August 15, 1943. Letter from Danny Badia to Leona Badia, née De Nardo
Italian-American, 1943
Danny has been hearing that Leona is working too hard and not getting enough rest. He warns her to take care of herself and not lose weight. He mentions that he will be sending home the letters she has written him so that she can save them. They do not feed them a lot of food and he really misses his spaghetti! He asks her if she would rather come to his camp and be married, or get married when he is home on furlough in November.
Danny Badia
Badia Family Collection
Italian Program, Department of Languages, Linguistics and Comparative Literature, Florida Atlantic University
1943-08-16
Federico Tiberini, Vincenza Iadevaia, Viviana PezzulloFederico Tiberini, Vincenza Iadevaia, Viviana Pezzullo
Patricia Badia-Johnson
Paper
en
Letter
Camp Wolters, US-TX
September 29, 1943. Letter from Danny Badia to Leona Badia, née De Nardo
Italian-American, 1943
Danny was so excited to have spoken to Leona on the phone. He says that he had a million things to say but the only ones that came to mind were military secrets and he didn't dare say those! He already refers to her as his wife and tells her that he thinks all the time of their future: coming home to her home cooked dinner and showing her how much he loves her. He clarifies what he meant in an earlier letter admitting that he told his mother about their plans to marry while he was on furlough and that she should talk to Leona about it if she had any hesitations. That was what he was referring to when he said to let him know if his family said anything strange (in the letter from 9/21).
Danny Badia
Badia Family Collection
Italian Program, Department of Languages, Linguistics and Comparative Literature, Florida Atlantic University
1943-10-03
Federico Tiberini, Vincenza Iadevaia, Viviana Pezzullo
Patricia Badia-Johnson
Paper
en
Letter
Camp Wolters, US-TX
November 9, 1943. Letter from Danny Badia to Leona Badia, née De Nardo
Italian-American, 1943
He uses many sweet words with her. He plays a lot with words. He talks about food.
Danny Badia
Badia Family Collection
Italian Program, Department of Languages, Linguistics and Comparative Literature, Florida Atlantic University
1943-11-10
Federico Tiberini, Vincenza Iadevaia, Viviana Pezzullo
Patricia Badia-Johnson
Paper
en
Letter
Camp Wolters, US-TX
November 22, 1943. Letter from Danny Badia to Leona Badia, née De Nardo
Italian-American, 1943
Danny tells Leona how blue he was after seeing the show "This is the Army" and recommends she see it too. He wishes he were home making biscuits with her and his mom. At the risk of sounding like a sissy he admits how homesick he is. He is looking forward to an upcoming promotion and tells her that he is gaining weight from all that he is eating.
Danny Badia
Badia Family Collection
Italian Program, Department of Languages, Linguistics and Comparative Literature, Florida Atlantic University
1943-11-22
Domenica Diraviam & Viviana Pezzullo
Patricia Badia-Johnson
Paper
en
Letter
Camp Wolters, US-TX
May 21, 1944. Letter from Danny Badia to Leona Badia, née De Nardo
Italian-American, 1944
Danny's sugar report thanks Leona for having his mom send underwear although he really needs undershirts. There is discussion of Jean's baby and about a dream that Leona had about Roger Di Paolo's safety. He asks his wife if she will be returning to work and says he is glad that she chose to visit Dr. Carbone. He closes mentioning how he would love to eat tagliolini and summarizing what he is served there.
Danny Badia
Badia Family Collection
Italian Program, Department of Languages, Linguistics and Comparative Literature, Florida Atlantic University
1944-05-21
Domenica Diraviam & Viviana Pezzullo
Patricia Badia-Johnson
Paper
en
Letter
Little Rock, US-AR
June 2, 1944. Letter from Danny Badia to Leona Badia, née De Nardo
Italian-American, 1944
"Ravioli and chicken ever sound good".. "made spaghetti yesterday"... "I beg your pardon but whooooo did you say was going to do the cooking? ?? I've got an idea that a certain little darling wife of mine is going to do the cooking. Don't you?"... "funny just a few months ago we were waiting for the day when we could get married and now we are waiting for our baby to come. Honey you know darn well that your ambitions have been fullfilled about making me a good wife and I've got to give you credit because I know how hard I am to satisfy"
Danny Badia
Badia Family Collection
Italian Program, Department of Languages, Linguistics and Comparative Literature, Florida Atlantic University
1944-06-02
Ilaria Serra
Patricia Badia-Johnson
Paper
en
Letter
Camp Joseph Robinson, US-AR
July 12, 1944. Letter from Danny Badia to Leona Badia, née De Nardo
Italian-American, 1944
He is a cook. He got a purse as a gift for her. He will send money back home as soon as he gets paid. He was not too a religious man, but the distance from home makes him willing to go to church. (italian food/ libro Dante Alighiero p. 13)
Danny Badia
Badia Family Collection
Italian Program, Department of Languages, Linguistics and Comparative Literature, Florida Atlantic University
1944-07-12
Federico Tiberini, Vincenza Iadevaia, Viviana Pezzullo
Patricia Badia-Johnson
Paper
en
Letter
Little Rock, US-AR
July 30, 1944. Letter from Danny Badia to Leona Badia, née De Nardo
Italian-American, 1944
Loves to be a mess sargent because he "always wanted to" "since I've been first cook and run the kitchen my own way because I know how most cooks want a kitchen to run". Don't smoke too many (cigarettes?) because they are not good for you. Met a baby girl with most beautiful name, Donita. Maybe call their child so. Ask for another can of Brioski (citrate?) because "not feeling up to par." "made me feel wonderful because you told me that you trust in me. Please keep on behaving like that so I can keep bettering myself for my darling wonderful wife and my baby"
Danny Badia
Badia Family Collection
Italian Program, Department of Languages, Linguistics and Comparative Literature, Florida Atlantic University
1944-07-30
Ilaria Serra
Patricia Badia-Johnson
Paper
en
Letter
Camp Joseph Robinson, US-AR
August 15, 1944. Letter from Danny Badia to Leona Badia, née De Nardo
Italian-American, 1944
Danny discloses that he did not get the mess sargent position and that he will be shipping out the following week. He asks her to please consider quitting her factory job due to the heat and her advanced pregnancy. He thanks her for the tomatoes that she sent to him. Danny asks her to take communion on Sunday as he plans to also and he asks her to explain the process of lighting a candle in church.
Danny Badia
Badia Family Collection
Italian Program, Department of Languages, Linguistics and Comparative Literature, Florida Atlantic University
1944-08-15
Domenica Diraviam & Viviana Pezzullo
Patricia Badia-Johnson
Paper
en
Letter
Little Rock, US-AR
August 17, 1944. Letter from Danny Badia to Leona Badia, née De Nardo
Italian-American, 1944
Danny thanks his wife for the salami that she sent. He made the colonel a sandwich. He is happy to have become an uncle, since Bambina had a baby boy. However, he is blue that he may not be present when his own child is born, although he really does not want Leona to be worried. He admits that the war is just a little stronger than he is. He also asks his wife to send him $5-10 because he will be shipping out before payday.
Danny Badia
Badia Family Collection
Italian Program, Department of Languages, Linguistics and Comparative Literature, Florida Atlantic University
1944-08-17
Domenica Diraviam & Viviana Pezzullo
Patricia Badia-Johnson
Paper
en
Letter
Little Rock, US-AR