Harry B. Lilja Second World War correspondence

This collection contains 656 correspondence: 8 post cards, 1 V-mail, and 647 letters. 509 correspondence were sent from Sgt. Harry B. Lilja, USMC of Saugerties, New York to his wife Margaret Lilja in Saugerties and New Rochelle, New York. The collection also contains 128 correspondence written by Margaret to Sgt. Lilja, as well as 19 correspondence from various authors to Sgt. Lilja.

Sgt. Lilja was an ordnance specialist at Camp Maui, Hawaii during his service until the end of the war. He received basic training at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and ordnance training at the Navy Yard in Philadelphia where he posted grades near the top of his class.

Camp Maui was the rest camp for the 4th Marine Division and all the ordnance destined for the 4th Division would have been transported through there. Being a larger camp, Sgt. Lilja had the opportunity to attend USO shows and movies frequently. He wrote his wife to tell her about these events in a decent amount of detail. He described life on the island including the wildlife, swarms of mosquitos, and the local population. He described fashioning his own harpoons to go after sea turtles, fishing amongst the strange Hawaiian species, collecting driftwood to turn into lamps and trays, etc. Money was always tight between paydays, so he and another Marine bought an old Singer sewing machine hoping to make a little extra cash repairing the uniforms of their fellow soldiers.

In addition to his own experiences, Sgt. Lilja frequently wrote about the experiences of those he knew serving at home and abroad. He wrote the most about his brother Chester, who was a Marine fighting in the Pacific, and his family friend Charley, who was captured during the Battle of the Bulge in the European Theatre.

In March 1944 he wrote his wife telling her, "You wonder if I'll be stationed here for the duration, that is something no one knows, I only wish I could give you a definite answer. Remember where I told you I was going, well I am not there dearest, although I have been there. The distance is not too great from where I'm stationed - on the same island though." Occasionally, his communications are a little less veiled. The letter dated July 6th, 1944 mentions he has several friends participating in the assault on Saipan, and by July 19, that he had heard of Tojo's resignation as he wrote, "I do believe [Tojo's resignation] will hasten the end of this damn mess. Securing Saipan in 25 days should convince them [the Japanese] that there is no stopping the Yanks, particularly the marines." Later he writes, "Speaking of prisoners, I saw some early in the year, January I think, they were from Tarawa. They were all young and not the little Jap [sic] everyone believes." In September of 1945, once the censorship restrictions were removed, He explained his work in greater to detail to Margaret.

Margaret's letters are visibly harder to read than Harry's, but she reports on interesting home front news and news about the war. In the letter dated August 6-7, 1945 Margaret referenced the use of the atom bomb when she wrote, "My Dearest it cant [sic] last much longer after the atomic bomb. Heard today that Japan was protesting [and] accusing the allies of violating the International law - seems terrible that anything so powerful should be used for such purposes but they predict in time it will revolutionize civilization. I'm glad Russia isnt in on the secret - we first heard that the invention is held jointly by Canada, England, [and] U.S."

The remaining items in this collection are from various authors to Sgt. Lilja. Authors include, Sgt. Lilja's father and his family friend Charley, whom he refers to as "CB" frequently. His father sent him three photos but did not label them with names so it is uncertain who the females in the photo are, though they were probably his mother, aunt, and wife.