Letter from Philip F. Van Pelt to his family, September 30, 1945

Title

Letter from Philip F. Van Pelt to his family, September 30, 1945

Description

Van Pelt discusses his first time out on leave in Charleston.

Publisher

The Citadel Archives & Museum

Date

Rights

Materials in The Citadel Archives & Museum Digital Collections are intended for educational and research use. The user assumes all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of copyright. For more information contact The Citadel Archives & Museum, The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, 29409.

Relation

Van Pelt, Philip F. Cadet Letters, 1945-1949

Format

application/pdf

Language

English

Type

Text

Identifier

https://citadeldigitalarchives.omeka.net/items/show/1956

Text

[Page 1]

30 Sept. 1945

Dear Folks,

Well, yesterday, I saw the Atlantic Ocean. My “wife” and I went over to his home on an island in Charleston bay for our leave yesterday. We ate a real home-cooked meal, and went speeding around in a car. We saw the sights of Fort Moultrie, and we saw Fort Sumter from a distance. It was good to see and be in civilian surroundings again. Am going to a show this afternoon.

Life is awful tough down here. On Friday I went out and walked around Charleston, just giving the town a once-over. It’s almost made entirely of wood, and the streets are mostly about the size of

[Page 2]

Dorchester. Even the main street is only a couple of feet wider. Statistics show that 75% or 80% of the town is negro population. The south down here at least, is much more liberal in their treatment of negroes, then are the northern states. There are many areas in the city where there are no restrictive covenants Blacks and whites use the same stores, and are generally well intermixed, rather than being segregated like they are in Chicago. Charleston is a beautiful city, all right, but it can’t compare with Chicago for my money.

I’m going to leave now, so good by now.

Love,
Phil

Citation

Van Pelt, Philip F., “Letter from Philip F. Van Pelt to his family, September 30, 1945,” The Citadel Archives Digital Collections, accessed March 28, 2024, https://citadeldigitalarchives.omeka.net/items/show/1956.

Geolocation