Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Thomas Aaron Lindsey letters, 1943-1945. Accession 54296 . Personal papers collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

Purchased.

Biographical Information

Thomas "Tommy" Aaron Lindsey was born October 2, 1921 in Chicago, Illinois, to David and Tille Lindsey. Edith Gordon was born December 22, 1925 in Norfolk, Virginia, to Isaac and Mollie Friedman Gordon. Thomas met Edith while stationed in Norfolk before being deployed in Europe and the African Continent for four years. Upon conclusion of World War II Thomas married Edith and resided in the Norfolk area where he was a real estate developer and contractor. They had three children. Thomas was an accomplished artist, musician, photographer, and composer, having composed the Azalea Waltz for the Norfolk Azalea festival during the 1960s. Prior to the war, Thomas was a reporter and photographer for the "Chicago Herald American " newspaper. Edith passed away January 18, 2011, and Thomas passed away December 4, 2016. They are buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Norfolk, Virginia.

Scope and Content

Letters, 1943-1945, between Thomas Aaron Lindsey (1921-2016) to his future wife, Edith Gordon (1925-2011) while Lindsey was in the service during World War II. Lindsey met Gordon while stationed at Norfolk and they would spend most of their lives living together in Norfolk and Virginia Beach. There are 64 letters between Lindsey and Gordon while he was in service and she was a graduating junior at Maury High School in Norfolk from 1943-1944, and as a freshman in Richmond at the Richmond Professional Institute from 1944-1945. One letter is written by Gordon and mailed to Lindsey, who was stationed overseas, by way of New York. The majority of the correspondence have been inspected by the United States Navy, and some have been censored by Navy Officials who have cut out sensitive information from the letters. Lindsey was aboard the USS Mattaponi AO-41 and the Navy Section Base in Oran, Algeria. Lindsey writes about his life as a sailor onboard the ship who was part of the ships newspaper; an altercation with a few men on board; the last words letter from his father, who died suddenly in 1945, and adjusting to a world without him in it. The letters touch on historical moments of the war, including his reaction and celebrations onboard the ship of V-E Day (May 8, 1945) and V-J Day (August 15, 1945). Gordon sends pictures of new hairstyles and outfits, she updates him on her graduation from High School and wanting to leave college so that they could start saving money for their future. The majority of the letters are about his undying love for Miss. Edith Gordon. There are moments of jealousy, frustration, sadness, longingness, but the separated lovers never let an opportunity go by without expressing how much love, tenderness, compassion, support, trust they had for each other. Lindsey had many endearing pet-names for Gordon, that he would address his letters to, including, "Darling Babes," "Doll," "Eggles," "Dumpling," "Angel," Cockeyball," "Nut," "Peaches," "Tootsie Roll," "Bay-bee," Sugar," "Tomato," "Dope," "Glamor-puss," "Ho-Hum," and "Lamb." The last letter in this collection was written a few days before their wedding on November 22, 1945. They were married for 65 years until her death in 2011. Letters are mostly handwritten but some are typed on U.S. Navy letterhead. Some contain doodles and drawings by Lindsey, while others have pink lipstick markings from Gordon kissing the letters.