“Peace Time on the USS Barnett”
“Peace Time on the USS Barnett”
PFC. Paul Addis Goodwin
Date: July 23rd, 1941
Location: USS Barnett
Unit: 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment
Dear Aunt Nannie,
I was glad to get your letter this morning, it takes so long for letters to get back and forth that I almost lose track of what goes on back there. Letters from home are getting to me now though and mom and dad are sending me the “Charlestown Courier” which tells me a lot of things that would take forever to write in a letter.
I have had a good look at the ocean by now although we haven't been in any really stormy weather yet. We did have some pretty rough water though for several days; the waves were 5 or 6 ft high which made the ship roll some. We got to go swimming one day a week or two ago. About half of us, including me, got pretty badly sunburned but everything is ok now.
You would think it would be awfully hot down south but out on the ocean it is comfortable almost all the time. It seems a little cooler here in Norfolk. About half the Marines are on liberty tonight, we got paid today so they will no doubt have quite a time of it tonight
.
I saw some small flying fish the other day, they jump out of the water and fly over a hundred feet sometimes. The most interesting though were porpoises; they swim along beside the ship and jump about two feet out of the water every so often. From the ship they look like they were about four feet long. They seem to enjoy swimming just in front of the prow of the ship. They swim easily and can run circles around us even when the ship is going at full speed. They are protected by law because they eat refuse and garbage in the water and will attack and kill a shark on sight.
Now that we are on the ocean, letters will probably get to me a little quicker if they are sent in care of the postmaster of New York as I have it written on the envelope instead of Parris Island.
Thanks for writing,
Paul
Biography:
Paul Addis Goodwin was born September 10th, 1920 in Charlestown, Indiana. His parents were Robin and Nettie Goodwin, and he had 2 brothers, one older and one younger. Charlestown is a small town outside of Louisville, KY just over the border in Indiana and is a pretty rural town today; I can only imagine that it would have been in that time as well.
At the age of 20, Paul joined the Marine Corp and was off to Parris Island for training. He was attached to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, and this letter was written around the time that he left Parris Island and was on the USS Barnett off of the coast of Norfolk in Virginia. There is no battle content as the United States had not gotten involved in WWII yet and would not join until later that year on December 7th, 1941 when the US was bombed at Pearl Harbor.
In this letter, he talks about daily life on the ship and about some of the fun activities that the Marines got to do while out at sea such as: watching nature, going swimming, or even going out on the town when they were in port.
After the war started, the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine regiment was set to be part of the invasion of Guadalcanal starting on August 7th, 1942. This would be a fierce engagement which would last around 6 months and claim the lives of over 7,100 Americans and 19,200 Japanese soldiers. Paul Addis Goodwin would be one of these casualties and was killed in action at the battle for Henderson Field, one of the most important parts of the Guadalcanal Campaign providing a working airstip on the island for the Allies. This letter was found among his belongings and was sent back home to his family after he passed. We thank Paul for the ultimate sacrifice for this country that he made to ensure that we could all be free.
