John P. Grey Second World War correspondence

Collection — Box: WWII 157, Folder: 7, Folder: 1

Identifier: 2022-108-w-r

Staff Only

Content Description

This collection contains one letter from John P. Grey, USN to his mother during the Second World War. This letter was written while attending training FFC [sic] school at the United States Navy Rep. [sic] school in San Diego (additional research could not uncover the meaning of the abbreviation or acronym). He asks his mother about people back home and says that he is doing well in school and hopes to return home on leave when he is finished.

Dates

Creation: 1945 February 10

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

There are no restrictions on the use of this material except where previously copyrighted material is concerned. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain all permissions.

Biographical / Historical

John Paul Grey, United States Navy (4/1/1922 - 1997) was born in Olympia, Kentucky and joined the Navy at 17 years old in 1939, reporting to Naval Training Station Great Lakes in Illinois. While transferring to San Francisco aboard a train he met his future wife. Grey then served in the Pacific aboard the USS San Francisco and participated in many battles including the Battle of the Coral Sea. Grey and his family settled in Palatka, Florida where he lived until his death in 1997.

According to the donor:

"My father was not a good correspondent, but when his mother had not heard from him in several months, she contacted her congressman to see if he could find out if John was okay. When the Captain of the ship was contacted about the situation, he called John into his office and told him to write to his mother. This letter is the result of that order. It is short and sweet and just enough to comply with the Captain's order. My father was a man of few words, so I'm sure this was a painful assignment."