A multi-hundred page correspondence from ‘Duncan’, an unidentified Marine from Michigan fighting in the Pacific Theater on the combat cargo ship TITANIA. Duncan is well-educated and a previous student at Northwestern University; he writes good, if not repetitive, daily letters with as much news as the censors will allow, and displays a refreshing sardonic sense of humor as he continues with his ‘...merry censored life here…’. The letters span April, 1944 through October, 1945, and are all written to his mother from various places such as New Hebrides, Solomons, New Guinea, Philippines, Guadalcanal, ‘At Sea’, and eventually stateside at Harvard University. Duncan discusses the never-ending rainy and/or hot weather, camp (‘...the whole thing is pretty much like taking a bath in cold water…’), food (especially the ‘...stuff of life…’, ice cream), his job on ship’s watch, movies and other entertainment for the troops, religious activity, day-to-day life, descriptions of the native islanders he encounters, and so on. Occasionally ‘Duncan’ offers tidbits of war news, such as ‘...We went out to look at some Jap barges, and a Jap destroyer that were beached…This ship is a KA which means she’s a combat cargo ship…the fastest unloading ship in the Pacific…The only women we see down here are old black people and they are natives…I’m standing officer of the deck watches of the ‘Titania’ as well as keeping my own boat in shape..’. Occasionally Duncan mentions his inability to tell his mother any ‘literary plums’ due to the censor, suggesting that there is more than meets the eye in his war experiences: ‘...I’m afraid this will be another one of those…'hear no evil speak no evil' letters. I think it’s safe to disclose that I got a good night's sleep last night…I might be able to take on ‘the yellow peril’ all by myself…In the words of Winston Churchill…never in history have so many told so little to so few…[May 1944] We all listened very attentively to the news broadcast on the Channel invasion. Admiral Kirks, who used to be our boss in Norfolk, bossed the units of the American Navy used in the landing. I haven’t heard what ‘Tokio Rose’ says about the invasion. So far she’s stayed pretty quiet to any reference of Allied success…[June 1944] We were listening to Tokio Rose on the radio…according to her practically all of the American Navy is beneath the Pacific and the Japs will soon be in California. Some marines were telling us…that Japs captured on Bougainville told them you may recapture Bougainville but you’ll never recapture Oregon or San Francisco…[Marines] don’t care too much for military tradition and as long as they kill Japs they don’t seem to worry about regulations. Which after all in all we’re out here for…Any apprentice seaman could have told the Navy that the Normandie was a mistake but it was a good training ground for a lot of salvage divers…Contrary to general opinion, this war is about 9/10 waiting and about 1/10 action…[July 1944]...I don’t think you’d have recognized me when I came aboard this afternoon, - you probably wouldn’t have wanted to. I had five days’ beard and an equal accumulation of dirt. This Marine green bottle outfit was stiff with sweat and blood from casualties we’d brought out from the beach. On top of that is the stink of dead Japs which clings to me like flypaper…[August 1944]...I’ve crossed the equator again which makes it the 3rd time. I’m getting so now I don’t even feel the bump when we go over, but naturally the ship starting gassing a little faster…Please don’t believe this…I laughingly told the crew…and I haven’t been able to unconvince some of them…I saw an active volcano today…There are supposed to be a few thousand Japs starving to death in the immediate vicinity…If this hill-billy mess treasurer doesn’t stop feeding us yams and stewed rice, I’ll go over and join them…We are in port again but not for long. We’ve played yo-yo with this anchor so often in the last two weeks I doubt it’s ever dried off…According to some of the communiques we heard last night the Japs are practically down to using candy canes and bubble gum for weapons. I’d like to get together with some of these reporters and see if we’re in the same war…next to Guadalcanal…The news from Europe sounds very very good…[September, 1944]...I would be much happier if the Russians beat us to Berlin but I guess it doesn’t matter as long as someone gets there soon…After we work training the Army for combat landings all day, we came aboard at night and stand our regular watches…Some more nurses were out to dinner tonight but I had the watch so none of them played Florence Nightingale to me...We went to a Navy fire fighting school…The worst fire was set into the model of an engine room and it was to simulate fire from oil in the bilges…I had a date with a Red Cross girl from Boston. She was a Wellesley graduate but that fact didn’t seem to bother her specially…We heard a rumor out here…to the effect that Germany had unconditionally surrendered. We found out later that there was no confirmation…I should finally get a promotion to lieutenant junior grade in October…We had a very beautiful moonlit night which is good on the aesthetic senses, but also good for submarines. Luckily no subs were present…I was reading a good article in ‘Time’ about the Marine war dogs…none of them are lap dogs. The Japs are scared stiff of the dogs and I can’t exactly blame them. I’m always glad I don’t smell like a Jap…the story…claimed that one of the dogs chased four Japs into a cave and they committed suicide with grenades rather than face the dogs…[October, 1944]...We listened to Radio Tokyo this afternoon, just before dinner and heard ourselves annihilated. This is the second time in three months…that we’ve uttered our last gasp and plunged beneath the waves…We had a radio message from Admiral Halsey today that everyone aboard got a kick out of. It read to the effect that he had salvaged all his ships that Radio Tokyo had sunk yesterday, and he was fleeing toward the enemy…Today was a big day and now it’s almost over and I’m alive and in one piece and I’m back abroad and I’ve had a good meal and if the Jap air force lets me sleep tonight I’ll be quite content. Apparently the Jap air force isn’t going to let us sleep. The end of that last paragraph was punctuated by a general quarters alarm…Today’s duty was a choice between big risks for a short time or a slight risk for a longer time. I took the big risk and apparently it was a wise choice….We’ve been shadowed by twenty Jap torpedo bombers for three hours off and on now and I’m trying to write this between air raid alarms…I just came from night watch…the sea was like glass which is very poor weather for submarines…We heard another broadcast from Radio Tokyo today, that we all got a big kick out of. According to the speaker, who had a very polished Harvard accent, we invaded the Philippines to cover up the loss of 1500 planes and half a million tons of warships off Formosa. They are certain that the Filipinos are going to unite and drive us out…I’m assigned to the 2nd division for duty while the LCC is not operating. It isn’t much of a job at all…I think the O.P.A. should outlaw coconuts altogether. The seas…are full of them and all the way up in the last operation over-eager lookouts would pick them up in their glasses and let a scream out of them that they were mines dead ahead…’. In November, 1944, Duncan adds a detailed 1p. typescript about how it feels to be in the invasion, with great content: ‘...As soon as the sun is up the carrier planes begin to form up for their strikes, alternating with the battleships. About this time the transports begin lowering their landing boats and troops begin to come down cargo nets. The boats form up into circles and gradually after about an hour of apparently aimless maneuvering the assault waves are formed up and what looks like a hopeless mess begins to make sense…it looks as though the beach is on fire…’. He continues in holograph: ‘...The Japs policy towards women has caused them grief in every spot in the Pacific that I’ve been in. Some of this ‘Asia for Asiatics’ and ‘Prosperity Sphere’ propaganda sounds good on paper…but their policy towards women has created friction…’. Much, much more!! In very good condition.