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BLOG No. 42 – April 18, 2026 WWII LETTERS – Written Over There and Here and Now
Let’s start this blog today with what made the military person suddenly away from home want to write to those he just left. That’s a very general question one wouldn’t even think to ask. Well, I’m going to start there and attempt to answer it for you anyway.
The first thought that comes to mind is that the writer is away from home and perhaps on a dangerous mission and needs support. Is he scared? Writing home would serve to maintain that much needed emotional link. The writer needs morale boosting and hopes for a return letter. And then, only then, the vast distance between the battlefield and the loved one or close friend to whom that letter was written was shortened. Do you understand the psychological comfort these letters offered — the reaching out for normalcy again, a reassurance that maybe, after all, he will be safe in the face of the terrors of war, sharing even only the daily news the deployed service member was permitted to write to their families? The returned letters to the writer away from home typically did not disappear; they were opened, reopened, and then opened again to have memorized the text contained therein, to have the pressed flowers’ odor completely sucked out of them, or the drawings faded by the touch of the reader’ hands many times — and then by those again thereafter, 80 + 4 years thereafter. By you and me.
So, now, here today we are discussing what these soldiers, these paratroopers, sailors, and others had to routinely skip talking about when they wrote home. The censors would automatically stop anything they saw that had to do with everyday fighting in their battles, the fear they expressed facing their enemies on the battlefront, and, oh, the dissent they internally felt and weren’t allowed to express while writing home or to their buddies because, let’s face it, how would that look to those on the outside?
When we think of WWII letters, the first image that comes to mind is: “Dear Mom and Dad: I’m fine. Our meals are good ones, although I do miss mom’s Sunday gravy and pasta.” Or, how about this: “Dear Sweetheart, I sure do miss our hugs, and those soft lips of yours for our prolonged kisses.” Yes, those are the images we immediately think of as WWII letters. They are surely sentimentalized.
Right now, I want you to stop it! Stop that thinking right now because many of those military letters were dishonest! They were filtered to protect their family and close friends from worry. The reality of wartime life — the fear, the internal guilt, the fighting — what actually happened was saved to be written between only the servicemen themselves! That is why this blog will now go on to talk about why the truth was filtered out from those hometown letters and not from the letters to one another when it was fresh in their minds while serving in the military.
We must remember, to begin with, the military personnel practiced emotional self-censorship, one that protected parents, wives, and siblings along with their close friends. Why? Oh, for many, many reasons. The first reason you can think about is to avoid panic or guilt for those to whom they were writing.
Secondly, there was the practical censorship by the writers. Now, you must realize that there was a key difference between “self-censorship” and “practical censorship.” The “self” I’ve briefly explained. But the “practical” takes into consideration military rules. There are just too many items they are not permitted to write home about. Is that the same as “emotional” restraint? Perhaps so. Let’s delve deeper. Just quickly, and then I’ll talk about each — self, practical, and emotional restraint when the men put pen to paper.
When we mention “self” restraint when writing home, the military personnel is thereby protecting his family and friends from their worry about the writer’s dangers. This was a very conscious, personal choice withholding information so that their loved ones did not worry about their safety or the cruelty of combat. An example would be for them to tell a desperate situation in a positive way; you know, pretending to go to a “chow line” while gulping rations instead in a foxhole. The writer would stress cheerful topics rather than the reality of their true surroundings.
Now, a “practical” restraint in their letter writing, by necessity, would have the serviceman omitting places, dates, and events. but the military personnel, of course, attempted to hold onto his masculinity in front of his family and friends. He is hiding his fear and grief, so to speak, and is showing high morale. Military regulations, censorship, logistics, and limited resources weighed heavily on his choice to use practical restraint. These external forces ensured security while managing the unbelievable amount of mail. It was when V-Mail (Victory Mail) was introduced to the population. V-Mail was shrunk at the mailing site and enlarged at the receiving end to save cargo space, and you would often see written “somewhere in Europe” in place of exactness. This all included the avoidance of telling their location, unit number, troop’s movements, or dates. If seen by the censors, they were blacked out.
See: Hoover Institution +4 See: Reddit No. 1
Now, we have gone from internal (self) to external (practical) censorship. Let us speak about a cultural (emotional) censorship. All these restraints control the strategy of army life at war; they comply with censor’s orders and keep up the morale folks back home.
This emotional restraint really was a forced one in that it forbade disclosure of certain items for their own protection as well as their family’s and friends. It was one of endurance linked to keeping up their masculinity — never having to show fear, guilt, weakness, not exposing vulnerability. The men overseas could not express their grief over seeing their friend killed right in front of them, or hearing about their friends’ demise, their despair, their suffering.
The eleven men in my book, The WWII Chain Letter Gang, created their own solution to a big problem, the problem of needing a link — a psychological link, of each one with the others. It was a way of a faster, direct, and truthful letter to the last one received, attaching their own, and sending the batch on to the next after checking off their name on the card enclosed — one that had to get by the censors because chain letters were not permitted in the service. The idea was brilliant! Their 45 chain letters began at Normandy Beach on D-Day in 1944 and ended at Okinawa in 1945. They carefully obeyed their own rules in writing and sending their own letters around the world to one another.
The world of the eleven men began in Neptune, New Jersey, where they grew up together, went to school together, and played sports together— incorporated an athletic club, the Wolverines. And then suddenly, they were forced to split up; their great camaraderie, their life-long continuity of real and familial friendship was fractured, to say the least, when they entered the military forces. After signing up to their favorite branches, they were deployed all over the world. All but two or three were accepted into the service; the others were given deferments.
They lived in the same impoverished community, on the same block all their lives, and now they were separated, and this led to an emotional, a psychological panic as they were faced with not knowing the exact whereabouts of their comrades, not being able to ask about their health day-in and day-out, and not being able to appreciate their psyche as they would tap one another on the back and say: Hiya, Kid, What’cha know, Joe?, How’s it going?, What’s the story, morning glory?, Hiya, Joe! How’s the boy?, or What’s the rumpus, Joe? No, they were faced with having to write home to their buddy’s family and ask about him. Then the family would be getting addresses changed and have to wait to hear from the writer’s buddy; then write back. And the process would be repeated for each of the other ten friends. And the other ten buddies would be playing the same sort of game of writing home and asking the same questions, and the families would be writing to all eleven military men!
So, one of them, out of sheer desperation, by 1944, gave it deep consideration and devised the plan for the Wolverine chain letter writing, and it took off. Boy, did it ever! Successfully! Each letter within the service, attached to the last, traveled around the world. But then what happened to them? One of the Wolverines, Sam, picked Louis “Put” Attardi to be the recipient of all the letters at the end of their cycle. They didn’t arrive to Put in one batch, though. It appeared they went around in groups a couple of times at the requests of different writers depending on the texts of the letters and whether or not some were missed due to the changing of the movement of the troops, ships, or units. But they decided that Put would be the best person, since he was working on the homefront for all of them, to receive the letters and safeguard them. The men wanted to read them to one another again when they returned home.
What happened further to the letters? Upon my father’s (Put) demise, I — this blog’s writer and the author of the book, The WWII Chain Letter Gang — found them among his precious possessions in a number of boxes on the second floor of his home. This house my dad helped to build with his father-in-law and brother-in-law, house contractors in the Monmouth County, New Jersey, area. It was the house in which I lived most of my young life.
Oh, there were so many of them. Not one page to each. Picture some were, yes, one page, but some were up to perhaps six pages. So, there were lots, in many boxes. These letters, now, were not diary entries and not one letter to one envelope. But they were grouped together. They were batched together. Probably just as my father received them. After he read them all. And Louis “Put” Attardi answered them.
Also, always note that these letters were oral histories in the sense that the men wrote what they witnessed — that is, what they were permitted to write; they wrote about their reactions to things, to replies to each other’s questions, responses to statements made by others, and offered information on things of their choosing. But above all, truth emerged clearly in all their written conversations.
I just spoke specifically about my book. But generally, in WWII letters that were written peer-to-peer, you will find that the writer’s fear was expressed honestly, straight forward. His doubt, anger, sheer exhaustion of war, and even some dark humor came to “light.” In their letters, the men truthfully admitted their confusion not only about why is there war, but about life, moral uncertainties, and even that they were having physical and emotional breakdowns. In letters to one another, not those letters written home, but particularly these soldier-to-soldier letters, there was no sensationalism, just everyday truthfulness.
You have to remember that these soldiers, in writing to each other, were writing from different theaters of war, different branches of service, and especially various levels of danger. But all-in-all, their letters became to them a shared timeline, and, needless to say, they were all witnessing the same thing — people fighting and killing. So, what was the result of the letters, from the writer to the receiver of letters such as these? There was NO single “official” version of the war. They were all fighting the same war, the same “battles,” albeit in their own area of life. In a way, their multiple truths were being held together by this “link” they managed to forge. For the men in my book, The WWII Chain Letter Gang, this was the same “link” they had in Neptune, New Jersey, but now it was on paper.
No, the men didn’t step out of the war, stop doing their jobs, take out their pens and paper, and write what they were witnessing. The immediate perception was not lost, though. Something like that, what they saw, in what they were engaged, was not apt to be forgotten. The first moment a pen was in their grasp, and a piece of paper beneath the heel of their hand, the point of the pen wrote what the brain remembered, what he witnessed right before his very eyes the morning or evening before. It surely was not something easily forgotten. It would go something like this: “Hey, Joe, I cannot sleep. I saw a sight which I shall never forget. It was the enemy approaching and the guy to the left of me flew forward and… .” I froze watching him. I didn’t know what to do — what? either follow him and have the same happen to me or hit the dirt. And, Joe, you know what I did. Exactly, because I am here writing to you. Now I am so guilt-ridden, my friend. How shall I ever overcome this? Please help me, Joe.” And he signs off, “Best ever, your hometown boy.”
To these letter writers, writing to one another created a much needed psychological link. WWII military personnel invented a whole new world. These ongoing conversations contained a shared processing of crises. It was like what we have today, group chats. Please remember, the war didn’t just happen to them; it happened to the world: World War II! These eleven men “talked” their way, in oral written form, through it!
The WWII Chain Letter Gang gives us a war, not any war, but a horrific war as it was unfolding right before the eyes of eleven men. We are so truly fortunate that they each wrote letter after letter, not only of originating thoughts but replying and in response to the ones they received from the others that belonged to their athletic club, the Wolverines of Neptune, New Jersey.
The eleven men devised a plan that functioned as their psychological “link” that held them together for the duration of the war. They offered to us the workings of that link along with many stories of their lives while in the service and before joining the military, and what their plans were after the war. It must be remembered that their “voices” endured because the eleven men answered each other! The letters never ceased to travel during the war across the seas and counties of our Earth.
Think about it. We owe out deepest gratitude to the U.S. Mail service and the dedicated postal units of WWII for turning the miles of separation across the seas and lands of the countries, of our world, into one gigantic lifeline for everyone who answered the call to service, but especially those eleven men in my book, The WWII Chain Link Gang. For without those reliable postal methods, the chain of love and camaraderie was kept unbroken between our Neptune, New Jersey, men who began their journey as boys when they left home. This “unbroken” chain was truly considered the only bridge between our military personnel and home.
The oral documentation, the letters themselves ensured that the bond to one another – The Wolverines – their identity wasn’t lost during the chaos of war. Our postal heroes pushed a massive backlog of mail to our men forward, to the front lines. They were the “link”-keepers of WWII and kept not only America’s troops connected, but our eleven brave men connected.
Etsy has many ads selling WWII letters. This ad for letters written home by servicemen I found to be outstanding. I used this ad’s image of the letters for this blog with the owner’s permission. Since I was also able to quote his text, I wanted to share it with you because Jonathan, the owner of the ad, worded it beautifully. Here it is:
“Highlights
- Made by HazardousHistory
These original airmail letters were sent by U.S. Army servicemen to family members in the United States during World War II. Each letter traveled through the military postal system and was subject to official wartime censorship before delivery.
Every envelope bears Army examiner or “Passed by Army Examiner” stamps, along with APO routing marks and period postmarks. These markings indicate that the contents were reviewed to prevent the transmission of sensitive military information such as troop locations, movements, or operational details.
Inside, the letters document ordinary aspects of wartime life rather than combat narratives. Common subjects include health, daily routines, work assignments, weather, morale, and updates from home. Some letters are typed, others handwritten, reflecting the materials and conditions available to the writer at the time.
Together, these letters illustrate how millions of service members maintained personal connections across oceans while operating under strict communication controls. They represent the routine, human side of global war—messages shaped as much by censorship and logistics as by distance.
Each order includes:
One original WWII-era letter
-The original wartime airmail envelope
-Army examiner censorship stamps clearly visible
-Protected in a rigid archival sleeve for preservation
One random letter is provided per order. Content may be typed or handwritten and will vary between examples unless arranged before the order is placed.
Condition & Variability Notice:
All items are antique and unique historical documents. Variations in handwriting, paper tone, folding lines, edge wear, ink fading, stamps, and postal markings are normal and expected due to age, handling, and wartime mailing conditions.”
By the way, if you are interested in those letters, you may contact Jonathan by clicking here and going directly to his ad on Etsy: WWII Letter to Home – Original U.S. Army Airmail With Censorship Stamps – Handmade Home Museum Display – Etsy Canada
Finally, we can say, Oral History survived. Their truth unfolded in the conversation that was written in their letters to each other! By writing to each other, the need for shielding the truth was removed – for them and for us. Remember, they were not writing for the future, but for one another to read once the war was over. What they wrote down fresh from their minds, from their memories. as soon as the pens were in their hands and on the papers of the letters in this book, oral history was recorded. Their consciousness was given to us to talk about here and now, and we thank them whole-heartedly. That is why we can trust their every word. Today we can depend on the honesty of their WWII moment. Every single one of them:
Tony Addeo U.S. Army Air Corps Flight Cadet
Pete Ardolino U.S Army Intelligence
Paul Attardi U.S. Army Medic
Louis Attardi U.S. Civil Defense Warden, New Jersey
Chick Curto U.S. Army Medical Technician
Joe Curto U.S. Army Signal Corps
Eddie Davidson U.S. Homefront
John Pandolfe U.S. Navy Underwater Demolitions
Gene Siciliano U.S. Army Dental Corps
Joe Siciliano U.S. Army Logistician
Sam Siciliano U.S. Navy War Correspondent
Photo No. 1 source: Etsy ad, permission by Jonathan, HazardousHistory, Utah
WWII Letter to Home – Original U.S. Army Airmail with Censorship Stamps – Handmade Home Museum Display
Photo No. 2 source: The WWII Chain Letter Gang book cover (inside copy), provided by Lynne T. Attardi, Author.
by Lynne T. Attardi © April 18, 2026