80 WWII Letters Lot APO 503 Sig Br New Guinea Battle Star Guam Milna Bay B6596

Description

An original lot of approx. 80 World War Two letters including most of the covers. Most of the letters were written between 1943- 1945. The correspondence is between S/ SGT James E Tyrrell and his wife. Most of the letters are written by S SGT. Tyrrell while he was overseas. When he got shipped overseas, he did not keep any letters from his wife as they were too hard to send home, therefore most of the letters in this lot are written by the soldier. They were sent home to his wife in Rutherford NJ.
Below the excerpts is some information on the soldier in this estate of letters. He wrote many long letters and many interesting facts and history of WW2. S SGT. Tyrrells letters aren't all mushy love letters, instead he wrote about his Army life and what he was doing. and where he was. He also liked to write about his fellow soldiers, he wrote there names and ranks in many letters.
I have read thousands of letters and this lot is by far one of the most interesting estate lots I have come across, S SGT. Tyrrell was an intelligent man with very good writing skills. This is a phoenimal group of letters that you won't want to miss!
Also included in this lot is some foreign money from WW2, a complete newspaper of the war from Australia, restricted letters from headquarters and so much more...
I know below this is a long description but it is sure worth reading!
I pulled some excerpts to list below:
Excerpts from the letters (not in chronological sequence) :
...I feel sorry for that new gang that just came in from the States, they seemed lost. The area around the beach, (our tent area) is all filled up, so these new boys are given a tent, in a bale and told to pitch it near a certain area, which by the way is a mud hole near the Jungle. We had to put up our tent but we have a beautiful spot, under nice trees and cool all the time. We get a nice breeze from the ocean. We also have floors, shelves and electric lights in our tent which the new boys don't have....
...I can just picture your folks in the States with your ears glued to the radio, can you see me if I were home dear, I would have a copy of every paper that was printed, the only papers we have here is the Guinea Gold, its only a two page paper and I believe its only issued twice a week. Not so good for a guy like me that's use to reading three newspapers a day in civilian life....
...what a hell hole we were in, we were there for almost three months, so when we arrived at this place all of us appreciated it, It was like living in Harlem and then moving to Park Ave. Only harlem would be better at least there is no rain every day and night. I really had some experience there which I will tell you about some day...Flo it seems there are more natives here than there was at my last camp. I was surprised today when one walked near our tent, looked in and said in good English, "You my friend, good friend"....and asked me if he could give me a coconut, he no sooner said that when he took a coconut from a dirty old cloth bag he had tied to his side, and began hacking at it with a big knife which they always carry with them. The knife is about a foot and half or two feet long and as sharp as h---. The Australian Government issues these knives to the natives. You should see him handle that thing, three strokes and he had the coconut
out of the shell....
...then he start telling us how when the J*ps were here, all the Natives took to the bush, he said they were afraid the J*ps would take their women. He continued, then you Americans come and chase the J*ps away, he asked if when we leave will J*ps come back. He said at nights they would sneak back and see if the J*ps were still around, one native boy was caught by the J*ps and was killed, then he said we sneak in later and kill plenty J*ps. It was hard to understand all his words but that was the drift of his story....
....We asked him if he would like to go to America and he said, Englishmen no let, the Australians keep very strict control over these natives. He said he learned English from Holy man, he met at the Mission.....Well we got to the hospital and the C.O. (commanding officer).... told us no one can see Capt. Mauch, the Major said he had to see him about Army business so they agreed to let the Major only go in, he had to put on a mask, Well dear when he came out, he didn't say a word to me but took me by the arm and kept walking. It was a minute or two before he spoke, then he said, Jim, I'm afraid Ralph is a sick man. They plan on sending him home, as soon as the boat comes in as a stretcher case. He had tears in his eyes and to be truthful, so did I. We all liked Mauch and honey I must admit it was a blow, everyone in the office feels bad about it....
...The papers are still telling about the bombing we are giving to Japan. I wonder how long they can continue to take it. I also heard in the papers here about that awful accident in New York, where that plane hit the Empire State building.....We had one showing the battle of Manila, another Iwo Jima, and others of the war in Europe. You see how they flush the J*ps out of fox holes with liquid fire, and the best part of it is all these films are actual fighting, nothing Hollywood about them They show the war just as it is....
...You can see on the envelope I received a promotion, so did Bob, we were both promoted to Staff Sgts, I was surprised because our six months are not up as yet, however Colonel Myatt put in the request and the orders were cut in Manila. The promotion is effective as of Oct. 19th. That means dear my pay was 93.60 a month and as S/Sgt I'll get 115.20.....
...Glad to hear Irene's brother is home, hope he can stay in the States, I can't understand how they sent him home after only 14 mos, there must be something else, I know fellows that's been over 30 mos and more.....I was so sorry to hear about Jim Wallace. He was in my class in school. ... I guess he was in on the invasion....
A poem found in the letter lot, not sure if SGT wrote them or not but they are about his unit  (APO 503) and his tour in New Guinea....
“OH, ISN’T IT WONDERFUL?”
When bugles sound their final notes,
And bombs explode no more,
And we return to what we did
Before we went to war,
The sudden shift of status,
In the ladder of success,
Might make some worthy gentlemen
Feel like an awful mess.
Just think of some poor captain
Minus all his silver bars,
Standing up behind some counter
Selling peanuts and cigars.
And think of all the majors,
With their oak leafs far behind,
And the uniforms they’re wearing
Are the W*stern Union kind.
Shed a tear for some poor Colonel
If he doesn’t feel himself,
Jerking soda isn’t easy
With your “eagles” on the shelf.
A mighty cross to bear
So be kind to working people
That you meet, where E’er you go,
For the guy that’s washing dishes,
May be your old C.O.
Below are some interesting facts that I got from  this estate:
S SGT James E Tyrrell Lewin started his military when he was inducted into the Army in August, 1943. He got shipped overseas very fast. Within a few short months. He rose up the ranks from PVT to CPL to SGT, S. SGT.
Some of the places he was in his military career are the following:
Fort Dix, NJ,
Fort Custer, MI
Camp Stoneman CA
Camp Beale CA
APO's 503, 7749, 703
New Guinea
Milne Bay
Campe Seedest, Oro Bay
Finchaven
Guam
Australia
S. SGT Tyrrell went over on the USS American (in which they changed the name to "West Point" because the Japanese claimed they sunk the USS American) and he ended his journey by going home on the USS Defender.
He received a campaign ribbon  and star for the battle of New Guinea.
He took part in the occupation of Japan.
His Brother, Joseph, was also in the war in Guam, and with much of his close family also served in WW2.
He wrote a lot about the natives and the islands he was stationed on.
In some of the letters he wrote, he talked about bombing Germany and the Atomic Bomb.
Some wear with age, please use the scans to help judge content and condition.
I do combine shipping if possible, email me before payment in order to receive a discount on shipping.
Please note I list new items weekly.