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Thorpe, John J. (Second World War correspondence and other materials)
2022.190.w.r
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Contributing Institution:
Center for American War Letters Archives
Title: John J. Thorpe Second World War correspondence and other materials
Identifier/Call Number: 2022.190.w.r
Physical Description:
0.4 Linear feet
(4 folders)
Date (inclusive): 1943 July 13 - 1946 February 15
Abstract: This collection contains correspondence from S1/C John J. "Jack" Thorpe, USN to his sister, Lena and her family during the
Second World War. The collection also includes photographs, military documents, and one obituary. Also included are transcripts
of the letters, provided by the donor.
Language of Material:
English
.
Container: WWII 54
Container: 7-10
Container: 1-4
This collection is open for research.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Janet Thorpe.
This collection is arranged in chronological order.
Seaman First Class John Joseph "Jack" Thorpe, United States Navy (11/27/1919 - 1/6/1992) was born on November 27, 1919 in
Sunnyside, Utah to John Thorpe and Eva Hall.He had four sisters, Mary Jane Thorpe, Hilda Rose Thorpe, Agnes Thorpe, and Lena
Thorpe Wade. He registered for the Navy on July 1, 1941 and was inducted on July 3, 1943. He was honorably discharged on February
24, 1946. He married Joan Wuagneux on June 29, 1948 in Oakland, California. After his service, he served as a bishop of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
[Item title / description; Box "n" / Folder "n"], John J. Thorpe Second World War correspondence and other materials (2022.190.w.r.),
Center for American War Letters Archives, Chapman University, CA.
For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information about sources consulted in this
collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder descriptions, and box/folder locations.
This collection contains 51 correspondence from S1/C John J. "Jack" Thorpe, USN to his sister, Lena Thorpe Wade, and her family
in Salt Lake City, Utah during the Second World War. The collection also includes three photographs of Thorpe in uniform,
three military documents, and one photocopied newspaper clipping of Thorpe's obituary. Also included are transcripts of the
letters, provided by the donor.
The correspondence begins on July 13, 1943, when Thorpe writes to his sister from the United States Naval Training Station
in Farragut, Idaho. The next five letters are written from this location and Thorpe describes the camp, his training, and
signing up for Armed Guard. He sounds hopeful and excited in these letters, saying that he has heard good things about the
Armed Guard: "Some of the officers say it's the best branch of the Navy. There are some men who have gone all over the world,
so maybe I'll get a chance to see some of it."
On August 12, 1943, Thorpe writes to Lena and her family to notify them that he has moved to San Diego, California for Armed
Guard School. He tells her that he has been made Gun Captain of Crew 1800.
On October 31, 1943, he writes from Treasure Island, San Francisco and tells Lena that he attended a church service. On November
17, from San Francisco, he writes that the "fog got so thick here the other night we had to cut holes in it before we could
walk around."
On December 25, 1943, he writes to Lena from Seattle, Washington. He writes, "I'm spending today on the ship and it doesn't
seem one bit like Christmas."
Between January 14, 1944 and January 5, 1945, he travels back and forth from the South Pacific and San Franciso. In these
letters, he dicusses the weather, the food, and how he spends his time swimming, fishing, seeing shows, and exploring. During
this time he was a crewmember aboard the SS Coast Skipper. One letter during this time period is written by Thorpe to Bill
Wade, Thorpe's nephew.
On February 28, 1945, he writes from Long Beach, California, where he had been assigned to a new ship, the MS Star Knot. He
explains that he likes the new ship because it has a radio in the quarters for entertainment.
On April 12, 1945, he writes from the Philippine Islands and describes the hot weather, seeing shows, seeing a cock fight,
and trading with natives. He writes:
We saw a good show last night. Gung Ho. Have you seen it? It was about Carlson's Marine Raiders, and their raid on Makin in the Gilbert Islands. There were quite a few Philippine people watching the show, and they really got a bang out of it when a Jap would get killed. It was almost like the cheering section at a football game. Guess some of them didn't have it too easy when the Japs were here.
On May 16, 1945, he writes to Lena to let her know that he is in the Dutch East Indies (modern day Indonesia). In a letter
dated June 19, 1945, he describes riding in a plane for the first time. He also writes about interacting with a native group
that he refers to as "head hunters."
On July 10, 1945, he writes about an incident with a suicidal crewmate:
We had a little excitement on the ship yesterday. One of the fellows on the merchant crew had a few too many and went off the beam a bit. He pulled a knife and cut another kid's face up a bit so they hand-cuffed him and chained him to a part of the ship. The chain was long enough to reach to the edge of the ship and he tried to jump over the side. They stopped him and locked him in his room and about an hour later he set fire to his bed and tried to kill himself that way. They put the fire out and brought him back out on deck and put a shorter piece of chain on him where they could watch him. After it got dark he wrapped the chain around his neck, rolled off his cot and tried to hang himself. After that they had him taken off the ship.
On August 21, 1945, he writes from San Francisco after making a 32-day trip back to the U.S. He writes, "Guess we can be thankful
though that the Japs surrendered before we had to make an invasion... We were about two days this side of Hawaii when we heard
it over the radio so we didn't do much celebrating. Guess they about tore this town apart."
He remains in San Francisco until February of 1946, when he has earned enough points to be discharged. During this time, he
writes about spending time in San Francisco. The last correspondence in this collection is dated February 15, 1946, where
Thorpe writes that he will have to spend another week in the Navy working in the mess hall.
There are no restrictions on the use of this material except where previously copyrighted material is concerned. It is the
responsibility of the researcher to obtain all permissions.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Correspondence -- World War, 1939-1945
World War (1939-1945)
United States. -- Navy
World War (1939-1945) -- Pacific islands