Norwood families opened their mailboxes this week to find letters from sons serving across the world, each offering a glimpse into wartime life far from home. Pvt. Andrew Venskus Jr., formerly the proprietor of the West Street Handy Store, wrote from Keesler Field in Mississippi, where he is now training in a Technical School Squadron. “A few days ago, I was in business for myself,” he reflected, “and now Uncle Sam is training me for a big job. Keep ’em flying.”
From Australia, Pvt. First Class Joseph F. Walsh—formerly a clerk at Farioli’s Market—reported that he is living with a local family and adjusting to new customs, including the challenge of shillings and sixpence. He praised the hospitality of the Australians and described the countryside as “beautiful.”
A third letter came from Private Dennis Dube, stationed at New River, North Carolina, who shared news of fellow Norwood Marines serving with him. Wallace E. Fraser of Washington Street and Martin F. Flaherty of Morse Hill, both former employees of Bird & Son, are now gunners in the Fighting Fifth Marines. “It’s tough,” they wrote, “but you can’t keep a good man down.”
The column also listed dozens of Norwood men newly inducted into the Army, marking another week of wartime departures from the town’s neighborhoods and workplaces.
Source: Norwood Free Press
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