Letter from Edna, Fort George, Florida — closing page with signature (Sept. 12, 1944)
Book 2, Page 178 ·1944
Transcription
[Page 4 of the letter, marked ‘·4·’ at the top:]
I hope the gires husbond’s are alright and safe so thay can return and live happy again. We havent heard from my son-in law in over a month. miss Maryon say she could tell us about him. he landed in Itlay last year this time from africa he was promoated the first of the year from Sgt. to staff sgt. and is with the 25th Chemical Decon Co. I belive he must be with Genral Mark Clark’s 5 th armey in Itley. tell miss maryon if she can tell us something abat it please do altho it wont help matters any I dont know if thay sent him to france or not. the toughest fighting is going on now. write me if you will mrs walker.
Respectfully, Edna.
AI Notes
Closing page (·4·) of a multi-page handwritten letter on plain paper, written in pencil in a faltering hand by a writer who signs herself simply ‘Edna.’ Pages 1–3 are on the preceding album pages (176 and 177). Edna writes from Fort George, Florida, to ‘Mrs. Walker’ (Amy FitzSimons), having just told her how much she misses the Walker household and her years of service to them (see p177). On this final page she turns to wartime news: she has not heard in over a month from her son-in-law, who landed in Italy ‘last year this time from Africa’ (i.e., September 1943, during the Allied advance on the Italian peninsula), has been promoted from Sergeant to Staff Sergeant since the first of the year, and is with the 25th Chemical Decontamination Company. Edna believes he must be serving with General Mark Clark’s Fifth Army in Italy — and is worried because she does not know whether the unit has been sent on to France. The fall of 1944 was indeed the height of the Italian Campaign and the Allied breakout in France, fixing the letter solidly to Sept. 1944 (the date on page 176). Edna asks ‘Miss Maryon’ (apparently another member of the Walker household, possibly a daughter-in-law) for any news. The hand is the same throughout the four pages; spelling is preserved as written.
Edna’s phonetic spelling of “girls” as “gires” is preserved as written; “Africa” is left lowercase as she writes it; “5 tharmey” reads as “5 th armey” (Fifth Army), which historically fits Mark Clark’s command in Italy. Edna’s full name is not established on this page, so no surname attribution is asserted in the frontmatter. The letter dates to Sept. 12, 1944 (per p176 letterhead), and the son-in-law’s Italian-front service in the 25th Chemical Decontamination Company under Clark’s Fifth Army is consistent with the historical record.
General Mark W. Clark (1896–1984) commanded the U.S. Fifth Army through the brutal Italian Campaign, including the Salerno landing (Sept. 1943), Cassino, and the entry into Rome on 4 June 1944. By the date of this letter (12 Sept. 1944) the Fifth Army was grinding through the Gothic Line in the northern Apennines — “the toughest fighting” Edna mentions. Chemical-decontamination units like the 25th carried gas-mask, smoke, and chemical-warfare equipment forward in support of front-line infantry; though gas was never used in combat in WWII Europe, the threat was real enough that such units shadowed every major Allied advance.