January 1, 2021

Minnesota

Well, here comes the last year-end recap of this project! The war will come to an end in 1945, but Dip does not know that of course. It’s been almost a year and a half since Lt. Dorance Alquist set sail from San Francisco. If you remember, at this time last year Dip had just joined the 8 Field Artillery Battalion as a part of the 25th Infantry Division of the Army. As luck would have it, they had just been sent to New Zealand to rest after their hard won battles at Guadalcanal and New Georgia.

Dip spent two months getting the most out of Auckland, NZ that he could. He made fast friends with the other officers and found local girls to play tennis and go dancing any time he left the camp. Indeed, the entire year for Dorance was a relatively peaceful one. In early March, the fun and games were over though. The battalion was sent to New Caledonia for training and there they stayed. In a year that seems to echo our own experience of the past year, Dip hunkered down and stayed on his isolated island for the past 9 months with only distant communication to his family and friends. That makes for a lot of letters but not that much real news.

He did get plenty of training though; he learned how to be an effective officer and many other skills besides, he even was Battery Commander a couple times! His favorite was the flight training for aerial observation. He was even allowed to pilot the plane himself and put it through all kinds of maneuvers. He told me many years later how important his army training in leadership skills had been to his life. He was certainly a natural communicator and had the ability to make fast friends wherever he went. He was also a joker through and through so don’t take everything that he has written too seriously! For instance, when he is telling Marion about the French girl he is taking sailing it is certainly a fanciful joke. The picture I included in the December 1st letter describes the little 4-year-old girl he is showing his camera to as the “French girl” in his caption.

And when he sends a letter with almost the entire thing censored and cut to pieces, remember that he is one of the officers doing the censoring (see July 7, 1944).

His “Boy Scout” life on New Caledonia has come to an end in December, though. As you saw in the last letter, he enjoyed Christmas dinner aboard the U.S.S. Latimer. Ocean travel takes a long time and he’ll tell us all about it in January but he is entering into an entirely different new year.

About two years ago General MacArthur was forced to leave the U.S. territories in the South Pacific and take up residence in Australia. He vowed to return and liberate the people of the South Pacific from the Japanese and now he finally has the forces and material to do it. The 8th Field Artillery Battalion is a part of that force and Lt. Alquist is one of the ranking officers in that battalion. Over the next year we will follow Dip as he advances across the South Pacific and towards Japan. We have the benefit of hindsight but he certainly has no idea how this action will resolve.

At this point in the war it is clear to most that the United States and the Allies will be victorious but the Japanese will not back down without a prolonged fight. Every inch of ground or sea will be hard won. I am convinced that if Dorance had not decided to stay on as a Trainer at Fort Bragg and then apply to Officer Candidate School, things would have been very difficult for him. He reported to Fort Snelling in July of 1941 and finished his basic training in October. That could have very easily put him in the first wave of soldiers reporting to the front lines after the United States declared war following the Pearl Harbor attack in December.

I look forward to sharing the rest of this story through Grandpa Dip’s letters over the next year and I want to thank some of the people who make this possible. First of all, my wife Natalie and my kids for putting up with me and being quiet while I record letters. My brother Eric for putting the finishing touches on the audio and combining the words with the music. My brother Jonathan for arranging and performing period appropriate songs for me to use. My Mom, Jan (and Dip’s oldest daughter) for continued material and financial support. Larry Jordan (Dorothy’s son who’s birth was referred to in the March 29th letter) for continued financial support. Dip’s other daughters, Jill and Jody, for their financial support. All the people who have read letters for me over the last few years and for those who wrote about the project in the local papers. And thank you for reading along and letting me know how much you appreciate this time capsule.

If you would like to add financial support to the project please find the donation page at airmailfromdip.com. I am committed to finishing this project strong this year and your support really helps. I will also be starting on a book of Dip’s letters and photographs in the coming year and I am really excited for that. I have really enjoyed the positive feedback over the year and I would love it if you would continue to tell your friends and family about the project. You can like and share the Air Mail From Dip page on Facebook or Instagram. Feel free to contact me with questions or feedback. I hope you have a very happy new year.

Christian