Cortopassi, John.

There is very little biographical material available about any of the authors of the letters in this collection. Sgt. John Cortopassi seems to have worked as a longshoreman before enlisting in the Army, and from a reference in one letter can be stated to be over 30 years of age in March of 1943, with a birthdate falling somewhere in the vicinity of Feb.-Mar.-April. He was trained in several U.S. camps before being shipped overseas to Europe, where he was stationed at various times in France, Belgium, and Germany. After the conclusion of the war in Europe, he was stationed in California, and correspondence ends at that point.

Pvt. Alfonzo (Bobby) Cortopassi, brother to John Cortopassi, was unemployed or very sporadically employed before serving in the Army, and there is some sense that there was family concern about his activities while unemployed. He also trained in several camps in the U.S., but his Army career ended after a bad fall from a barrack's roof left him with a partically functioning arm.

Sgt. William Field took part in the North African Campaign where he sustained an injury, and his brother, 3rd Class Laurence Field, served in the Pacific. William and Laurence Field were brothers of Paul Field (to whom their correspondence was addressed), while John and Bobby Cortopassi were the brothers of Anna Field, Paul's wife.

The two remaining authors were friends of Paul Field. Donald A. Hidley was attached to the Seabees in the Pacific and was apparently never involved in battle activity. There is no information available on Henry S. Matteo, who wrote only one of the letters in the collection.

From the description of Papers, 1942-1945. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122346467