John Franklin Hardesty Letter to Harold B.Willis - November 18, 1940

Transcript

November 18, 1940 Mr. Harold B. Willis 75 Newbury St. Boston, [Massachusetts] Dear Willis: So you had to go back for more! I was most interested in your recent article in the Readers Digest and can't resist telling you how I enjoyed it. Plenty of water over the dam between your last experience and this but I see you still retain the old spirit of adventure. The last time I saw you I understood you were writing a book to be published by Houghton-Mifflin but I was never able to get any definite information from them. Did you write such a book and if so, where can I obtain a copy? I saw old Captain Olsen in San Francisco two years ago and he had written of his experiences aboard the raider Wolff. If you would like, I can get you a photostatic copy of the article. I note that you have a family now. I married in 1927 and have two boys aged nine and twelve and girl a year and a half old. I saw Jefferies a few times before his death four or five years ago. About a year ago I came across a pictorial account of your escape from [Villingen] by Isaacs and would be glad to have you see that if you'd care to. I'm glad to know you came through this last fiasco unscathed and should be pleased to hear more directly from you. Do you remember a Russian officer Prokopp at [Villingen]? I have just learned that he is trying to contact me from an internment camp in Hungary, so I imagine his needs are pressing. I'm trying to do what I can for him through the Red Cross. Best personal regards and wishes, JFH:EH