DIY History | Transcribe | Nile Kinnick Collection | Correspondence concerning the commemoration of Nile Kinnick, 1941-1997

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Correspondence concerning the commemoration of Nile Kinnick, 1941-1997

1992-02-01: Page 01

Feb. 1, 1922 Dear Jim, [George]  What a treat!  Getting your long letter is a special delight.  Having that long long "blank' from the brief evening in San Diego removes the nagging wonder of what life has dealt you from then till now.  Let me return my story, for what it's worth.  (To compensate for my worse than poor penmanship, as you can see, I have turned to the typewriter.  Your 'hand' is much more friendly and certainly stylish.)  Next morning after seeing you, Ken Petitt, Art Manuch, et al at the Grant Hotel, the Navy cut me orders to embark to the South West Pacific as an F4F Wildcat replacement pilot.  Aboard the USS Long Island pilots and planes steamed south from Hawaii with a lone WW i destroyer as our protector.  Good fortune delivered us to Espirto Santos and the USS Enterprise where 5 of us were assigned to VF-10.  Guadacanal was slowly winding down so we remained for four months waiting for a Jap move which never came.  We, our planes and equipment, were so 'thin' we could do little but wait and endure the rigors of tropical living.  Come June the Enterprise was ordered to Pearl Harbor for much needed repairs.  The aviation personnel were reassigned to new groups forming on the east coast for the new carriers under construction - I went to VF-8 at Norfolk, VA.  Nile was already with VF-16 assigned to the USS Lexington at Quonset Point.  I did not see him again before his crash.  -- But to go on, after forming up we (VF-8) entered combat in the USS Bunker Hill with attacks on the Palaus.  From there we were in all fleet engagements up to Saipan.  Here's one for you.  The morning you 'hit the beach' at Saipan I was in one of the Hellcats that dropped bombs on the landing beach just before you arrived ashore.  Our mission called for us to saturate the landing beach just inshore.  From above it looked quiet and unthreatening.  Guess it wasn't by a long shot.  As one of the large carriers under Spruance and then Halsey we engaged in all the majors battles from 1st Battle of Philippine Sea to Okinawa.  We got out of there just as the kamakazies came in great numbers.  We has been at sea since March and left in October.  As a lucky one, I never went down, & got Off a few zingers.  Somehow I always felt survival was important.  Yeh, I'm sure Nile - and you - could and would have roasted me as an 'intrepid' warrior.  (Golly, that was long ago.)  You Marines really had it tough.  We sea based guys had clean sheets and hot meals.  Nonetheless, But, as many a freak accident got guys, e.g, Nile, so, many went through much without a scratch.  'Was back in Seattle and out of Navy in Sept. 1945.  My wife, we married in 1943, was in Coast Guard in Seattle while I was in Pacific.  Louise Clarke was from family you met in Adel, Theodora's older sister.  We settled in Seattle where I entered the insurance business, and remained till retirement.  We raised four children - two daughters and two sons (like you and Florence).  The years passed routinely till all were gone and we alone again.  Susan lives in D.C. where her husband is with Justice Dept.  They have one son.  Susan is an art historian associated with Smithsonian.  Jane lives in St. Louis with husband plus two children.  She and husband are attorneys with own firm.  Rob, oldest son, is here in Seattle.  He has own business (enclosed brochure will tell about his product.)  Jim and wife live in Sun Valley where Jim builds houses and is a ski director.

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Feb. 1, 1922 Dear Jim, [George] What a treat! Getting your long letter is a special delight. Having that long long "blank' from the brief evening in San Diego removes the nagging wonder of what life has dealt you from then till now. Let me return my story, for what it's worth. (To compensate for my worse than poor penmanship, as you can see, I have turned to the typewriter. Your 'hand' is much more friendly and certainly stylish.) Next morning after seeing you, Ken Petitt, Art Manuch, et al at the Grant Hotel, the Navy cut me orders to embark to the South West Pacific as an F4F Wildcat replacement pilot. Aboard the USS Long Island pilots and planes steamed south from Hawaii with a lone WW i destroyer as our protector. Good fortune delivered us to Espirto Santos and the USS Enterprise where 5 of us were assigned to VF-10. Guadacanal was slowly winding down so we remained for four months waiting for a Jap move which never came. We, our planes and equipment, were so 'thin' we could do little but wait and endure the rigors of tropical living. Come June the Enterprise was ordered to Pearl Harbor for much needed repairs. The aviation personnel were reassigned to new groups forming on the east coast for the new carriers under construction - I went to VF-8 at Norfolk, VA. Nile was already with VF-16 assigned to the USS Lexington at Quonset Point. I did not see him again before his crash. -- But to go on, after forming up we (VF-8) entered combat in the USS Bunker Hill with attacks on the Palaus. From there we were in all fleet engagements up to Saipan. Here's one for you. The morning you 'hit the beach' at Saipan I was in one of the Hellcats that dropped bombs on the landing beach just before you arrived ashore. Our mission called for us to saturate the landing beach just inshore. From above it looked quiet and unthreatening. Guess it wasn't by a long shot. As one of the large carriers under Spruance and then Halsey we engaged in all the majors battles from 1st Battle of Philippine Sea to Okinawa. We got out of there just as the kamakazies came in great numbers. We has been at sea since March and left in October. As a lucky one, I never went down, & got Off a few zingers. Somehow I always felt survival was important. Yeh, I'm sure Nile - and you - could and would have roasted me as an 'intrepid' warrior. (Golly, that was long ago.) You Marines really had it tough. We sea based guys had clean sheets and hot meals. Nonetheless, But, as many a freak accident got guys, e.g, Nile, so, many went through much without a scratch. 'Was back in Seattle and out of Navy in Sept. 1945. My wife, we married in 1943, was in Coast Guard in Seattle while I was in Pacific. Louise Clarke was from family you met in Adel, Theodora's older sister. We settled in Seattle where I entered the insurance business, and remained till retirement. We raised four children - two daughters and two sons (like you and Florence). The years passed routinely till all were gone and we alone again. Susan lives in D.C. where her husband is with Justice Dept. They have one son. Susan is an art historian associated with Smithsonian. Jane lives in St. Louis with husband plus two children. She and husband are attorneys with own firm. Rob, oldest son, is here in Seattle. He has own business (enclosed brochure will tell about his product.) Jim and wife live in Sun Valley where Jim builds houses and is a ski director.