In 1943 I was drafted into World War 11 right out of Madison High School, Rochester, NY. This is my story as told in the letters I wrote home. They’re all here, all 192 of them. Spend some time with me as I describe my experiences in basic training and then off to war. They were written in an attempt to help me feel close to my family and to let them know what was going on in my life. It’s the first time I was away from home and I have to confess that I was homesick.
My folks were Esther and Jacob Kaplow. We were four children in this order: Arnette, Ruth, Bob, and myself.
This is the first of Ben’s many requests for his family to send items from home. Being away for the first time might have seemed like going off to summer camp for this 18 year old in 1943. His requests through the years change to mainly food items which he shares with his buddies. Serving in Europe, there was a time when he never changed his clothes for 67 days. It wasn’t summer camp, but days of war.
Greetings from Camp Croft, South Carolina
July 5, 1943
Pvt Ben Kaplow 35th I.T.B. (Infantry Training Brigade) - Company B - 2nd Platoon
“Dear Folks-
Send about 10 wooden or wire hangers immediately. Prefer wooden. Also slippers, & if you can find heavy chain for dog tags, not plastic. Also handkerchiefs & white underwear, not v-type, like Pop’s. Will be busy so might not write. Afraid I will run out of money in few weeks. Only 20 bucks left. High prices in P.X. (Post Exchange) on equipment. Also large white Turkish towels.”
"New" readers please note that the entries on each page are in reverse order, oldest at the bottom. It doesn't work quite like a book. To make sense of the whole blog, take the "First Posts" link above, work from the bottom entry upwards and then take the "Newer posts" link at the bottom of each page for the next installment. The "About Me" and "First Posts" columns will always appear at the top of every page. Click on "Blog Archive" triangles for a drop down list of post titles. A click on “Ben” at the end of each letter will link you to the corresponding page in his website.
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