Jolley Family Letters, 1943 - 1945

This collection consists of 12 letters written by Amy, William Jr., and Jack while William and Jack were in the Armed Services during World War II – William with the 363rd Infantry, 91st Division in Italy and Jack with the 642nd Engineer Company in New Guinea. Amy’s two letters, dated July 12 and July 29, 1944, to William were returned as he was initially declared missing in action and then confirmed dead on July 24, 1944. His last letter, dated July 17, 1944, was written to Amy and her family from “Somewhere in Italy” and mentions that he’d been in combat. The bulk of the letters in this collection were written by Jack and describe the heat and the natives of New Guinea. He also described how a Japanese bomber broke apart as it was attacking the airstrip. The postcard and a note card were written to Jack by his niece, Amy’s daughter Jessie. The final three letters were written to Mr. and Mrs. Jolley by friends. The first, dated May 5, 1944, was from James Beresford serving on the H. M. S. Kilchattan based in London, England. In it he regretfully declines an invitation to visit the Jolleys in Asbury Park, but explained that he did not get the invitation until after his return to England. The second letter, dated September 19, 1944, was written by Hilda Roberts of Australia stating that she had a letter from Jack saying that William was missing. She offered to “make life happier for him [Jack] while in this part of the world.” The final letter was written by Lt. Clarence R. Truscott of the H.M.S. Kilmington based in London, England. It is a chatty letter describing V-E Day while on board ship and wonders how his wife and son will react once he is home to stay. There is also an “Enlisted Man’s Pass” made out in the name of Private Jack Jolley for a visit to Washington D. C. from 1730 (5:30pm) on February 13, 1943 to 0630 (6:30am) on February 15, 1943. There are two photographs in the collection. The first is an undated picture of William “Bill” and Jack together in uniform. The second is a group photo taken on Leyte in the Philippine Islands in 1944. The caption on the back of the photo says “Philipino family, Jack’s driver and his 2 sergeants.”