A propaganda poster depicting an armed American soldier staring intensely at viewers. This image symbolizes the significance of saying or writing too much about information sensitive to the national security of the United States during World War II. Americans were warned to mind their words and actions or risk putting their country in danger.
Citation: Government & Geographic Information Collection, Northwestern University Libraries. "The battle-wise infantryman-- is careful of what he says or writes : how about you?", World War II Poster Collection. Accessed January 30, 2023. https://dc.library.northwestern.edu/items/7f16f5ef-e1ab-4c60-9c92-432e9595cfe2.
Sgt. John R. Dolin's letter to Miss Margaret Payne is dated December 3rd, 1943. Coming up on the 2nd anniversary of Pearl Harbor, almost two years from the start of the United States' participation in the war, and with the third year looming, animosity toward Japan was growing. The War in the Pacific was raging on, and Sgt. Dolin would have been aware of many of the war's events leading up to him writing Letter 51 to Miss Payne. The following two events occurred within days of Sgt. Dolin's writing to Miss Payne, and these events provide a look into how the United States was faring in its fight against Japan.
An image of Cemetery 33 on Betio Island, Tarawa Atoll, with a trench-style grave and white crosses lining the sand.
The Battle of Tarawa, a significant event in the War in the Pacific, was fought between the United States and Japan over the possession of Betio Island, Tarawa Atoll. This battle occurred from November 20th through the 23rd, not even two weeks before Sgt. John R. Dolin wrote Letter 51 to Miss Margaret Payne. The estimated number of fatal U.S. casualties is 1,020 lives lost, and over 400 soldiers were listed as missing. The possibility that many soldiers became lost at sea is still considerable. Ultimately, the U.S. prevailed and defeated the Japanese presence on Betio Island. Soldiers like Sgt. Dolin would have been aware of the aftermath of the battle, with the losses fresh in their minds. This link will give you more information on the events surrounding the Battle of Tarawa and a means of locating missing service members known to have been present during the battle.
From Left to Right: Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin, United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill seated at the Tehran Conference in Tehran, Iran.
The Tehran Conference was a pivotal event in the timeline of World War II. Occurring from November 28th through December 1st, 1943, the meeting consisted of President of the United States Franklin D. Roosevelt, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Winston Churchill, and Premier of the Soviet Union Joseph Stalin. The Soviet Union agreed to back the United States in its war against Japan by declaring war on the island nation. Aside from land concessions, the most notable conclusion made at the Tehran Conference had the potential to change the direction of the war. In a calculated plan designed to attack Germany from multiple war fronts, the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union concocted Operation Overlord, better known as D-Day. This link will provide more information on the events and outcomes of the Tehran Conference.
Sgt. John R. Dolin opens his letter to Miss Margaret Payne with news that his sister, whom he calls "Berdie," has suffered the loss of a second child after losing a child the previous year. In a collection of research titled "Vital Statistics Rates in the United States 1940-1960," Page 114 depicts a table listing the birth rates for white and nonwhite women. Per 1,000 live births by white women, the birth rate was recorded as 22.1 births in 1943. In the same table, the fertility rates for white women between 15 and 44 years were listed at 92.3 births. On Page 190, out of 1,000 live births in 1943, there were 24.2 white fetal deaths at any point in gestation. These numbers express some of the harshest realities of motherhood and bringing children into the world while raising questions about the issue of having children during the war and how mothers coped with their losses.
Toward the end of Letter 51, Sgt. John R. Dolin discusses his desire to marry Miss Margaret Payne the next time he sees her. Sgt. Dolin asks Miss Payne to speak to her parents about the proposal, which offers insight into the social expectations regarding marriage in the early 1940s. In "Vital Statistics Rates in the United States 1940-1960", a chart shown on Page 59 provides a visual representation of marriage rates during and immediately after World War II. Come 1943, marriage rates were declining. This can be attributed to the growing number of men enlisting in or being conscripted to join the war effort. A table on Page 102 listing the marriage and divorce rates per 1,000 population recorded the marriage rate at 11.7 marriages while the divorce rate was at 2.6 divorces in 1943. The marriage rate peaked in 1946 yet began to decline well into the early 1950s, while the divorce rate remained steady through those years. These numbers raise questions about the likelihood of a successful marriage between Sgt. Dolin and Miss Payne in the years after World War II. This link will take you to the extensive collection of research conducted by Dr. Robert D. Grove and Alive M. Hetzel.
Citations:
"Battle of Tarawa." Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency: Fulfilling Our Nation's Promise. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. Accessed February 24, 2023. https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaFamWebInTarawa.
"The Tehran Conference, 1943." U.S. Department of State. U.S. Department of State. Accessed February 14, 2023. https://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/tehran-conf.
Grove, Robert D., and Alice M. Hetzel. "Vital Statistics Rates in the United States 1940-1960." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Accessed February 8, 2023. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/vsus/vsrates1940_60.pdf.
The following object description information includes basic elements from the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI). An additional notes field is included to list dates from the actual letter, envelope postmark locations, and any other identifying details.
Sgt. John R. Dolin had a sister named Bertha. Is "Berdie" a common nickname for Bertha?
Assuming that "Berdie" is Sgt. Dolin's sister Bertha, what environmental or socioeconomic factors may have contributed to the passing of her two children?
Does the term "premature" carry the same meaning in 1943 as the terms miscarriage, stillbirth, or fetal mortality do today?
Was having children condoned during the war years, and what did expectations of women's roles as mothers have to do with this?
Sgt. John R. Dolin mentions "air-mail" in his letter to Miss Margaret Payne. Did Sgt. Dolin or Miss Payne use the "Victory Mail" service as well?
A piece of mail stamped by the Censor with a seal approving the letter's contents.
In a 2000 interview with Myron Fox, former Vice President of the Military Postal History Society, he was asked about what would happen to American soldiers if their mail was censored and found to contain sensitive information during World War II. Fox explained that soldiers may or may not have been confronted about the contents of their censored mail, but serious consequences were unlikely. Sgt. John R. Dolin needed to be mindful of what he wrote in his letters. Soldiers and citizens were tasked with maintaining the strength of their nation's security or facing scrutiny for putting their country at risk. This link will give you more information on the finer details surrounding censorship during World War II.
An image depicting how censorship was performed on letters. In this instance, parts of the letter's text are blocked out with dark ink.
The censorship of mail in the United States was conducted to protect national security. Beginning in 1941, the year the U.S. joined World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the formation of a censorship program to monitor the written communications of American citizens before graduating to wired communications that same year. By the end of the year, the Office of Censorship had been established. Sgt. John R. Dolin would have been familiar with the Censor, as he was held to the same standards as every American soldier charged with the responsibility of protecting their country, and any sense of privacy became void as the war progressed. This link has more information on censorship during World War II.
Citations:
Fox, Myron. “Censorship!” PBS. Public Broadcasting Service. Accessed February 10, 2023. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/warletters-censorship/.
Fiset, Louis. “Return to Sender.” U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, 2001. https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2001/spring/mail-censorship-in-world-war-two-1.