Outskirts Press, INC.

Sailor’s Love Letters from Pacific World War II

Paul L. Edwards instilled in his daughter that she could do anything she wanted. He taught her to work hard and play hard. Paula graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Missouri and joined IBM, where she was a manager for many years before taking early retirement. After Paula found her father’s World War II letters, she realized they showed her father’s love for his wife, and their love created her. So to complete the circle of love Paula compiled all her father’s World War II letters as a lasting tribute in “Every Thought of You”. Women and men of all ages, lovers, baby boomers, history buffs, and military families will enjoy reading this book of love letters Paul L. Edwards wrote to his bride from training camps and the South Pacific during World War II. They were married November 27, 1941, in Sedalia, Missouri, and on December 7th the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. One year later Paul, a blacksmith who worked for Missouri Pacific Railroad, enlisted in the Navy 88th Construction Battalion (“Seabees”) to fight the Japanese and wrote Catherine almost 700 letters, postcards, wires, and V-mail’s from December, 1942, to June, 1945. These letters came from Boot Camp in Davisville, RI, two camps in California, and six islands in the South Pacific. After the Marines secured a new island in the South Pacific, Paul’s Battalion moved in and built airstrips, roads, and naval bases. Paul belonged to the Masonic Lodge and believed in God, country, and brotherhood. He became an active Christian during Boot Camp. These letters of Paul’s true life experiences exemplify: his patriotism and sacrifices to fight the Japanese who attacked U.S. soil in Hawaii, his love for his wife, his values, the hardships of war on sailors, their families, and friends, and the enlisted sailor’s view. These letters are a piece of history. Always remember the seventh of December! Ten percent of the author’s royalties will be donated to Kansas University Endowment, Kansas City, KS, for Parkinson’s disease research.