Letter from Robert Davis, the Philippines, shared by Bob Davis of Winfield Township

Bob Davis of Winfield Township wasn't quite 3 years old when he received this letter from his father, Robert Davis, who commanded the LSM 337 when it was involved in liberating the Philippines. He writes:

My mother received the letter in San Diego and tucked it away and forgot about it, just happy that he came back from the war. I never knew about it until shortly after my father's death in 1991 when my mother found it while going through all their documents. She had it mounted and framed and gave it to me as a Christmas present. Probably the finest gift I have ever received!

8 September 1945

Dear Son,

Yes, Bobbie, I know you are not quite old enough to read this without help from Mommie, but I want you to have a small memo from a free and happy country, the Philippines. My writing to you makes me realize, more than ever, the time-old adage, "Time and tide wait for no man." I thank God you are still young enough not to realize the horrors and privations of warfare, but hope you and the rest of our future leaders can profit from our errors and keep an everlasting peace.

To the youth and the uninitiated far removed from the battlefields, war has a glamorous visage, which must be either changed or not permitted to begin. So my son, if and when you ever get the urge that war is a game or adventure, you and I shall have a nice journey to the proverbial woodshed. By these words I do not mean we should let anyone endanger our freedoms. If that happens, let's hit them with everything we have.

This is goodbye again and I am in the high hopes of seeing you in the very near future. God bless you Son, and help you to grow up with courage, faith and freedom.

All my love,

Dad