Are You Lonesome Tonight?

January 5, 1952

Sat. night

"Home On Leave," Jim's Family, 1953, photographed by Norma Cornett
(Standing: John Moses Parker (1920-1971), Walter Wayne Parker (1922-2008), Polly Ann Parker Sparks (1925-2015), James Connie Parker (1930-2000), Jo Ann Parker Oxford (1937-2012), Larry Ray Parker (1943-2004)
Sitting: John Wyly Parker (1883-1961), Bertha Ruth Sterling Parker (1901-1999)

Hello Norma,

How're things with the best gal I know?

I'm O.K., in fact, full of fire.  We only worked from 5:00 this morning until around 5:00 this afternoon.  Usually we work "til" 7:30 or 8:30, but the weather over Korea was too bad for our planes to fly, so we knocked off.  The weather where we are isn't too bad, it snowed a little today, otherwise it's been nice.  Quite a big warmer than last week.

Norma, I don't know why you haven't been getting my letters, but nobody has gotten any from me. My mother said in her last letter she hadn't heard from me in five weeks and I've been writing to her almost every week.

I don't know what red ink is supposed to mean to Sailors.  I never heard of the connection.

So, those "draft-dodgers" from Gilead got beat again, "eh."  Well, it's good enough for them.  Maybe pretty soon they will get on a winning team ("you know what"). HA

You asked about news from this place.  There isn't much. We get in sight of the Korean Coastline about every day that visibility is good.  All it looks like from where we are is a broken, frozen waste. It doesn't look like it's worth fighting for, frankly. I don't know what we're fighting for, anyway. I wish I did, then maybe I could put my heart into what we're doing.

One of our guys almost "snuffed out" a couple of weeks ago. When something like that happens, it makes me wonder just what the "hell" we're doing over here in the first place.

I heard that Reva G________ has a new Plymouth, but I don't think I want a new car.

So, you want to know something about me.  Well, most of it isn't good, so I'll leave most of it out. HA! 

I have 3 brothers, one lives at 1__ S. Cavalry in Detroit, the rest are in Tennessee. I also have two sisters, and "oh yes" a mother & father.

I lived in Tennessee until I was 17 years old, then I quit school, but couldn't get a job there. So to keep from starving to death, I went to Detroit.  I lived there until I came in the Navy last year.  In ten days I'll have one year in.  Just think, only 3 years to go.

You got pretty close to my age.  I was 20 last March 31st.

In between sentences I'm singing hillbilly songs with the guys. One of them is sitting beside me playing guitar.  Some of them are pretty good.  [Editor's note: the color of ink changes from blue to black and there are smudges on the page.] Excuse the change of ink. 

Well, kid, I've got to sign off now.

Answer soon.

Your homesick Sailor,

Jim 

[Editor's Note: On the back of this envelope, Norma jotted "Are you lonesome tonight?" by Johnny & Jack but she may have confused the recording of the song by the Blue Barron Orchestra with "I Get So Lonely" by the country duo, Johnnie and Jack.  She also noted a song "Did you forget so easily" by Lila Myers and performed by Sammy Kaye on his program, Sunday Serenade, but I can't find any recording with that title performed on Kaye's show.]

Click on this link to read the next letter.