Sepia Saturday 735 and Wordless Wednesday. Twenty-second in a series about 1942 letters from my dad’s brother Frederic Mason Charboneau while he was in the US Army during WWII.
During the fall of 1942, thousands of US and UK troops were transported from the UK to North Africa as part of Operation Torch. Among them was my paternal uncle Frederic Mason Charboneau.
News of his transfer first reached home in a letter he wrote to his mother, Mary (Owen) Charboneau (excerpted below):
“Somewhere in North Africa, December 3, 1942, Dear Mom: Well it has been some time since I wrote you last. As you can see, I have moved from the last place, and I am now in Africa the land of sunshine. It is nice here during the day, although the first few days we were here we had the usual rain that we always seem to get wherever we move, but the nights are fine and cool...The trip down here was very peaceful, and the weather was grand all the way. Nothing sighted whatsoever except a few fish now and then.”
To accommodate the change in climate, arriving soldiers had their heads shaved, and Uncle Fred described the outcome:
“The boys [troops] around here look like the bald-headed row of a burlesque show. I mean the fellows in the outfit, a lot of them that is, are getting all their heads shaved completely bald. I haven’t had mine cut off as yet and don’t expect to either. I have had it cut real short, but that’s all.”
Jam sessions replace USO shows
Uncle Fred was part of a communications unit of an artillery headquarters. Gone were the fancy USO shows that entertained the troops while they were in the UK. In their place, he explained how he and the other soldiers passed the time when not on duty:
“Every night we have a jam session. We have a guitar and each night we get around and sing songs until the late hour of eight o’clock, and then we go to bed. There isn’t anything else to do. Last night I stayed up until about nine o’clock listening to the radio. The radio is the one we use for communications.”
Despite having thousands of troops camped in their homeland, Uncle Fred described the local population as “very friendly, and you can trade anything you have for oranges and wine. Money is almost useless as you can’t get anywhere to spend it.”
Thoughts of home at the holidays
With the holiday season approaching, Uncle Fred’s thoughts then turned to home and to concern about receiving mail and packages at his new location:
“How is everything at home? All well, I hope. I suppose you have had about two feet of snow now and temperatures going below zero at night. By the time you get this letter Christmas will probably have come and gone. If you have already sent any packages OK, but I wouldn’t advise you to send any more unless you insure them. I still have that other carton of cigarettes coming and also all other packages that have been sent. I’m not the only one, all of the fellows here have packages coming….P.S. Have you received the Christmas cards and also the other money order that I sent?“
In closing, Uncle Fred sent heartfelt greetings to his family:
“Remember me to everybody. I suppose by the time you get the letter you will have wondered what has become of me, but everything is OK and I am fine. Your loving son, Fred. “
Up next: Closing out Uncle Fred’s 1942 letters. Please stop back! Meanwhile, please visit the other intrepid bloggers over at Sepia Saturday and at the Wordless Wednesday blog hop.
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