It Took A War

This collection of letters is part of a scrapbook that was assembled by Evelyn McGinnis of Ashland, Ohio. Miss McGinnis received letters from various relatives and friends and taped the letters in her scrapbook, along with some newspaper articles. The most interesting correspondence took place between Evelyn, a young Marine named Jack Shelley, and his Mother, a Mrs. Derrig. Jack had served in the Pacific and has been wounded. He was sent to San Diego, where he participated in sports while making his recovery. In the Spring of 1944, Jack transfered to a tank unit and returned to battle. Sadly he was killed on Saipan. Mrs. Derrig continued to correspond with Evelyn for about a year after Jack had died and in one letter she described what she had learned about how Jack was killed in battle. Mrs. Derrig was very depressed at the loss of Jack and she decided that she must move to a new house. She mentioned that whenever she went to the door, she saw the Western Union man standing in the doorway with the telegram announcing that Jack had died. So she and Mr. Derrig moved and eventually she began to paint the house and move on with her life. After almost a year, Mrs. Derrig found a note that Jack had left in one of his uniforms. Jack owed someone ten dollars and hoped that his mother would pay the debt, if he did not return from the war. We do not know what became of Evelyn.