The following letters were written from Ft. Riley, Kansas and Korea.

I was drafted into the army on July 7, 1952 at Ft. Sheridan, Ill. I was sent to Ft. Riley, Kansas and went to basic training for 8 weeks. After basic training I attended Intermediate Radio Operator School for 16 weeks.

I was given a leave after Ft. Riley. I then reported to Ft. Lawton in Seattle, Washington.

I sailed from Seattle, Washington to Korea via Camp Drake in Japan.

The letters were written from Korea to my mother and father in Calumet City, IL. Intermixed are a few letter to other relatives.

Much of my letters were responses to letters that I received from my mother.

All of my letters to my parents are not included here. This fact accounts for some of the gaps in my letters.

I did not know that my mother was saving my letters so I was surprised when she gave them to me a couple of years after I returned home to Calumet City.

The letters were in a box on a shelf until I decided to print them.

Edward Pierce