Finding Aid for the Peter J. Nardi Second World War correspondence 2017.699.w.r
Lee Feldman
Center for American War Letters Archives
12/12/17
Leatherby Libraries
Chapman University
Orange, CA 92866
speccoll@chapman.edu
Contributing Institution:
Center for American War Letters Archives
Title: Peter J. Nardi Second World War correspondence
Creator:
Nardi, Peter J.
source:
Nardi, Peter M.
source:
Nardi, Celestina
source:
Crank, Donna Nardi
Identifier/Call Number: 2017.699.w.r
Physical Description:
.08 Linear feet
(1 folder)
Date (bulk): 1944 September 1 - 1945 May 27
Abstract: This collection contains fourty-four v-mail correspondences from and a photograph of Cpt. Peter J. Nardi, USA during the Second
World War.
Physical Description: On the eleventh letter, dated "25 April", a purple postage stamp at the bottom of the correspondence obscures a large section
of the writing.
Language of Material: In the bottom-right corner of the photograph, written in Italian are the words, "Per sempre il tuo, Pierino", which translates
to "Yours forever, Peter".
Container: WWII 19
Container: 11
Container: 1
This collection is open for research.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Peter M. Nardi and Donna Nardi Crank.
This collection is arranged by material type, author, and date.
Major Peter J. Nardi, United States Army (5/11/1915 - 8/21/1988) was born in New York City to his parents Pietro and Celestina
Nardi, who emigrated from near Parma, Italy. He graduated from Stuyvesant High School in 1932, Manhattan College in 1936,
and New York Medical College in 1942. During the Second World War, he enlisted in the Army as a physician and was stationed
at the 129th General Hospital in Liverpool, England. Nardi was in charge of the dispensary, laboratory, and blood transfusion
bank there. He specialized in infectious diseases and eventually achieved the rank of Major. After the war, he went into general
practice in the Bronx, New York City, until the 1960s, when he became an anesthesiologist at Pelham Bay General Hospital.
He retired in 1974 and moved to Deltona, Florida with his wife, Jeanne. Nardi died in Deltona on August 21, 1988.
[Item title, Box number, Folder number], Peter J. Nardi Second World War correspondence (2017.699.w.r), Center for American
War Letters Archives, Chapman University, CA.
This collection contains 44 V-Mail correspondences from Capt. Peter J. Nardi, USA to his mother during the Second World War.
Also included is one photograph of Nardi smiling, wearing glasses, and dressed in military uniform. The words "Per sempre
il tuo, Pierino" are written in the bottom-right corner of the photo, which translates from Italian to, "Yours forever, Peter".
In his letters, he writes to his mother about his daily affairs working in the laboratory, the unpleasant weather, corresponding
with friends fighting the war, desiring to come home soon, the slow pace at which mail is sent and recieved, receiving care
packages, attending weekly mass and church choir practice, the deaths of friends, the fluctuating number of patients, waiting
for the war's conclusion, studying more about medicine (specifically pathology), appreciating life in such a desperate time,
the slowly improving climate, making the most of his afternoons horseback riding, bicycling, or traveling, attending lectures,
visiting the Inter-Allied Medical Meeting at the Royal Society of Medicine in London, his sadness over the death of President
Franklin D. Roosevelt, taking care of a new influx of patients, the Allies making their way into Germany, telling his mother
and father not to worry so much ("I want to see both of you strong and happy and healthy. We should be - we must mom."), the
unknown progress of the Allies in the Pacific, and the surrender of the Nazis and the victory in Europe.
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. For further copyright information, please contact the archivist.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
World War (1939-1945)
Correspondence -- World War, 1939-1945
World War (1939-1945) -- Hospitals
World War (1939-1945) -- Victory in Europe Day (VE Day)
World War (1939-1945) -- England
Nardi, Peter M.
Nardi, Celestina
Crank, Donna Nardi