorship · december-letters-still-unanswered · salt-lake-sp-intelligence-class-43-54-envelope