Wednesday, September 11, 2013

1952 2 22 Walter J. Schnack to his mother

My father, Walter J. Schnack, writes this letter to his mother from Sockchorie, Korea.  I believe this might have been, or near, Sokcho in the Gangwon-do province of South Korea.  However, my research shows that this location was in North Korea from 1945 to 1953 when the Korean War ended, so I'm not totally sure.  If you have a suggestion for the location, please leave a comment.

Cast of characters in this letter, in order of appearance, are:
  • 'Mom' was Olive Letha Rose Schnack, his mother
  • 'Eddie' was Edward Alexander Schnack, his brother
  • 'Bea' was Beatrice May Rose Camp, his maternal aunt
  • 'Jake' was Walter J. Schnack, author of this letter


Feb. 22, 1952
Sockchori, Korea

Dear Mom,

I received your letter last night and was very glad to hear from you although I was very sorry to hear that all of you had been sick.  You tell Eddie I'm glad to hear that he was a good housekeeper and nurse.  I received a letter from Bea and she said everyone around Laurens had the flu or some sort of sickness.  It must be the weather.  We are getting snow again.  It started early this A.M. and is still falling; makes about 4 foot in a lot of places.  We had a scare last night.  Three Marine planes returning from a mission, dropped napalm and bombs in the ocean near us.  We thought we were getting another air raid.  As soon as we saw the planes, they were all lit up so, we knew they weren't enemy.  A bunch of relieved guys went back to bed.



I have received your package with the cigarettes, tobacco, and pants.  Thanks a lot.  I have also started getting the Star only a month old and the news doesn't repeat itself.

I'm sorry to hear that Carrie isn't feeling very good.  Say hello next time you see her. 

My list is as follows:
a large jar of instant coffee
a large roll of hard salami
a medium pineapple cheese
a fifth of Seagrams VO. You can pack it in a loaf of french bread; wrap adhesive tape around the bottle (medicinal purposes).
I'm still working night mechanic.  Well, that's all for now so until I see you, I remain your loving son Jake

Say hello to all

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