The collection is comprised primarily of letters, with some accompanying photographs, written by the five oldest brothers in the Charles T. Kennedy family to their parents in St. Louis while they served in the military during World War II. The letters are arranged chronologically and date from 1941 to 1945; the bulk of the letters date from 1943 to 1944. There are gaps in the papers: September 1942 to January 1943, February to May 1945, and August to December 1945. Envelopes are included to verify dates of the letters and the locations/assignments of the letter writers.

The majority of the letters are addressed to the brothers’ parents, often including the youngest three siblings who lived at home. Several letters are addressed to their sisters, May and Kate, often thanking them for packages of baked goods and candy. Only a few letters were addressed to their youngest brother, Paul (Paulie). Robert and Theo Kennedy wrote most of the letters, dating from February 1943 to June 1945. Carl wrote many letters, but he entered the military later than his brothers and he was married, often writing to his wife Helen when finding the time to write. Thomas was the first brother to join the military, but there is only one letter written by him in the collection (28 June 1943), although he is mentioned by his brothers often. Lawrence wrote several letters while he was in training and between job on various ships.

The brothers’ letters generally explain where they are, when allowed by censors, how they are adjusting to the military or new locations, and describe their daily routines. They were all baseball fans and many references are made to both the Cardinals and the Browns. The brothers mention news of friends from home and discuss men they have met in service. Despite only having letters written by the brothers, it is possible to determine what was happening at home and to keep up with each family member. The brothers often asked questions about previous letters that they received. For example, they mentioned their mother travelling to Springfield, Illinois; their oldest sister May getting her first job after high school; and Kate joining a Red Cross club. While there is only one letter from Tom, his location and assignments are noted in his brothers’ letters.

Lawrence visited home more often than his four brothers due to the difference between serving in the Merchant Marines and the other military branches, as he was not restricted to naval bases when not employed on a ship. Occasionally, one or two brothers were on leave in St. Louis at the same time. For Mother’s Day in 1944, Tom, Lawrence, and Theo were all home (30 May 1944). Carl had orders to ship to the Pacific Theatre and he saw Tom in California (9 Aug 1944). Robert also saw Tom in California when he returned to the U.S. (1 Sept 1944). Robert travelled on a weekend pass from Camp Bradford to Greensboro, North Carolina, to see Theo before he shipped out to England (6 Nov 1944).

There are a few letters written by relatives other than the five Kennedy brothers. The first two items in the collection are from other relatives: a Miami postcard packet from Catherine’s brother, Nick; and a letter addressed to Uncle Carl and Aunt Catherine from Joe at Camp Livingston (no last name provided). Pat Kelley sent a Florida postcard packet to Charles and Catherine on February 21, 1943. Charles Kennedy had two aunts who resided in Springfield, Illinois: Mamie (Mary) and Nellie. Mamie wrote to Catherine (8 Mar 1944) and to Carl (12 Mar 1944). Carl wrote back to his great aunt explaining the work he was training to do as a navigator and how the Army operated with so many men (15 Mar 1944). Robert and Theo also wrote to their aunts (13 February, 5 April, and 25 July 1944). Mamie died on March 28, 1944, and several subsequent letters mention her passing.

There are only three letters written between the military brothers. Possibly they forwarded the letters to their parents in another letter, or they were received at home during a furlough. Theo wrote to Rob on July 26, 1943; Rob sent Theo birthday greetings on September 5, 1943; and Bob sent Carl a V-mail dated ca. February 5, 1944.

Lawrence was the only brother writing home in 1942. However, he is also the most infrequent correspondent with several large gaps between letters as voyages were often long and mail was difficult to send and receive. From February to April 1942, he wrote while training in St. Petersburg, Florida, about his experiences such as seeing Helen Keller give a speech (11 Mar 1942). In May 1942, Lawrence was on the S.S. Hermis when it was torpedoed by a German U-boat. His first letter after the sinking is dated June 13, 1942, from Jamaica to tell his parents that he is fine. He did not mention the incident until June 26th, when he explained that he lost his papers, specifically his birth certificate, and clothes when the ship went down and is waiting for replacements. He also reported that the “few fish bites,” possibly shark bites, he had on his arms had healed.

In February 1943, Lawrence was in St. Louis and in March, he went to Houston, Texas. The ship he found there was torpedoed in early May (14 May 1943), leaving him in Belize before returning to St. Louis once again during the summer. In August 1943, Lawrence injured his knee aboard his next ship while still in port and spent approximately three months at the Marine Hospital in Norfolk, Virginia. In January 1944, after a visit home, Lawrence returned to Norfolk to search for another ship. In his letters, he often referred to how he was paid, the types of leave that Merchant Marines received, and housing options. Lawrence worked on at least three Liberty ships which travelled to Europe and North Africa and the number of letters received from him diminished significantly (no letters from February to April, November to December 1944). His letters from aboard ships were censored. The last letter from Lawrence is dated January 25, 1945.

Robert’s letters are frequent, even when stationed in south Pacific war zones, and provide details on his training, duties, studying for advancement tests, how mail reached combat zones, and what his crew did in its free time. His first letter is dated February 28, 1943, from Rhode Island, and his last letter is dated June 17, 1945, with a photograph of him and his friend Bill LeClerc. In November 1943, Rob crossed the equator and was initiated into the realm of Neptunis Rex. He soon realized that V-mail took longer to deliver than airmail, so he sent most of his letters home via airmail, but there are a few V-mail letters (e.g. 14 Dec 1943). While at Camp Bradford, Rob found fellow St. Louisan Rudy Kunza assigned to his tent (17 Oct 1944). In December 1944, he described the Fargo Building in Boston which had been transformed into a naval receiving station with living quarters. Rob often sent money home with instructions for his father to buy bonds and to deposit into a savings account. Charles also took care of filing income tax for Theo and Rob.

Theo’s first letter home is dated ca. March 23, 1943, from Signal Corps training in Greeley, Colorado. He spent more time in specialized training in the U.S. than his brothers, from March 1943 to September 1944, and wrote home regularly. Theo kept his parents informed of his daily and weekend activities, as he often had weekends free from training. He went fishing in Colorado and swimming at Delray Beach in Florida. Theo and his friends had cameras, so he sent many photographs home, however, only a few letters still have the enclosed photographs with them (12 May 1943, 19 Aug 1943, 1 Dec 1943). He discussed many friends from St. Louis and Illinois including, but not limited to: Chuck Bonte (18 May 1943), Del Heine (25 Aug 1943, 11 Jan 1944, 21 Aug 1944 , several others), Bob Landon (16 Oct 1943), Pat Shea (18 Feb 1944), Ike Shea (20 Apr 1943, 18 Feb 1944, 5 June 1944), Bob Schumert (25 Feb 1943), Bill Schumert (21 Aug 1944), Bob Tucker (25 Feb 1943), and Harry Ford (5 May 1943, 16 Mar 1944, 21 Aug 1944, and several others).

Carl wrote his first letter from Sioux City, Iowa, on December 4, 1943, when he was with the 81st College Training Detachment at Morningside College. He explained that when he had time, he wrote to his wife Helen first and hoped she would share his circumstances with them. Carl did not write as often Rob and Theo, but his letters were quite long and thoughtful. In his first letter he commented upon how complimentary people are when they hear that there are five Kennedys in the military. On October 14, 1944, Carl congratulated his mother for winning a war bond when she was chosen “as the typical War Mother of St. Louis.”

Carl trained as a navigator in Iowa and described his first flights (20 Feb 1944). Carl’s path changed when the Army Air Force cancelled the cadet program (college detachments) and he was ultimately classified for draftsman technical training overseas while at Camp Kearns (7 June 1944). He described his new situation with Helen and Teresa at Salt Lake City, where Helen briefly found employment and shared an apartment with another military wife. The situation was temporary, as expected, and the young family left Camp Kearns by July 14th (13 July 1944). Carl wrote that he would soon cross the International Date Line, having already crossed the equator (18 Aug 1944). Ultimately, he was stationed in New Guinea where he described his living quarters; rations; duties; and off-duty activities which included watching a baseball game between major league players, with the Cardinals’ Ervin Dusak, and minor league players (2 Oct 1944); and hunting in the jungle (25 Oct 1944). In November, he was reassigned to the Philippines and described the state of its residents and his construction duties (22 Nov 1944). He wrote his last letter on July 26, 1945, and mentioned that he hoped to locate Tom. It is unclear whether Carl was still in the Philippines or possibly in Hawaii, but the letter was censored, indicating that he was not in the U.S.