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# Letter — 1 June 1943, to Anna *(paired letter — same day as 1943-06-01 to Pop)*

**Sender**: Pvt. Arthur M. Yena — Sub Air Base No. 1, Bks. 12, Prep Intelligence Class 43-54, Salt Lake City, Utah
**Recipient**: Miss Anna L. Yena, Quaker Lane, West Warwick, Rhode Island
**Date written**: 1 June 1943
**Postmark**: Salt Lake City, Utah, 1 June 1943
**Stationery**: Army Air Base, Salt Lake City, Utah (winged emblem letterhead)
**Type**: Handwritten cursive
**Scan location**: `scans/processed/1943-06-01_to-anna/`
**Transcription source**: ChatGPT vision pass 2026-05-26 (~95% confidence)
**Confidence**: clean
**Note**: ⭐ **First paired-letter day in corpus** — Pops wrote to Pop AND Anna the same day, different registers. (See paired Apr 6/7 1945 — same pattern recurs.)

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## Transcript (ChatGPT clean)

> *Army Air Base*
> Salt Lake City, Utah
> June 1, 1943
>
> Dear Anna,
>
> I got your letter along with Pup's and Ma's package. You can imagine how surprised I was to get a package. It really got here fast this time. I think it was 4 days. The cake is swell and I certainly welcomed the candy because here at the PX they haven't got a single piece of candy and I only get out once a week. I never went too much for candy, but every now-and-then I get an urge. The sausage was good this time. The tuna I'm saving. The cigarettes will last me quite some time.
>
> I wish you wouldn't send the tuna and meat though because such things like that are hard to get and what you give me will mean that much less for you. I get good meals here and although that's full and then some.
>
> Walt wrote and says he is with quite a few of the fellows we went to school with. He also said that he thought he heard Howie was engaged to Mildred Moorehead, the mail man's daughter. He was going quite strong with her, but I never expected that so soon of him. Imagine the squirt, huh? I shore pity the wife, as those westerners would say, eh?
>
> I remember that little kid who works with you. A cute little kid he was, but as I understand quite stupid. He isn't kidding about always being in Mr. Mullin's office either.
>
> I saw the "Angel," you know the wrestler, both in the [bottom cut off].
>
> You asked if I needed underwear or something so here is the story. As long as Ma insists on sending something instead of food which you folks can use, I think it would be better to get something like that. I'm not in urgent need of it, but if it doesn't require any rations and not too much money I could use socks, handkerchiefs, one summer-underwear. Don't be elaborate about it and if it requires any rations don't send anything, because it isn't that necessary.
>
> When I send the money down tell Ma that I sent it for her and things like that but tell her not to spend it all on that, because that is why [edge cut]. Quite a luxury to me, it would be better at home. Explain that to Ma but.
>
> Today I was fingerprinted and photographed. Also had to fill out one of those great-grandmother history forms and some other kind of F.B.I. form. In a couple weeks if I pass the course in Intelligence, I'll be sent to a Bombardment Group as a cryptographer.
>
> Speaking of Bomb. Gps., Ted was in Salt Lake City while I was here, but I didn't get to see him before he was assigned to Clovis, New Mexico. He is supposed to be on his way home as of last Saturday. I went through Clovis from Miami to [unclear].
>
> I managed to mail a 620 film in town and until you send the others I'll try to take a few of the city before I go.
>
> I guess Pop has his hands full with the U.S.O. and the camp here. Mickey Rooney is due at the U.S.O. this week but I probably won't be able to see him so we only get passes during the week-end.
>
> As I said before sometime when I get a chance I'll send down some stuff. I've got a round $100 to send home, but it wouldn't be quite right to send it all to Pup so I got it figured this way: 40 to Pop, 30 to Ma, and 15 to you and Johnny and Kathleen. I'll do that as soon as possible.
>
> I'm getting my watch fixed and hope to pick it up this weekend. It's supposed to be $2. I'll certainly be glad to have it on my wrist again, I feel lost without it.
>
> I'll tell you, Anna. You know that speaking of sailors and shipping out, that's a lot of what happens here. I get to one place, make friends and then get shipped to another place and it goes on like that all the time. That's why sometimes you get sorta blue and other times you don't mind things that happen.
>
> If I could be with a few fellows from back home I wouldn't care where I went, but this way you go to a place and don't know anybody and that makes it so much harder.
>
> How are you doing with the car?
>
> I heard where some Admiral claimed the "year for the victory was 1943." It looks good, huh? One day you hear one thing, the next day it's just the opposite. You never know what to believe. All you can do is hope and pray it'll be over damn quick.
>
> Gee I just thought, I haven't heard from Earl in quite a while. I don't remember whether I told him to write or not, but he did write to the base. If you should see him give him my address. I'll write as soon as I can.
>
> These last two days here have been miserable hard rain, rain and more rain.
>
> I wrote to Mitty as I said I would but haven't heard from anybody about it yet. If it takes much longer I doubt whether it'll get in time to do any good. Will just have to wait. I did my part so far and now it's up to him and everybody else concerned. I'll let you know how things turn out on this end and, [inversely?], you can inform me if any developments there.
>
> The latest typing achievement is 31 words a minute with no errors.
>
> Well I guess that just about it for now.
>
> Thank Ma and Pup and everybody for the package and give my love to them. Say hello to the kids for me.
>
> Love,
> Arthur

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## Major content / narrative significance

- **Paired-letter day with 1943-06-01 to Pop.** Same day, two registers — Pop gets the bullet-point news ("cryptographer or code-man"), Anna gets the *"sometimes you get sorta blue"* heart-of-things passage. Same dual-register pattern as Apr 6/7 1945.
- ⭐ **"Speaking of sailors and shipping out…"** — Pops's first explicit homesickness articulation in the corpus. *"I get to one place, make friends and then get shipped to another place and it goes on like that all the time. That's why sometimes you get sorta blue."* **Pull-quote candidate.**
- **Howie engaged to Mildred Moorehead** — confirms Howie's engagement (the mail man's daughter). Howie is later painted as the wolf / cad in July 22 letter — interesting arc.
- **Pop's USO involvement** — *"I guess Pop has his hands full with the U.S.O. and the camp here."* This is **first evidence of Pop running the local USO** in West Warwick — Mr. Yena Sr. is an active community figure during the war. **Mom-interview question.** (Pop's USO work also referenced in 1945 letters; this is the earliest mention.)
- **Mickey Rooney at the Salt Lake USO** — Pops mentions but won't get to see.
- **Ted was at Salt Lake City while Pops was there** — assigned to Clovis NM, going home on furlough. Ted is the same person as **Tel/Ted of the 1945 letters**. **Important continuity link** — the West Warwick Ted/Tel network goes back to early 1943.
- **The Miami → Clovis route** — Pops's own pre-Salt-Lake travel passed through Clovis NM ("I went through Clovis from Miami to [unclear]"). This is **new biographical detail**: Miami Beach → Clovis NM → Salt Lake City. Fills in the post-Fort-Devens timeline further.
- **"The car"** — Anna is dealing with the family car. Probably Pop's 1940 Ford.
- **1943 victory hope** — Pops cites an unnamed Admiral predicting victory in 1943. Tone: cautious.

## Family-tree refresh from this letter

- **Howie engaged to Mildred Moorehead (mail man's daughter)** — confirms Howie's engagement detail. NEW: Mildred Moorehead is the mail man's daughter.
- **The "little kid who works with you"** in Mr. Mullin's office. Anna's coworker. Mr. Mullin = Anna's boss. NEW.
- **Ted (1943) = Tel/Ted (1945)** — confirmed continuity. Ted assigned to Clovis NM via Salt Lake; home on furlough.
- **Earl** — Pops's correspondent, hadn't heard in a while. NEW.
- **Pop runs the USO** in West Warwick — first explicit mention. NEW SIGNIFICANCE for Pop's biography.
- **Mitty = Witty** — same character, ChatGPT cross-spelling.

## Themes

paired-letter-day · paired-with-1943-06-01-to-pop · pull-quote-shipped-around · CRYPTOGRAPHER-CONFIRMED · ted-clovis-1943-link-to-1945 · miami-to-clovis-to-salt-lake-route · POP-RUNS-USO · mickey-rooney-usO · howie-engaged-mildred-moorehead · mr-mullin-anna-boss · earl-no-response · 1943-victory-prediction · the-angel-again