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At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Stone, Robert L. (1921-2009) to Jacob Stone and Beatrice Stone

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC09620.094 Author/Creator: Stone, Robert L. (1921-2009) Place Written: March Field, California Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 9 May 1944 Pagination: 2 p. ; 25.9 x 15.2 cm. Order a Copy PDF Download(s): Transcript of document

Addressed to "Dad + Bee." He's officially on a crew in squadron T-3. The pilot and co-pilot are great, but they haven't met the rest of the crew. He's back in classes and they're boring the second time through. He saw the Bob Hope Show, and he "carried on" for an hour and a half after he went off air.

The letter is dated "Tuesday." "Letters in a Box," notes the letter was sent on May 9, 1944.

Robert "Bob" Stone was a Bombardier in World War II and served in the Pacific Front. These letters, were compiled by Bob's wife, Sheila M. Stone, and Ali Adair into a book named Letters in a Box. This book details Bob's service to his country, and his life after the war. Bob's letters were donated to the collection by his wife, Sheila M. Stone, in 2017. It contains a variety of letters, postcards, patches, pins, photographs, and scrapbooks that relate to Bob's training and combat missions.

[Draft Created by Crowdsourcing]
Tuesday
Dear Dad & Bee -
Well at long last I'm on a crew. I'm now in [inserted: Squadron] T-3 which is the old 607th Squadron, which is swell because I know nearly all the instructors down there. Although I don't know them too well, I think that my pilot and co-pilot are good gents. As yet, we have no navigators and I haven't met our enlisted men. You see, yesterday was the first day I started going to school and as yet I haven't flown.
Saw the Bob Hope show last night and it was a real treat. His broadcast lasted for half an hour and he carried on for an hour and a half after he went off the air. He's really a swell comedian and he's got a great show with Francis Langford, Colonna, Vera Vague, and Stan Kenton's band.
Must stop now cause I'm writing from class - most boring to have to go through this stuff for the second time.
All love - Bobby

[2]
Lt. R. L. Stone 0-696041
Box 1416
March Field, California

Lt. Comdr. J. C. Stone
375 Park Avenue
New York City
N. Y.

Stone, Robert L., 1921-2009
Stone, Beatrice Hecht Marks, 1901-1962
Stone, Jacob, fl. 1894-1985

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