Phil Wood's Letters
Letter #18
The Marine Corps Is Losing Money On Me
To Margretta & Gretchen
February 1943
Monday night[1]
Dear Girls,
This 50 [dollars] is just part of my balance for the month. With the allotment & all taken out, I still have $40 clear in my pocket – and about a $10 mess bill. I think the Marine Corps is losing money on me hand over fist. But it doesn’t worry me – really it doesn’t.
There seems to be a possibility of a leave in perhaps 3 weeks, for about a week if I get it – and I may not, on account of these court-martial duties. Then I will come to New York in all probability – in fact, surely. And have Rusty come on there. But don’t plan on it, because I’m not at all sure of it, and won’t be able to find out for perhaps another week.
I’m in my room here at Paradise Point, and it really is wonderful; the only hitch is that the battalion will probably stay in Tent City – my mailing address is still there of course – and I can only make it over here on weekends. It’s 15 miles as the Jeep flies.[2] Incidentally we have plenty of them, and run around in them all the time. They are swell – all the stories are true, too, about their capacities.
Just got weighed and I’m 150, so I’ve gained 12 pounds since I’ve been in the Corps. And not quite all of it between the ears, either.
Too bad about Al going, Gretch, but nothing could have pleased him more – and that about the grandmother and the pin sounds good to me.[3] Seems as though she ought to have worn a fine lace shawl and told you about Al’s didoes as a child – did she?[4]
Love,
Phil
Footnotes
[1] Original not dated, believed to be February 1943.
[2] In its early days, Camp Lejeune was often called Tent City – most structures were simply canvas tents. More permanent buildings, such as the officer’s housing at Paradise Point, sprang up while the First Separate Battalion was training.
[3] Al Tate finally managed to enlist in the Army; Gretchen’s romantic designs were put on ice.
[4] “didoes” – mischievous tricks or antics.
Phil Wood’s earlier mentions of needing to best his platoon in physical prowess went a bit further than simply demonstrating leadership. His weight (or lack thereof) was a source of constant consternation to medical officers – he was, after all, over six feet tall. Wood was frequently under observation to make sure he could handle the physical rigors of field duty, and was issued a number of medical waivers excusing his weight and chest expansion.
Albert Tate Junior, a 1941 graduate of George Washington University, was studying law at Yale with Phil Wood. His initial attempts to join the military were frustrated by his poor eyesight, but eventually the Army cottoned on to his skill set. Tate served with the 210th Counter Intelligence Corps Detachment in support of the 24th, 33rd, and 68th Infantry Divisions; his military career took him to Australia, New Guinea, the Philippines and eventually Japan.
After the war, Tate returned to Yale and received his law degree in 1947. He moved back to his native Louisiana, established a firm in Ville Platte, served nine years on the state Supreme Court and five on the Fifth Circuit Court. A “brilliant, compassionate, diligent judge” also known for his “Cajun humor,” Tate died 1986.