Our Collection

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.

Gerber, Jack, fl. 1941-1943 to Dorothy Silbiger

Order a pdf of this item here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC09684.08 Author/Creator: Gerber, Jack, fl. 1941-1943 Place Written: Camp Davis, North Carolina Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 1 June 1943 Pagination: 2 p. : envelope Height: 26.5 cm, Width: 20 cm Order a Copy

One letter from Jack Gerber to Dorothy Silbiger dated June 1, 1943. Jack starts explaining that each letter he writes tends to get written over the course of a week when he catches little breaks to work on it. He complains that with the pace of classes his handwriting is getting bad as he struggles to write quickly enough to take notes. Jack also writes he will be a real smart guy once they see each other again if he retains most of what he is learning. The topics include; surveying, map reading, airplane recognition, motor transportation, rifles, telephones, radio, electricity, and a lot on radar. He wonders what is so great about being married as a lot of friends are doing it. He wrote the Y (YMCA, Young Men's Christian Association) a thank you letter because they sent him a gift. He also writes that every two weeks some girl starts a correspondence with him. He wishes the ladies would send a picture early on during the correspondence.

Gerber, Jack, fl. 1941-1943
Silbiger, Dorothy, 1922-1979

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources