This collection contains correspondence from LCpl. John J. Petchel, USMC to Anne Bau while aboard a ship in the Caribbean before and during the Cuban Missile Crisis and during the Vietnam War.

Lance Corporal John J. Petchel, United States Marine Corps (b. 10/15/1942) was born the oldest of ten children of Leo John Petchel and June Adams Petchel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he went to school at John Bosco High School and immediately joined the Marine Corps. His father Leo also served, drafted at the age of 28 in 1942 in Milwaukee, but only went as far as Fort Ord in California.February 1966 last letter: used the phone a great deal while John was stationed at the USMC Air Station in Beaufort, S.C. and in July 1966 we got married. In September of '66 John received orders to report to the USMC Recruit Depot in San Diego CA. We stayed in San Diego for a year studying the new computerized air defense system at the Conair site outside the "back gate". Our daughter was born in September of '67 and when she was 10 days old we moved to Tustin and the "Lighter Than Air" base where the large air ship hangers were. The class from Conair was sent to Litten Industries in the Tustin area to pick up a computer system that Litten had built and on New Year's Eve 1967 we traveled to Yuma AZ. and the USMC Air Station (shared with the public air port) to install and operate the new defense system. During June of 1970 John was Honorably Discharged from the USMC and we moved to Phoenix, AZ.

0.4 Linear Feet (8 folders)

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