WW2 Era Letters Written by U.S. Sailor who was Stationed onboard a Ship who was Present During the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor.

[Heartfeltzero]

These letters were written by a Gerald Dean Jordan. He was born on December 17th 1915. During the war he served in the U.S. Navy, aboard the U.S.S. Argonne. His rank was Boatswain.

One of the letters is addressed to his mother for Mother’s Day. The 2nd letter is Addressed to his father for Father’s Day. The end of the Mother’s Day letter is torn short, leading me to believe the Censor must have taken it due to Gerald saying something he wasn’t supposed to. The Mother’s Day letter reads:

“ U.S.S. Argonne
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
8th May 1941

Dear Mother of Mine.

This should arrive on the one day in the year which is set aside for you who has been so thoughtful and wonderful throughout the years.

Just being my mother makes you the greatest person in all the world. Washington was great and so was Lincoln, but if it had not been for their mothers, neither of them could have been anything. So mother, today I give to you my love and thanks for all you have done for me.

I came into this world twenty five and a half years ago, a helpless child into a troubled world. Little did you or anyone know that here 25 years later, the world would be on the same crisis it was then.

You made my boyhood happy, you stood by me and watched me grow into a man, then after all the years you had watched over me and cared for me, I got the wanderers blood in my veins. I had to go. Where I was going I never knew, and often times even tho I was thousands of miles away, I would wonder back to you in my dreams.

I would remember how you used to tell me stories and sing songs to me while I dried the dishes. I always loved to hear those stories and hear the songs. I remember well you were the most beautiful Mother any boy ever had. I wondered then why some of the other boys didn’t have as pretty a Mother as mine.

Then as I grew older, I came to realize that the time would come when I too would grow up and then was when I wanted a girl just like the girl who was my mother.”



The Father’s Day Letter reads:

U.S.S. Argonne
Pearl Harbor, T.H.
15th June 1941

Dear Dad.

For some reason. Why? I don’t know but today more than any other day is set aside for fathers. They call today Father’s Day. When! By all rights every day should be, Father’s Day.

Seven long years have passed, and the eighth one is in swing, since I left Home to make my own way in this world. When I say I left Home I mean Home because that is just what it is. You know anyone can live in a house but only a few can have a Home. There is more to a Home than boards, windows, and doors. There is the loving companionship that is within. There is your love for mother and us boys and our love for you, that has always made the abode we lived in more than just a house. It has made it a HOME.

Today tho I’m almost four thousand miles away. My heart and wishes are with you. As I am writing this note, I can see myself at the table with you. Right now you are just about ready to eat. It is ten thirty here so that makes it two there. I have here in front of me, a cup of coffee and my pipe. The thick blue smoke is going heavenly from the pipe. It brings back many happy thought and memories of the years gone by.

As I sit here and dream of the years that have passed, I can remember back when we were in Yuma, and Max was born. Then you were the youngest finest looking man in Yuma, later we moved to Fleming then to Aurora. In all these years, there has never been a doubt in my mind about who the greatest man in the world was. It was not Washington, or Lincoln, but was you - My dad.

These last few years have not been so kind to me in some respects. But they have taught me one thing and that is, if ever I can be the husband and father you have been - there is nothing more in the world to ask for. If I can only be half the man you have been and are, I will have fulfilled my duties on this earth.

It’s a funny thing this world of ours. Everyone wondering just what is going to happen - nobody knows for sure, just hoping for the best.

And right now I’m hoping and praying that I’ll get home before the snow is again on the ground. But we never know now from one day to the next what is going to happen. Whatever it is, let’s hope for the best.

The Navy is not like it used to be. We have so much now that we can’t write or talk about. It makes it hard to even write a letter.

So before I close, I want you to know that I am thinking of you today as I have many days in the past and will in the future.

Your loving son,

Gerald. “

About 6 months after writing this letter, the U.S.S. Argonne that Gerald was stationed on, while in Pearl Harbor, was berthed in the first repair slip at the north end of 1010 dock, with the minesweeper Tern alongside, when the Japanese attack on the Harbor commenced.

The ship manned her antiaircraft battery – 3-inch guns and .50-caliber machine guns – and commenced fire at about 07:58am, shortly after the raid began. “Argonne's crew, wrote Comdr. F. W. O'Connor, the ship's commanding officer, "performed their duties in accordance with the best traditions of the service", helping to get wounded men from damaged ships, recovering bodies from the water, and "assisting with repair facilities to full capacity." Early in the raid, Corporal Alfred Schlag, USMC, from the ship's marine detachment, manning a .50-caliber machine gun, claimed shooting down an enemy plane as it flew over 1010 dock and turned toward Ford Island.”

Gerald would survive the war and would also serve in the Korean War. He would pass away on April 8th 1958 at the age of 42.

[Mordecai]

I wish more people in this day and age were as thankful for their families as this man was.
I 'd like to say it was a shame he died at 42 years of age but he was probably just as thankful when he passed as he was when he wrote these letters.
Appreciate the post, I love these letters!

[Willmore]

Hello JB.

Thank you for sharing another fascinating letter.

Kind regards,

Will.

[BlackCat1982]

I hope he found the happiness he so beautifully wrote his parents about in his 42 years on earth.

[Heartfeltzero]

Agreed! And I’m glad you enjoyed the post!

- - ------- - -

Hey Will,

No problem! Always happy to share.

Good day,
JB