Regrettably, the letter once contained in this envelope has been lost.
Herbert Darmstadter was nineteen years old when he addressed this envelope to Mrs. Schlesinger. In the past year, he had seen combat on the island of Namur as a rifleman with Company B, 24th Marines, had served at regimental headquarters, had returned to his line company and experienced the worst battle in Marine Corps history in the invasion of Iwo Jima. Not only that, but he had been wounded in action on March 4, 1945 – this letter was addressed from a convalescent station, and was likely an assurance not to worry. The relationship of Mrs. Schlesinger to the Darmstadters is not known, but she lived not far from Herbert’s home address in Chicago, so she was likely at least a family friend.
