Postmark: 04/01/1944

Return Address:

Pvt. V. Misitano
Co. A. 350th Inf APO 88c
c/o Postmaster N.Y.

April 1, 1944
Italian Rest Camp

Dearest Mother,

    Just a few lines letting you know that I'm feeling fine, and hoping that all at home are the same.

   Mother, I'm in a rest camp now and it's really O.K. here. They show movies every nite here, and last nite I and my buddy went to see Madame Curie and we really felt good seeing a movie after so long.

   This morning, we all seen a stage show and enjoyed it very much.

   It's really O.K. here not having to worry about shells flying around you, or having to stay awake all night and jump at every little noise you hear.

   We have a P.X. here and we can buy sodas, candy and anything else we need.

   I received the sweet Easter card you sent me mother, and I'm only sorry that I can't send one to you, but mother, even if I can't send any, you can be sure that I'll be thinking of you all on Easter and wishing you all a very happy Easter.

   I guess this is all for now mother, so I'll close with lots of love to you mother dear, daddy and the kids.

   Your loving Son,

"Jimmy"

Madame Curie Movie - Released in 1943:

This letter mentions watching the movie "Madame Curie." This movie was nominated for 7 Oscars, and starred Greer Garson as Madame Curie, with Walter Pidgeon as her husband Pierre. It currently has a Rotten tomatoes score of 88%. It simultaneously tells the story of the couple's romance and their pursuit and discovery of Radium, the first radioactive element to be isolated and studied. The Curies were the first married couple to ever be jointly awarded a Nobel Prize (Physics - 1903). She died in 1934 at the age of 66, of aplastic anemia, likely brought on by her exposure to radioactivity in her experiments.

Madame Curie at Solvay Congress in 1911



The real-life Madame Curie is shown here (seated second from the right), with other prominent scientists of the time such as Albert Einstein (standing, second from right). The scientists here were just beginning to develop an understanding of the nature of the subatomic world, which would ultimately lead to the development of nuclear fission bombs and the end of World War 2.