In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . c h a p t e r t w e n t y - o n e ........................................................... from long beach to guadalcanal Soon after we returned to Hawaii from Midway, the 11th Group was alerted for movement to the South Pacific. I had been promoted to captain, which I could tell Lee about, but there was no way I could let her know that we were headed south. She found out eventually, though, because we flew a lot of missions, and some were successful enough to make the news. We did most of our early flying and fighting out of Espiritu Santo, an island in the New Hebrides. As soon as the airstrip on Guadalcanal was secured and made long enough for B-17s, we moved there. Soon after we arrived in the South Pacific, the commander of the 431st Squadron failed to return from a combat mission. Colonel Blondie Saunders ,* commander of our 11th Group, moved me over to command the squadron. With the new job, I was promoted to major. Lee lived in Long Beach, California, with her mother and father. Her two brothers were away from home serving in the Navy. Lee went to work at the Douglas Long Beach plant building C-54s. I had never met Lee’s parents, but I got to know them through Lee’s letters. Her mother proudly flew her flag in the front of the house with three blue stars on it.† This is just an indication of how Americans faced the problems of war together. My mother went to work in the Douglas Santa Monica plant building airplanes . My dad was an Air Raid Warden. Gasoline was rationed at five gallons per week. My little sweetheart was part of what made America great. She was many thousands of miles away, but she felt close to me, and we shared the wonder of togetherness when we were half a world * Colonel (later Brigadier General) LaVerne G. ‘‘Blondie’’ Saunders. † Families with a member in active duty flew Service Star Banners. Each blue star represented one member. Lee’s two brothers were both in the Navy and in active duty. A gold star was displayed if a family member was killed in action or otherwise died in service. apart. Our love was entwined with our love of our country and all the things about America that were good and clean. We were a part of it all, Lee and I. I realize I don’t tell the story very well, but our love and the life that we shared, even at that great distance, were a part of America and its glorious history. It brought pride to both of us and made our very private and very wonderful love even closer. The distance between Long Beach and Guadalcanal was many thousands of miles, but Lee and I were never apart. 98 : The South Pacific, 1942–43 ...

Share