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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.

Navy Department to Susan Prowell Graeff

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC09611.078.01 Author/Creator: Navy Department Place Written: Great Lakes, Illinois Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 15 September 1943 Pagination: 2p. : envelope Height: 26.5 cm, Width: 20.5 cm Order a Copy

One letter from R.R.M. Emmet to Susan Prowell Graeff dated September 15, 1943. The letter is a form letter that informs mothers that her son arrived at the Naval training station and that the navy "gladly accepts the responsibility for his welfare and security" and that he will be completing his recruit training for future duties. He will not be permitted visitors until after his fourth week of training known as "Service Week." First to prevent the spread of disease, and secondly so that he can "overcome homesickness." The letter details his visitation hours and those that may visit him. The letter projects his training to last from six to twelve weeks, and that he will not be allowed to leave the station but relays the amenities available to him on site. After completing training he is permitted a leave before being relocated. The letter relays the Navy's intentions for his training and how to reach their son suggesting that the family write often, and that unanswered letters are "not a cause for alarm...for you will be notified immediately in case of his serious illness." Signed, R.R.M. Emmet, Captain, U.S. Navy, Commanding.

Graeff, Leonard Eugene, 1920-2016
Graeff, Raymond James, 1889-1963
Graeff, Susan Prowell, 1890-1967
Emmet, R.R.M., fl. 1943

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