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The Something Awful Forums > Main > General Bullshit > Found an old letter from World War II
 
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Jaguars!
Jul 31, 2012


 Some corrections:

Pg 2, top - fly to a forward strip
Pg 4 - he was on the Butner for 31 days out of Long beach. I think the last word is probably dec[ember], he has to be in that area from about sept '44 to jan 45. I think the river may be a mangling of Bhramaputra which would fit geographically.
Pg 7 - Probably aluminium planking used for temporary airfields
Pg 9 - you what I could do or have you forgotten about that


Here's pg 5 since no one actually transcribed that:

code:
 (5)
Our next move was to [Warsup]* 
burma that was 689 but it is on
the maps [Shadawsuja?]. We stayed
there for 6 months hauling stuff
for the boys at the front but now
there isn't much fighting here
in burma so we are hauling [gass]
over the hump to China.
We moved here to myitkyina
a week ago today but we had the
orders when I sent you my new
[apo] 218 we are right on the banks
of the Irrawadd[a] river I don't know
how long I will be here they say
we won't have to go to China but
I was there once for a couple of hours
This place isn't anything but
a bunch of [sheet/steel] [hales] there isn't
a building here with a roof on it.
* Possibly Warazup on the Ledo road, the main supply route into Central burma. This is today the area of Tingring, Myanmar


His journey is something like:
-Leaves Long Beach 25th July 1944
-Landfall 25 26 August - I think he's trying to say his total journey is 31 days because they didn't get off in Melbourne, but there may be a leg traveling Melbourne - Bombay.
- 31 August - Arrives in Calcutta area after 10 day rail journey
- 2 September - Goes up the river supply route along the Brahmaputra
- 5 September - Arrives somewhere in Assam, The NE extremity of India.
- Stays in Assam until 26 December
- Moves to a place in Northern Burma known as Warsup[or similar] but appearing under a different name on the maps, stays there 6 months January - June 1945
- 24th June - Moves to Myitkyina on the Irrawaddy river in Burma/Myanmar.

By this point the Japanese had pretty much been routed from Burma, Rangoon was captured in May and the rest of the Japanese army was in dispersed units being hunted down by British, Indian, Chinese and US armies.


The names on the Photos are
cpl James W Lake[s or r]
Sgt Robert P Dawson
PFC I. J. Murphy
cpl S.A. Hall

Also noted on the back is one Skoggs, there is one Joe Skoggs on the NARA archive so that is likely a positive match. Also Sgts Ross and Moor[e]

Jaguars! fucked around with this message at 11:17 on Jun 1, 2020

* # ¿ Jun 1, 2020 11:00
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The Something Awful Forums > Main > General Bullshit > Found an old letter from World War II