The Dorothy Andrew letters consist of 16 letters addressed to her by five of her nephews during their military service in the European and Pacific theaters during the last year of the Second World War.
Language: The material is in English Repository: William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan
909 S. University Ave. The University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1190 Phone: 734-764-2347 Web Site: www.clements.umich.edu
Cataloging funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC). This collection has been processed according to minimal processing procedures and may be revised, expanded, or updated in the future.
Preferred Citation
Dorothy Andrew Letters, William L. Clements Library, The University of Michigan
Dorothy Andrew of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, was the sister of John Clarence Andrew.
Several of her nephews served in the United States armed forces during World War II:
Jim R. Andrew
Richard K. [Feulsbower?], 517th Maintenance Unit, United States Army Air Force
Dale K. Smith, 321st infantry regiment, United States Army
Staff sergeant Francis Earl Smith, 628th Tank Destroyer Battalion, United States Army
Staff sergeant Robert A. Smith, United States Army Air Force
The men served in the European and Pacific theaters during the war; Jim R. Andrew spent early 1945 at Tilton General Hospital at Fort Dix, New Jersey, recuperating from an ankle wound.
The Dorothy Andrew letters consist of 16 letters addressed to her by five of her nephews during their military service in the Second World War. Her nephew Francis Earl Smith, a frequent correspondent, reported on his life in Belgium and England in 1944 and 1945. His letters reflect an interest in local currency; when he was in Belgium, he enclosed two local coins in a letter; one was Belgian money and the other was German invasion money (January 12, 1944). In the same letter, he remarked that even though he saw only a "fraction of what is happening," he found no glory in war. In England during the June 1944 "invasion of Hitler's Fortress [Europe]" (June 9, 1944), he expressed his hopes for a quick end to the war and, later, told her of his life in Germany in the early days of the occupation (August 14, 1945). He shared his fear of the atomic bomb following the conclusion of the war in the Pacific: "That new bomb makes one realize how quickly this world could be destroyed. Let's hope they put it to good use instead of destructive power for another war." (Germany, August 14, 1945)
Dorothy's other nephews related similar aspects of military life, including a dislike of the tedium of the army. Richard frequently complained of the swamps near the air base in Alexandria, Virginia, and Dale K. Smith mentioned the weather in the central Pacific. Several of the letters referred to another relation, Dewey; Dale encouraged him to stay out of the army, but Robert (Bob) wanted to know, "what the hell are you waiting for?" (March 23, 1945). Bob described his impression of Indians' opinions of America in his December 1944 letter, written from "somewhere in India," and in a later letter enclosed Chinese money and Japanese invasion money as souvenirs (March 23, 1945).
