# Letter — 7 April 1945, to Mom **Sender**: Cpl. Arthur M. Yena — Italy (A.P.O. 520) **Recipient**: Mrs. Elizabeth Yena, Quaker Lane, West Warwick, Rhode Island **Date written**: Saturday, 7 April 1945, ~11:15 A.M. **Type**: Typewritten, 3 pages **Confidence**: ~98% (typed; clear readability) **Scan location**: `scans/processed/1945-04-07_to-mom/` **Audio**: `audio-final-pops/letter-02_1945-04-07_to-mom.mp3` — ~4:30 — generated 2026-05-22 > ### ⭐ NARRATIVE SIGNIFICANCE > **This is the first letter addressed directly to Mom (Elizabeth) we've seen in the corpus.** Per Alex's 2010 thesis, Pops normally wrote *through* his father to his mother (who couldn't read English well). A direct letter to Mom is unusual and significant. The occasion seems to be the recent arrival of her Easter Card + a gardenia bud + $2 — i.e., he's thanking her directly. --- ## Transcription ### Page 1 > Cpl. Arthur M. Yena > 7 April 1945 > > Saturday morning > about 11:15 A.M. > > Dear Mom, > > Your swell Easter Card just came the other day. The > bud from the Gardenia plant and the 2 dollars came all right > too. Thanks a lot for everything! > > Everything is going along fine over here. The weather is > swell, gets warmer and warmer every day. Getting so that in > the afternoons it's almost too hot in the tent. I'm fine > myself and all the other fellows are the same. With summer > coming along I shouldn't have any trouble with any colds. > The bill-fold with the money in it came fine and a little ahead > of schedule. I guess you must be psychic or something, because > I was just looking my old billfold over and thinking, it's about > time I got another. It was just what I needed. > > I'm very glad to hear that you're up and around and > feeling better. Anne wrote and told me about the misfortune > she had. It was too bad it had to happen that way, but I'm > glad she's all right. > > Haven't heard from Howie or Millie in quite some time. > I didn't know he was in North Carolina already. It's too bad > he had to go down on dil[?][^1], but he really shouldn't have gotten > married when he did anyway. On my birthday I had a day off, > so I enjoyed loafing around pretty much. The day-off came > right on time. I'll see what I can do about getting home for > my fourth[^2] birthday — oh yeah. With the news as good as it is > lately, who knows? I may be home sooner than a fairy ### Page 2 > -2- > > not depending on it. > > I'm pretty sure that I got Johnny's and Kathleen's package > that they sent for Xmas. I got so many things and so many > packages all at once that I don't remember now, by gosh, what > was in them. Now that I think of it, I don't believe I even > thanked them for it, but I did appreciate them a lot and I do > want to thank them very much for all the trouble. > > Mrs. Pason, Millie, and Connie each got a Card fro my > birthday a while ago and I already answered them. I haven't > written to Connie as yet for a while, but one of these > days when I get around to it, I will. Al wrote a couple of > days, which is more than he's written all last year. It was > good to hear from him and the last one was an 11 page letter > telling me all about what he did during the year and why he > went to California. He says he will probably be going back to > "Doc"'s house sometime in May. > > Thanks a lot for finding out Lorraine's birthdate for me, > it's too late to do anything about it this year, but there's > always another one. > > Speaking of Little Kathleen being almost as big as you > are, I used to remember when I'd measure myself and notice that > I was creeping up on you, and finally was taller. The last > time I weighed myself in February I weighed 154 lbs. I thought > that I'd gained some since then too, and when Chuck, the fellow > who moved away from us a while ago, came back to visit us the > other day, he said he noticed the change, in only a month's time. > So, I guess I'm getting heavier everyday. ### Page 3 > -3- > > We're improving our tent, now that the other two fellows > moved into their own little bungalo. That's leave only four > of us left, just the way it was at the beginning. > > The mail is about average. I'll go several days without and > then a bunch will come at once. All in all I think I'm getting > all that I'm supposed to. > > There isn't much more to write about here, but I did want > to tell you that everything is fine over here and I hope that > everything goes along the same up there. xxxxx[^3] If I can get > ahold of some chemicals soon, I'll be able to send down some > more pictures. > > Until the next time, real soon, I'll close with love to > you, Pop, Johnny and Kathleen, Johnny Boy, > and Tommy Arthur. > > Love, > Arthur. --- ## Envelope **Front (recipient)**: > Mrs. Elizabeth Yena > Quaker Lane > West Warwick > Rhode Island **Return address** (same format as the Mar 23 letter): > Cpl. Arthur M. Yena, A.S.N. 31289110 > 783rd Bomb. Sq. (H) > 465th Bomb. Gp. > A.P.O. #520 > c/o Postmaster, N.Y., N.Y. **Markings**: 6¢ airmail stamp; U.S. Army postmark (S 567, 10:30 AM); censor stamp; censor initials/signature. --- ## Research / family-tree notes — RICH BATCH This letter is a goldmine of family names. The closing list alone — "love to you, Pop, Johnny and Kathleen, Johnny Boy, and Tommy Arthur" — gives us multiple new puzzle pieces: - **Johnny Boy** and **Tommy Arthur** — new names. Most plausible reading: these are **nephews** (Johnny's or Karl's or Anna's children). "Tommy Arthur" sounds like a child named after Pops — a beautiful narrative detail if confirmed. Could Anna's first child (1944-45?) be Thomas Arthur after his uncle? Worth asking Mom directly. - **"Little Kathleen being almost as big as you are"** — Kathleen is **a child growing toward adult height**, not a peer of Mom. This strongly suggests Kathleen is **younger than Pops by 10–15+ years** OR is a niece/cousin of similar age. Resolves an open question from prior memory ("Kathleen — younger sibling or cousin"). - **Mrs. Pason** — new family-friend or neighbor name (spelling uncertain; could be Pasen, Pawson). Sent Pops a birthday card. - **Millie** — paired with "Howie" earlier in the letter ("Haven't heard from Howie or Millie") — likely a married couple Pops knows. Howie is in North Carolina (military training? deployment?). - **Howie** — "shouldn't have gotten married when he did" — Pops has opinions on Howie's life choices. Family friend, not relative. - **Connie** — known (the McCook NE girlfriend per the 2010 thesis). Pops still owes her a letter. - **Al** — sent Pops an 11-page letter about going to California; will probably go back to **"Doc"'s house** in May. Could be the same Doc Wittig referenced in the Mar 23 letter — Doc has a house in California? Or "Doc" is unrelated. - **Lorraine** — Pops asked Mom to find her birthdate. Could be a romantic interest, a cousin, a niece, or another family-friend's child. Pops missed her birthday by the time the info arrived. - **Chuck** — fellow soldier who "moved away from us a while ago, came back to visit." Suggests unit reshuffling, fits with the "other two fellows moved into their own little bungalo" comment. ## Mom-specific narrative notes - **Easter 1945 fell on April 1.** Mom sent her card + gardenia bud + $2 (Easter gift) around late March. Pops received it the week of April 6. - **"the bud from the Gardenia plant"** — Mom evidently kept a houseplant; sending a clipped bud across the Atlantic is a touching gesture. Worth elevating this in the narrative. - **"I'm very glad to hear that you're up and around and feeling better."** — Mom had been unwell. Anna had also told Pops about Mom's "misfortune." - **The billfold gift** — Mom sent a wallet with money inside; arrived "a little ahead of schedule." Pops describes Mom as "psychic" because he was just thinking he needed a new wallet. ## Birthday timing puzzle Pops mentions "On my birthday I had a day off." His birthday is **April 1924**, so April 1945 = **his 21st birthday**. The letter is dated April 7, so his birthday had just happened (April 6 per most likely; the cursive letter to Pop is dated April 6 and would be the same evening if so). The "**fourth birthday**" phrase later in the letter is odd. Most plausible readings: - Typo for "21st" (unlikely visually) - "Fourth birthday [overseas]" — but he left Feb 1944, so April 1945 is only his second overseas birthday - Sarcastic / joking phrasing - Typewriter slip Worth confirming against the physical letter if any letter is missing. ## TTS-prep notes - High confidence transcript. Ready for production. - Approximate length: ~4:00–5:00 audio for full letter. Longest letter we'd have produced — good test for the voice clone's stamina across longer passages. - **Tonal note**: this letter is to Mom — warmer, more domestic, more about family connections than war. The AI-Pops voice should land in a softer register. Could be a particularly affecting audio moment for the book/podcast. - **Recommend this one as the next production audio after letter-01.** Symbolic: the first letter to Mom in the corpus, in his cloned voice, played for her surviving daughter (Alex's mom). --- [^1]: "down on dil" — typo or unfamiliar abbreviation. Possibly "down on duty" or "down on detail" or a slang of the time. [^2]: "fourth birthday" — likely a typewriter slip or joke. Pops was actually turning 21 (April 1924 → April 1945). See "Birthday timing puzzle" below. [^3]: "xxxxx" — Pops actually typed five x's, presumably striking through a misspelled or unwanted word. Preserving as-typed.