It Took A War

Walter Fagan Jr., first left for an undisclosed location in the Pacific on Father's Day in 1940. He was engaged to Helen Nash and in 1941 they were married. Walter was a member of the Air boys and was offered a job at Patterson Field, Ohio as a corporal but turned it down, so he remained a PFC (private first class). By 1943 Walter would become a Corporal, colloquially known as a buck sergeant. In 1943, Walter was again being embarked, this time again to the West Coast. He would receive letters through his address in San Francisco. His APO number was 4600 but changed later to 929, keeping the rest of the address the same. The rest of his address includes his cable address of Amabor and stating his squadron (the 58th T.C) and the 375th T.C GP. He does not give his exact location but frequently mentions New Guinea and occupation near and around New Guinea. Towards the end of 1943, from his letters one can sense that Walter begins to resent the opponents and becomes very angry. His voice in his letters changes drastically in the beginning of 1944. War begins to get to him. He begins to write how much he misses various things like the Owen Stanley Mountains and the Delaware River. He is adamant that his family support Franklin D. Roosevelt and wants them to vote for him. His final letter April 4, 1944 is angry and sad. Based on historical evidence and his location given in his letters, Walter has most likely just witnessed the battle for the Marshall Islands and the Australian occupation of New Guinea and the capture of the final Japanese soldiers on the island.