Letters: July 10, 1952

[Two days before the wedding]

    The enclosed is the complete list, more or less, for those I’ve invited to the wedding reception. Some of the addresses are missing and I’ll have to get those this weekend. The [unintelligible] of me is enough I guess unless you want to add more yourself.
    My leave has been approved officially and that is one more thing checked off.
    I have quite a few things to tell you but I’ll wait until the weekend or tell you on the phone tonight. Just things pertaining to the wedding.
    So Princess - just a short note for now. I miss you very much and I love you very, very much
    

John

John Joseph Corrigan and Barbara “Tommy” Dean Lowery were married in Newport Beach, CA, July 12, 1952, at Christ Church By The Sea,

Letters: May 30, 1952

    It’s very lonely without you here with me and I’d give anything if you could be here. We would have the whole camp to ourselves practically, as everyone has taken off for someplace. I took off but only in the plane to cover the General. Went all the way up Death Valley to Furnace Creek Inn, which is quite a fabulous place, from the air. It was about a four hour flight and I have to do it again when the General decides to come back. Incidentally the aide to the G told me my restriction was lifted but gave no reason why. This General acts kind of odd sometimes. Nothing was said about my staying an extra day this last time. In fact Col. Kimbrell, my boss, said he hoped I spent the time buying champagne as he would be real thirsty around July 11th. So will I but I doubt if I could hold a glass.
    Tomorrow is our inspection and we’re really ready for it but I’ll be glad when it’s over. Inspections are always rough. -- Gee I miss you hon. I miss your smile and your saying - love you - or when you say it when you’re across a room. Honey, this engagement and marriage is the most important thing in my life and I want it to be perfect in every respect. It will be too--I just know. That’s why a lot of little things mean so much to me, like you saying - love you - and things like that. Guess I’m getting redundant--

    So Angel--to morpheus--have to get up at five goddamn o’clock. Hope you had a swell time in Delhi.*

    I love you Barbara.

*Small California town in the San Juaquin Valley, then home to many migrant farmworkers and their families; site of Barbara's first teaching job.

Letters: May 17, 1951

    I just got in about an hour ago from Victorville. I got stuck there by high winds and had to spend the evening. Inasmuch as I didn’t have my blouse with me [What in the world's he talking about here?] I couldn’t go to the officer’s club or show so I went over to the tower at the air force base and listened to the conversations of the pilots up yonder. A real interesting evening.
    Just had breakfast--there were two other officers besides myself for breakfast. The place is really deserted. The swimming pool is open though and I may go over there this afternoon. It’s a nice pool--about seventy-five feet long and thirty feet wide. Filled with water too. -- I’m out at the airstrip again and it’s real hot here. It’s nine-thirty and the temperature is 89° already. It should be brutal this afternoon.
    I’ve been daydreaming off and on and most of it has been about us and in Hawaii. Imagine on a beautiful evening dancing under palm trees or drinking a tall cool drink or walking along the beach under the (advertised) moon. Sounds real swell to me. And it’s only fifty-seven days away too.
    For the next three days we have a Corps inspection by Gen. Kean. He’ll be in tomorrow. We’re all set for this inspection though and we know what to expect.
    Gee I’m lonely. I’d call you now but I don’t have the money and I can’t cash a check until the PX opens this afternoon. Incidentally hon, after our call the operator asked me how long we talked, as she hadn’t kept the time. I guessed about fifteen minutes and she said she would charge us for thirteen minutes. It was probably about twenty minutes.
    Princess I love you. And I’ll see you Thursday night. So bye for now--I miss you terribly sweet.

Letters: May 16, 1952

    Hi Wife, Hon, I love you. Today it’s more than ever. So there. This morning went off okay with one or two exceptions--which I shall tell you later. I guess there were around a thousand people or so out here but I don’t know where they came from. We had a big parade plus use of our exhibits (tanks, vehicles etc.) and our demonstration of firing, of which I was a part. It was pretty good--at least that’s what the General said.
    The exception I told you was this: the airstrip had quite a few visitors too, especially children and one of them, about six or seven years old (not mentally) was especially and definitely precocious. The little bastrap was bound and determined to take home the propeller off my plane. At first I laughed--then pleaded and cajoled, finally threatened. I finally got him away from the plane and forgot him until I heard a hammering. Honest, the little son of a --- had gotten a hammer from our tool box, taken a small ladder out to the plane and reached up to the prop and was gleefully hammering away at the safety wire and the bolts. I ran out to the plane (a mere fifty yards but I was so mad I didn’t get tired) and a woman, the boy’s mother I guess, ran out too in time to save: (a) him from strangulation, (b) me from electric chair for murder. The boy was really serious about taking the prop home but gave up when I told him the cost of the prop and also the fact I’d club him over the head if he got near the plane again. --A very trying afternoon. In fact the rest of the day was anti-climactic.
    This afternoon practically everyone has gone. I gave all my boys the day and night off and I’m now here at the airstrip. It’s real quiet here and I’m alone with you. Oh yes--you’re here with me, in case you didn’t know--you may be there but you’re here too--always.
    So my darling, another weekend gone. Next weekend will be here real quick but I wish I were starting out right now. Oops, have to go--have to fly down to Victorville to pick up some stuff for the G-3 section. Bye for now.

Letters: May 13, 195

    The whole shebang plus the reception for the General was a notable success except for a few minor details which were as fouled up as a Chinese fire drill, but were passed over. As for our air section--we had it spic and span from five o’clock this morning and we even polished the crash truck and fire extinguishers. In fact, our General even made a special trip down to the airstrip to thank us for our job. And--here’s what kind of shook me. At the reception at the officer’s club for the General’s party, in the receiving line was General Kean from Ft Mac who remembered me and asked me where my wife was. I told him that we are to be married in July so he said to give his best to Barbara. I said huh, sir, and he said wasn’t that your name. I finally recovered and said yes. He told me he thought we were married but he remembered the name Barbara. Next I quickly downed a few Manhattans but I thought that was swell of him to send his regards. -- What a day it has been. I’m really beat.
    It was wonderful talking to you hon but I’m looking forward to talking to you Friday night and you’ll be more coherent. Not that it makes much difference whether you’re coherent or not as long as you tell me “I love you John”.
    Do you know that as of today it’s only fifty-nine days until our wedding and I wish it were fifty-nine minutes or better yet, fifty-nine seconds. I miss you toxan Princess and I love you so much I hurt. Tomorrow I’ll love you more than today but it’s an awful lot today though.
    Goodnight my sweet. All my love forever.

Letters: May 4, 1952

    Today I received two of the cutest and sweetest letters from my honey and I can’t get over them. In fact I’m in sort of a delirious stupor for two reasons--one is that you wrote a letter like I had hoped you would, and two is that I received two letters from you on the same day. I was reading the letters walking from headquarters and I bumped into a P.F.C. [Private First Class] I said “pardon me sir” and almost saluted him. I caught my hand in time and scratched my nose but the PFC stood there with his mouth open and probably thought that 1st LTs are odder than ever. So you see what your letters do to me. I managed to make it back to the ROQ without further trouble but when I got there and read your letter over again I just sat and stared at nothing with my mind about four hundred and fifty miles away in San Fran and fell in love again more deeper than ever. Now there’s something--I’m so much in love with you it hurts yet when I get a letter from you or talk to you I seem to fall deeper in love and I know there’s no end to it--nor do I even want there to be an end.
    I got in about ten last night and got a good night's sleep, which was a good thing because I had to fly the General over to Yuma and it was kind of a long trip and now I leave for Camp Cooke tomorrow and another long trip staring at me. But at the finish of this trip I get to see you and that makes it alright.
    So my darling--I’ll talk to you Thursday night and see you Friday. Be real good and careful--and--well, I guess you might as well know. I love you with all my heart, forever and ever.

Letters: May 1, 1952

    This letter should reach you Saturday or Monday and I’ll talk to you on Sunday--which is something that I haven’t figured out but something I do know is that I miss you something awful and love you terrifically more and more. Barbs--I get a little giddy inside when I think of you--maybe some people would think that’s kind of silly but I don’t and I do have the feeling. Have you ever woke up on a Sunday morning with a perfectly swell day ahead of you, and the contented feeling that you get? Well, that’s the way I feel, thinking about a perfectly swell life ahead of us--’cause that’s what it’s going to be. So I have this glow and a giddy feeling with an overall contentment which is the result of being in love with you.
    On this next weekend--I’ve sent a letter to this hotel requesting rooms for Friday and possibly Saturday nights. I didn’t know whether you wanted to spend Saturday night there in Monterey or not--and drive to San Francisco Sunday. I don’t know how you plan to get to Salinas but possibly the Bus would be better. Get an express straight through to Salinas.
    The temperature today reached 100° and it’s goddamn hot. I started to go out into the sun but started seeing spots and decided to stay indoors. After the boys revived me they informed me that the spots were bugs flying formation after having filed a flight plan. Ha-- I then considered giving the boys a little close-order drill as punishment but they talked me out of it by suggesting a pot of coffee, and now -- Seriously hon everything’s real swell. I received your real cute and sweet letter and I’ve read it toxan times. Bye for now and I’ll see you real soon. Say hi to Shirley and Peter and be real good because you’re my honey and you mean everything in the world to me.