Don't Never Say Nothing 'Bout Re-enlisting

April 25, 1952

Lost at sea

Clem Powell, another Valley Forge sailor who didn't like what he heard

Hi Norma,

I got two letters from you today and I had better answer them while I have time.

I sure was glad to get them. I don't know what any of us would do over here if it wasn't for mail. Go nuts, I guess.

We knocked off at 11:30 last night. I slept until noon today and do I feel better.

Two of our pilots went out yesterday and radioed back that they were having trouble with their planes and had to land on a base in Korea, but I'm pretty sure there was nothing wrong with their planes, all they wanted to do was to get drunk. All either one of them likes to do is fly and drink.

They are both with an aerial circus on the outside. They were reserves who have been recalled. 

No, I'm not in port. We left port the 11th of this month.

That telephone strike can get serious if it lasts long enough. And I read in our own newspaper (The Valley Forge Press) that Truman had taken over the steel mills to keep them from striking.  I don't like the idea very much, but still they shouldn't strike. We need steel too much. I don't think any of those guys work 18 (and more) hours per day like we do. And I think they all make more than $100 per month (that's what I make), so if they don't like what they have, tell them to come over here. We'll trade places with them any time. Strikes are O.K. in peace time, but in times of war, they are no good.

No, I don't like night ball games as well as day games. The brand of ball isn't as good. The players are handicapped by lack of light.

You said that it rained on Easter Sunday. Well, that's nothing unusual. It always does. All the little girls get their new hats wet.

I was justing checking over one of your letters I got a few weeks ago where you said something about me re-enlisting. Don't never say nothing like that again. It scares me. I'll be in here long enough as it is, and from the way the world situations look, I'll be in the rest of my life, anyway.

Well, honey, I better sign off and hit my "basket."

Answer soon.

Love, 

Jim

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Fly Boys

April 24, 1952

Lost at sea

"The Bridges of Toko-ri," inspired by events on the Valley Forge

Hi Baby,

Tomorrow is refueling. Mail goes off and comes aboard, too. "Thank goodness!!" I've written you one letter this week already but it never hurts to write a cute girl two times in one week.

I'm so tired I can hardly keep my eyes open and once in a while I notice my hand start to shake. When I get like that its time for me to go to bed, but I can't until around 11:30. It's about 8:00 PM now.

In fact, the only things that keeps me awake are coffee and cigarettes. This stuff has got to cease pretty soon or they won't have any men left. 

We got 7 replacements last month for men who have been sent to hospitals or to stations where the duty is lighter, but they won't transfer me. I'm too dumb to do anything else, I guess. HA. 

"Well," another one of our pilots got the Purple Heart, a medal for bravery. He got hit in the canopy with shrapnel and it cut his face pretty bad, but he brought it in anyway, so therefore the Navy figures he is a brave man. Personally, I do, too. 

[Editor's note: the pilot Jim describes is listed in the Valley Forge Action Report incident dated 4-23 as "LCDR D.E. Brubaker VF 194." James Michener, who was a reporter stationed on the Valley Forge at the time, interviewed Brubaker and he is thought to have inspired the Brubaker character in Michener's book, "The Bridges at Toko-ri." I have long known that Jim thought James Michener was the best novelist of the 20th century, but I didn't realize that they were on the Valley Forge at the same time or that the novel is based on an incident that occurred while Jim was on the ship. Time for me to read the book.]

I wish I had the "guts" some of these "fly boys" have. It takes a lot of nerve to do what some of those guys do. 

It is beginning to look like we will be out here 30 days again this time. I was hoping we wouldn't stay so long, but it's official, Norm, we hit the States the 3rd of July. "Hurrah." We call it "Dogo" (San Diego Day) or "D" Day.

"Hey, Norm," what happened to the Tigers? The last time I saw the standings, they hadn't won a game and had lost 7. I guess they're missing my moral support. HA 

If I get home before the season is over, I won't do anything but see ball games. 

Norm, I'd better sign off for this time.

Answer soon.

Love, 

Jim

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One Kiss Per Lesson

April 21, 1952

Lost at sea

Scan of Jim's stationery for this letter

Hi Norma,

It looks like I started writing at the wrong time. The "sea apes" (men in the gunnery department) just started firing their 5 inch guns. Practice, of course, at least I hope. And they really jar this tub.

Norm, this letter will probably be pretty short. I'm so tired I can hardly sit up. In the last 4 days we've had about 16 hours of sleep and its about to catch up with me.

This captain of ours must be trying to win the war by himself. And the help of his crew, of course. I wish we had another "old man," one with a little more sense. 

We lost another pilot yesterday. A lieutenant named "Les" Workman. His plane was shot up pretty bad and went down in Wonsan Harbor. He bailed out, but his "chute" didn't open. So, that was all "she" wrote, he was a good guy, too. 

I've been reading a little bit about the telephone strike, but I don't know much about it. 

[Editor's note: after graduating from high school, Norma worked as a stenographer for "The Phone Company," as ATT was known at the time.]

So, Charlene and Norma R_____ are getting married, "eh?" Well, if they don't know any better, I guess it's alright. Personally, I can't see why anyone would want to get married nowadays. 

It really is spring over here now. I'm down to one pair of pants. HA  Before long, I should be down to none. "Oops," shouldn't have said that. HA  

I don't know if my six easy lessons [for learning how to park a car] include homework or not. It depends on the pupil. Of course, pretty often we get to park and talk over your mistakes, if any. My fee is one kiss per lesson, but if you want to throw in a few "tips," that's alright, too.

Just hang on to those Patti Page and Doris Day records 'til I get home and I'll drive you "nuts" playing them so much. 

I want a wallet-size photo of you. If it's any bigger, I've got no place to keep it.

No, I wouldn't say that I'm bashful. Let's just say I'm a little shy around women. 

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

Answer soon.

Love, 

Jim

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Going Back To Work

April 16, 1952

Lost at sea

USS Valley Forge, ca. 1950, with planes ready for duty

Hi Norma - you sweet thing,

How's the little girl tonight? I'm O.K. I guess the only thing wrong with me is I've got to go to work again tomorrow. We left port yesterday morning and that life in port was really good while it lasted.

The Navy loses money on us when we go in for a rest, none of us do anything. That is, the guys in the Air Dept. The guys like cooks and office workers work as much in port as they do at sea. We call them the "sissies" of the fleet. They envy us because we get all the glory when there is any to get.

We have to fly tomorrow to refresh the pilots. They haven't flown in more than two weeks and that's a long time for a carrier pilot to lay off. They should fly every day. Tomorrow they won't fly strikes. They will go up, circle the ship a few times, and land to get the "roll" of things again. 

If everything goes according to plan, we will be in San Diego in 79 days. That will be the first or second of July.

I think we must have hit the same storm over there that you did coming home from New York. It has rained here for two days and the wind, at times, was terrific. It looks as if you guys got out of the "Big Town"just in time.

You said you liked to stay in motels. I do, too. They are always outside of town and its quiet and peaceful. I always stayed in them when I went from Detroit to Tennessee and vice versa, that is, when I didn't drive non-stop.

Norma, honey, I've got to sign off. We start flying at 4:30 tomorrow, that means we get up at 3:30.

Answer soon.

Love, 

Jim

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Hi Baby

April 10, 1952

Yokosuka, Japan

Hi Baby,

What's cookin'? By now you should be home recuperating from your New York tour. "Boy," I sure would have liked to have been with you on that trip.

Maybe someday we can take it together, "huh?"

I got the package you sent yesterday and it was wonderful, all of it. The cookies were the best I ever ate, bar none, and the cake was real good, too. The popcorn wasn't very fresh, but it helped to keep the other things fresh.

You should see the guys crowd around when one of us gets a package from home. Usually the one who gets it, gets less of what's in it than anyone else. But when someone else gets a package, I'm always there to get my part.

Thanks for it, Norm. I think you're the sweetest girl I know.

The weather here was real warm today. I did some baseball practice today. I threw some (I'm supposed to be a pitcher) and my arm didn't bother me at all, but my left leg did. Every time I threw a fast ball, it hurt in my hip. I guess it will work out when hot weather comes. If you don't understand baseball, you probably don't know what I'm talking about. If you don't, I'll teach you when I come home.

[Editor's note: Jim was a bit of a baseball legend in his hometown.  Nearly 20 years after he left for Detroit, I spent the summer of '67 with my grandmother. Some of the old timers happened to stop by for a chat with Mrs. Parker one afternoon and discovered I was Jim's kid.  "Let me tell you about your dad. He was the best," said one. "Oh, yeah," offered the other old guy. "We always went down to watch him play.  Threw faster and harder than anybody. Never saw anyone who could play like him."]

"Man," I can't get over all those places you've been. When I come home, you probably won't even look at me.

Honey, if you can get high on a Sloe Gin Fizz and Tom Collins, you won't be very expensive to go night clubbing with, but I sure would have like to have seen that. I almost "busted" just reading about it. HA Have you sobered up yet? HA 

No, I don't think you're terrible, you just let yourself loose a little. The trouble with some people is that they hold too tight a rein on themselves and never let go.

Guess I've been letting go too much lately.

Two buddies and I went over about a month ago. It was about 2:00 and the club wasn't open so we bought  two fifths of whiskey, they are about 4/5 of a quart each. We drank them and by this time all of us were pretty high. Then the place started opening up. We went to the "Grand Palace" cabaret, had some beer and mixed drinks, then I drank 3 shots of champagne and that was "it."  I had done been "had," as we say in the Navy. 

I don't pitch those kind very often, I guess it was the only once since we left the States.

That tap room where you celebrated looks pretty nice in the picture. Does it have a dance floor?

That sleeping until 11:00 sounds pretty good. Wish I could pull that stuff sometime.

We're back in port now, but we're leaving next Monday. We only had 9 days in port this time. No, I'm not very busy, now. In fact, in port we don't do anything but kill time. One of the guys said a sailor was nothing but a professional "time killer" and I guess that's about true, but at sea nothing is farther from the truth.

From the way you write, you did nothing on that trip but sightsee and sleep, but I suppose that's what you went for.

The trouble with me is that when I start sightseeing, I always wind up doing something else, usually drinking. If I don't stop, you're going to think I'm a "bum," but honest, I don't drink much when I'm home. There are too many other things to do and most of the people I go around with in Detroit don't drink much, but over here all the sailors drink. So when I go ashore, there isn't much else to do. 

Well, "honey," I've got to sign off. I've run out of things to say.

Answer soon.

Love, 

Jim

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The Wayfaring Beauty

April 8, 1952

Yokosuka, Japan

Times Square, 1952

Hi ya Norma,

So, my little girl's on another globe-trotting spree, "eh?" I'm gonna stop calling you Norma and start calling you the "Wayfaring Beauty." 

It sounds like you are having fun and, as for me being there with you, all I can do is wish I were there, too. I've always wanted to go to New York City and with a girl like you, it would be even more wonderful.

I don't know if I want to ride with you driving or not. What do you think you are, a hot rodder? HA Any woman driving over 40 mph used to scare me to death. But then maybe I scare some people with my driving, too.

Is Times Square as ritzy as I've always heard?

You had better be careful when you go into that bathroom that connects the two bedrooms. The wrong one of them might be in there. Or if it was the wrong one, you could scream and I would come running. HA Or, swimming. 

"Oh," by the way, do the springs on the bed squeak? You remember the bed you slept in on vacation in Syracuse, New York last year had squeaky springs.

This carrier is a C.V. Class, so if Marie's husband is a sailor, he should know what it is. It is next to the largest the U.S. has.

Yes, I've seen the French uniforms. To me, they look more peculiar than anything else. 

All navy's uniforms are something similar to each other. The first county to have a navy used uniforms something like these, so every other country copied it. The reason the Navy (U.S., that is) hasn't changed uniforms before is that it is tradition and the Navy doesn't like to break tradition. 

Well, "honey," I've got to sign off for now.

Answer soon.

Love, 

Jim

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Oh, You Beautiful Doll

April 4, 1952

"Hurrah" in port

Sanders' Hot Fudge Cream Puff Sundae, a Detroit tradition

Hi Norma, you beautiful doll,

"Boy," am I glad to be in port, too many days at sea make me a dull boy.  I'm a "landlubber," not a sailor. At heart, I'm just a displaced Civilian. HA These moonlit nights on the sea don't make me romantic.

Speaking of getting mail fast, I get yours in five days when we're in port, but when we're out at sea, sometimes it takes a month.

We've got meatballs and spaghetti for supper tonight, so I don't know if I will eat or not, but they might have a good dessert. I guess I'll go find out.

You asked what baseball teams I like, in the American League, I prefer the Tigers and in the National League, I like the St. Louis "Cardinals." I keep hoping I can get home in time to see some games before the season closes. If I don't, I'll be one disappointed sailor.

If you like to drive so well, you can me around when I come home, that is if I have something to drive.

Why is it, Norm, that all the girls go for wrestling? I like the sport, but not like most gals do. One reason I don't like it is because I know that it is all "faked." 

It looks like spring will never come to Detroit. One day I get a letter from you and the weather is nice and the next day, I get one that says it is snowing. "Oh, well," I guess it will stop that snowing pretty soon.

That ice cream and hot fudge does sound pretty good, wish I had some. 

[Editor's note: If I know Norma, she rhapsodized in one of her letters about Sander's Cream Puff Sundaes; click on that link for more information about the Sander's tradition, a recipe for the cream puffs, and a video that describes how to build your own cream puff. Or, forget that, just click on the link to the company and order the fixings.  You're welcome.

[One of my favorite stories about Norma is when she was newly married, she and some friends from work joined the local Vic Tanny Health Club and met to exercise once a week.  Across the street from the club was a Sander's Ice Cream Parlor franchise, where the ladies would gather afterwards to "wind down." Jim always suppressed a grin when Norma swore she just went for Sander's great ham sandwiches, which actually were pretty good, but were fairly small and really just an excuse for the average patron to order dessert. Norma, on the other hand, gave some wicked mom glares as, unlike Jim, I was unable to suppress my gales of giggles over the "healthy ham sandwiches."] 

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

Answer soon.

Love, 

Jim

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"Just A Little Lovin' (Will Go A Long Way)"

April 2, 1952

Lost at sea

Sheet music cover, "Just A Little Lovin'," ca. 1948

Hello Norma, 

How's the sweetest, most lovable girl I know? 

Well, guess what, we're on our way into port again and believe me I'm ready. We've been out for thirty days this time and that's too much for me. And none of that "wild side of life" for me this time in. I'm gonna rest. I'm tired of them "Gooks" anyway.

Still nothing new over here, always the same old routine.

Before I forget, I want to thank you for those clippings you sent. I like to keep up with baseball and hockey and even if the news is a few days old it's better than nothing.

I haven't written you for almost a week now, but I'll write more often while we're in port. 

I got caught in a jet blast yesterday, that's the exhaust of a jet plane and it is powerful, believe me. It almost blew my clothes off me. HA

So now you're comparing me with that guy in the Fibber McGee and Molly show, "eh." I used to listen to them when I was a kid back on the farm in Tennessee, but I haven't heard them in a long time. No, I don't mind my new nickname. You can call me anything as long as you don't call me too late for chow. HA

I "sorta" envy you getting to sleep all day. I think when I come home I won't do anything but sleep. But I know when I come home I'll sleep less than I do now.

I started this last night but I didn't get to finish it. We had an easy day today. When we're on our way to Yokosuka, Japan, we don't do anything at all. This morning I worked for maybe thirty minutes and this afternoon I didn't do "nuttin". 

And the weather is lots warmer down here. We're off the coast of the Japanese home islands. It is a lot farther south than the operating zone we just left. 

If you look on a map, you will see Yokohoma Japan is only 35 miles from Yokosuka. Yokosuka maybe not be on the map, it's pretty small. Between Japan and Korea, you will see the Sea of Japan, that's where we're operating, north of the 38th parallel. 

[Editor's note: Jim was fascinated by geography. Growing up we had a hefty atlas kept at the ready for dinner discussions of current events and one of Jim's favorite Christmas presents from Norma was a globe. He kept it next to his favorite chair in the living room for easy and frequent perusal.]

I think Eddy Arnold is the best "hillbilly singer there is. I also like Hank Snow. 

[Editor's note: As long as I can remember, people have remarked on the physical resemblance between Jim and Eddy Arnold, but I never saw it. I asked him once if he thought he looked like Eddy Arnold. He just grinned and said, "Nope."]

Well, kid, I've got to sign off. I'll try to write again tomorrow.

Answer soon.

Love, 

Jim

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