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Boots' Letter NOTE: The following letter was copied from the USS Campbell Newsletter, October 11, 1943. Lieutenant Commander R. S. Lecky, Campbell’s executive officer, wrote the original seven-page letter in longhand. To the best of my knowledge, it is the only surviving letter that Sinbad received along with a copy of his reply that survived World War II.
Aug. 18, 1943 Dear Sinbad, We read
about you and saw your picture in a magazine. Mom said to me, “Mr. Boots,
he's just like you. He must be your twin. We must send him your picture.” So
Mom took my picture and here it is. Say,
boy, you really must rate on that ship, since you are the only man
on board whom the captain cites and calls by name. But, boy, does
it burn me up. You see, our Bud went off on his ship right after
Pearl Harbor and I begged so hard to go, but he just patted my head
and said, “You can't go, Mr. Boots.
You stay here and take care of Mom. I must settle.” Then
he said, “Besides, there's no room on a battleship for a little fellow
like you.” No room on Battleship X for me! Say, boy, your ship must be
much bigger than a battleship, for they took you on and you are five pounds
bigger’n me. Mom
says I'm bench-legged. What's bench-legged? I'm black and tan and
white with dark brown eyes, and Mom says I'm barrel chested just
like you. What's barrel chested, Sinbad? Mom says she loved your
story and suspects you're a reprobate, a rounder and a seasoned old
salt, pickled in alcohol. Are you? And she says, "But,
Mr. Boots, you're a refined little gent'man, a landlubber, and your
morals are above Sinbad's." What’s morals? What
I’m writing is a military secret between you and me. I cross my heart
and swear I’ll never tell if you do what I ask. You see, Morn, and I
want to know something about Bud. When you are sailing the seas in your big
ship, keep a sharp lookout for Battleship X, because Bud is gunnery officer
on her. You will recognize him because nobody else on earth looks like Bud
or smiles like him. He will smile at you, for he smiles at all little dogs,
and you will know it’s Bud. They call him “Corky” in the Navy, so keep your ears cocked, and if you should see him, will you, Sinbad, let me know? I will die a martyr before I tell our secret. Your
twin in the service, Sinbad Writes to Mr. Boots At sea (to you)
Dear Mr. Boots--Say, that was such a nice letter you wrote to me
and I do appreciate your kindness and thoughtfulness. It is a pleasure
to know you for your life story is interesting to me just as mine
has been made interesting to other people. Secretly, though, Mr.
Boots, I'm just a plain ole dog who has more honest-to-goodness real
friends than anyone I ever heard of, and to me that's what really
counts... You're
real lucky to have Mom and Bud. You see, I don't know where I came
from except that I'm told I was just a puppy when I came to this
ship six years ago. Now, sailors are the hardest working, most
patriotic and fun loving men' in the world. We get on the beach and
due to the strong salt air we have inhaled constantly for weeks on
end; naturally we want something to quench our thirst. A few beers
are tasty and I, like my buddies, enjoy them immensely. Concerning
my morals, I would say they are good, Mr. Boots, because I have a
slant on life that is probably a little different from your viewpoint.
My life, as I see it, is for a group of hard fighting, hard working
men doing everything in their power to the extent of sacrificing
their lives to bring peace and unity to this world. My work is to
keep up their spirits, to keep smiles on their faces, their hearts
light and carefree. It's a big job to work for more than 200 men--real
American men If
I should ever run into Bud Ward, I'll surely tell him I'm your friend.
I'll bet he'll pat me and hug me around the neck, but I know what
he'll be thinking. He'll be hugging me because he misses you so much.
That, Mr. Boots, is another one my jobs. The boys out here have left
their best friends behind, just like Mr. Bud did, so I try to squeeze
into a little corner of the empty space in their hearts. Most people
say I’m an enlisted man’s dog. I consider
the officers my good friends too, but they don’t take as much time to
play with me and I feel much more carefree with the men and I never make a
mess where it caused any trouble. So you can see that I am surrounded by enlisted
men practically all the time. During
action, of which we have had aplenty, the terrific noise of the guns
and explosives bothers me quite a bit. Not that I'm scared, because
I know that my buddies have trained their hearts out and will take
care of our ship. But I'm afraid sometimes, just worried sick over
what might happen to some of them. I usually get in one of the boy’s bunk and place my paws over my ears to help protect
them from the noise. After everything quiets down, I come up on the topsides
prancing and barking to bring my buddies’ feelings back to normal quickly. I
can't bark worth a darn, Mr. Boots, can you? I suppose it must be
the sea life I've led. I have been in a number of countries and have
coins from every one of them on my collar. I am sending you some
for your collar. I have been north of the Arctic Circle and the certificate
proving the fact hangs in our Mess Deck. I am an honorary member
of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, with papers duly signed and sealed
at an Army camp on the fighting front. See how
swell people have treated me? That’s why I do all I can for them. In closing,
I’ll let you in on a secret just between you and me and my buddies on
the ship because I don’t want it spread around. You know how the boys
like to nickname each other, well, instead of calling me Sinbad all the time
they sometimes call me “Stinky” but I just ignore them and pass
it off with a shrug! It has been fun talking to you and Mom, Mr. Boots. Keep your chin up and do all you can to take care of Mom until that happy day when Mr. Bud will come smiling home. In the meantime I must do my daily work so until we meet when you share my bone, if you care to…
Best of luck, Sinbad [NOTE: Sinbad’s letter was signed by his own footprint and it was mailed to “Boots” Ward – Sinbad’s twin.]
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| Copyright 2010 Mike Walling |