“Letters to Home,” Robert Molosso (WWII-218)
By Mariah Justice, Intern
Listen: Oral history interview clip at UFDC with Robert Molosso 00:12
Robert Molosso is a World War II veteran who served in the Pacific theatre. He served in the Army in the 2nd Amphibious Brigade in the 532nd Engineer and Boat Regiment. He was stationed in several places in the Pacific including Australia, New Guinea, and the Philippines.
Like many soldiers, Molosso frequently wrote letters home while at war. He often wrote to his mother about his concern for the family. After his father passed away from a car accident, Molosso felt responsible for his family’s financial well-being. Molosso stayed home while he went to college to help his mother run her two businesses. However, when contacted by the War Department to enlist, Molosso could no longer help his family, yet he still felt responsible for doing so. It was difficult for him to feel responsible for his family, yet fight in a war overseas. Lacking the ability to provide for his family back home gave Molosso a sense of helplessness. The lack of control over his family’s well-being was always on Molosso’s mind.
Molosso also writes to his family about his self-doubts and personal growth. He writes to his mother while stationed in New Guinea,
Still on the same job and wondering everyday if I am accomplishing anything. I guess this is the toughest assignment I’ve had so far and if it works out all right I’ll say I can do just about anything.
-Robert Molosso, WWII-218
Molosso opens up in his letters that he sends home and allows his loved ones to see his personal growth as a soldier and a man. Without control back home, he strove to make his family, especially his mother, proud while he was at training and at war. Molosso and his brigade were commended in several letters for their outstanding performance in the war. Molosso felt that he achieved his goal of becoming the man his family needed. Molosso sums up his personal growth,
“You start as a boy, but you come out a man.”
-Robert Molosso, WWII-218
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