1944-1946 Archive of Insightful, Detailed Letters from a Young Army Man Serving in the Pacific Theater in a Time of Rampant Racism and Political Upheaval

On offer is an outstanding collection of 10 letters written by a young man enlisted in the United States Army during the Second World War. His letters are thorough and situate the reader squarely in the political and social climate of the time, while providing insight into his training, travels and service in the Philippines (under Doug Macarthur or “Dugout Doug”).

Our author is Albert W. Wiggin Jr. Born in 1925, Albert grew up with his parents and three siblings in Wakefield, Sanbornville, New Hampshire.

Private Wiggin’s letters begin in September of 1944. He is living at Traux Field, near Madison, Wisconsin and attending Army Air Force Eastern Technical Training Center. He writes to his grandpa (“Gramps”), A.O. Robinson, sharing that he will attend school there for 26 weeks and that he feels confident in his choice to commit to the army instead of the Navy (as his younger brother, Stuart, did) as he believes that his post-war options will be greater than the seamen - Albert is always forward-thinking in this way.

He writes to Gramps again in November. He is focused on the 1944 Presidential election where Republican Thomas Dewey faced Democrat Franklin Roosevelt. Albert’s own words speak for themselves: “There’s a lot of controversy here on the election and better than 50% section of the fellows seem to be solidly in back of Tom Dewey…Most of the fellows with any education seem to be for Dewey, while most of the Roosevelt supporters are Jews and the mental midgets from the factory and Southern farms”. As we now know, Dewey lost decisively. 

We next hear from Pvt Wiggin in February of 1945. He writes to his mother, Agnes, from Camp Howze in Texas where he is staying for “six weeks intensive infantry training”. At this time he is in the 45th Battalion, 12th Regiment. After sharing his address with his mom, he humorously notes “What a Reg or a Bn is I haven’t the slightest idea”. He references a past knee injury which he feels will prevent him from completing training and suggests he may either be returned to the Air Corps, be discharged or become a “combat infantry man”. 

Four months later, on June 22, 1945, Pfc Wiggin writes to Gramps from his new station in the Philippines. He is in the 37th Division, 1st Battalion, 148th Infantry. He is working as a carpenter, building a mess hall but with poor tools. In August he writes a timeless letter to his mother, where he complains about her complaints that he is not writing often enough…and then asks her to send him a care package. We can start to see the burden of war on Albert, who would be about age 25 at this point. He closes his August letter stating: 

“I was glad to hear of Rowell getting back to the States. It’s too bad about those other fellows. I guess a lot of the guys I went to school with have been killed”.

He also writes in August to his little brother, Bruce, who had sent him a letter. He compares life in the Philippines to their small town in New Hampshire: “Sanbornville is the liveliest place on earth when you compare it with this [hole]”. He responds to Bruce’s request to send home some “Jap money”, explaining that it is not available in the Philippines. Context indicates that Bruce is entering his first year of high school in September. Albert advises him to attend all the football games!

In September of 1945, Albert is in hospital, having sprained his ankle. He jokes to Gramps that he made it through the war just fine only to be injured avoiding a Filipino horse that was trying to kick him. He believes that the 37th division will be heading home as soon as transport is available, because “Dugout Doug” said so. [Historical Note: Dugout Doug is a nickname for Doug Macarthur who was a controversial army General, sometimes credited with liberating the Philippines from Japan]. 

Albert’s most ‘newsy’ letter was written to his mom in September of 1945. He can tell the war is almost over as he is now asked to seal his own letters instead of submitting them for “censorship”. His job right now is mostly driving Japanese people (“Nips”) to base camp where they are guarded by Filipino soldiers. He has a very negative opinion of the people of the Philippines, expressing frustration at Filipino soldier’s poor work ethic when on the front lines (“They aren’t worth a damn as combat soldiers on the line as [they are] always pulling out and taking to the woods”). He ensures his mother knows he is out of harm’s way:

“So far it has been a pretty rough war but I don’t figure I’ve done very badly as I only had to sweat out 41 or 42 combat days. I was still plenty glad to get pulled back down here though. They tell me there were 40,000 Japs up there in the hills, posted so as to keep the Flips from working them over”. 

Later in the fall of 1945, Albert is reassigned to the Field Artillery in Luzon and has a sharp focus on the end of the war. He is closer to Manila and wants to upgrade his math and science classes before he returns to America. It seems the US Army ran out of stuff for the men to do and began offering courses to keep them busy. He ends his letter with an exciting side-note: “just heard we were in for a Presidential citation for the Luzon campaign”. 

Finally, on February 19, 1946, Albert writes his mom to tell her he docked back in the USA yesterday. It was an eventful voyage, filled with stupid people and illness: “I have never saw a bigger collection of illiterates in my life, and every one is an authority on everything from spelling to tactics and logistics”; “Another thing that didn't help on the voyage was a bad cold that was aided and abetted by a slight touch of malaria so I had to go back to taking those damn Atabrine tablets again”. He tells his mom he will be home around March but may first stop in Boston to tour around. He signs this final letter, “Don’t try to get in touch with me. Love, Al Jr.”

The detail with which Pfc Albert Wiggin writes is outstanding and the reader really gets the sense that they are with him throughout his journey. His proximity to important moments in the Pacific Theater is, of course, the highlight of this archive. Getting to know this young man, his humor, his views (though some are unsavory when viewed through a modern lens) and his underlying desire to just get back home is endearing on many levels. 

All 10 letters are in Good condition. There is some staining on the envelopes due to normal age and some slight staining on some of the letters. There are no rips or tears in the letters and all the handwriting is very legible. Nine of the letters are written in ink while one is written in pen. Overall G.