The full content of this document is only available to subscribing institutions. More information can be found via www.amdigital.co.uk

Collection Reference Number GLC09120.511
From Archive Folder Collection of WWII letters of Sidney Diamond to Estelle Spero 
Title Sidney Diamond to Estelle Spero
Date 29 September 1944
Author Diamond, Sidney (1922-1945)  
Recipient Spero, Estelle  
Document Type Correspondence
Content Description Diamond writes that even though he is unaware of the exact date, he knows that it is Yom Kippur and that he is fasting. He states that, while he realizes that "it's all a bunch of hokum, it's the only way you can show people that you are what you are, and not ashamed of being what you are."
Subjects World War II  Asia  Soldier's Letter  Love Letters  Religion  Judaism  Holidays and Celebrations  
People Diamond, Sidney (1922-1945)  Spero, Estelle (b. 1924)  
Place written Bougainville, Papua New Guinea
Theme World War II; Religion
Sub-collection The Gilder Lehrman Collection, 1860-1945
Additional Information Sidney Diamond (1922-1945) enlisted in mid-April 1942, interrupting the chemical engineering degree that he was undertaking at City College. Diamond was sent to the South Pacific in June 1943, where he served as First Lieutenant to the Eighty-Second Chemical Battalion. On January 29th 1945, Diamond was killed by a Japanese knee mortar while acting as a forward observer during an assault on Fort Stotsenburg, north of Manila. Throughout his time in service, Sidney maintained an epistolary correspondence with Estelle Spero, his sweetheart and subsequently fiancée, the letters from which she preserved.
Copyright The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Module Civil War, Reconstruction and the Modern Era: 1860-1945