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F -
To r s. Florence Ri(. Cole (irs . Clarence bole
220 Bradley Avenue, Nount Vernon, 4. Y.
classes, writing letters and listening in to Radio Tokio late
every niht (11:15 o c lock), my time is completely occupied.
I owe letters to Jean and others, but I didn't want to keep you
waiting any longer. I hope you will write again. Love to all,
Sincerely,
June 5, 1943 (14)
Dear Florence
It seems a rather roundabout way to contact you, doesn't
it? A message comes from Japan to Mount Vernon, Nev York, and
a faniily relationship is once more established.
I suppose you wiere quite surprised to hear from Mrs.
Birsh, although her letter to me 1ves the impression that she
already knew you thrur'h the Red Cr'oss. I have been listeninT
in to these short wave broadcasts every night for over four
months, and while the messages are usually hard to understand,
I try to take what I can in shorthand, and then send them on
to the families in this country. We have just a small Philco
radio with a short wave attachment, but we seldom listened in
Sthr short wav broadcasts, er7ceot Moscow occasionally. One
ni ht my husband was ielv tininr - dials and we heard ,
oice with a Japanese accent rein q ofT names and addresses
of people in the United States. I grabbed a notebook on the
spur' of the moment and took down the messes. Then T sent th#
messaes on, but I never expected to hear rorm anyone. I didn t
want these families to think I was a "crank' or sorethin like
that, so I used my husband's letterhead, in order to pro-e my
sincerity.
'll, for a long time I didn't hear anything from the
families I had written to, but I .11 sent messages anyway, Ri d
after a w-hile the answers began trickling in, and such answers -
you would have thought that I was doing the most wonderful thing
in the world. My mail has kept growing ever since, and I usually
get about ten answers a day, all appreciative and grateful. One
beautifully-worded letter caire from a woman who had lost about
four fingers, Yet she was determined to write me herself. Other
letters tell of old parents who had. given up hope and who have
taken on r-ner lease of life through my letters. Even though
- the messages I send may not be genuine - we have no way of knowing
whether the prisoners are actually being treated well or are
even alive, for that matter, I think that my letters have made
several thousand people happy, figuring that opach letter touches
the lives of five or even ten people. I have lost count of my
letters and have a lot o f filing waiting for me, but I think I
have sent over 500 so far. I have already filled four scrapbooks,
and believe I have enough replies waiting to be pasted to fill
two more.