Letters to Loretta from the Radio Shack contains the authentic and often humorous correspondence between Sal, a young code-breaker on a WWII minesweeper and Loretta, a young stenographer fresh out of business school who serves the war effort by volunteering for the Coast Guard at Chicago's Navy Pier.
Since it was the custom for neighborhood girls to write their enlisted friends, Loretta writes Sal and their friendship quickly develops into romance although they are physically worlds apart. Their authentic daily letters reflect their separate realities: Loretta's carefree social and business life vs. Sal's minesweeper's activities on the U.S.S. Signet (AM-302) as it traverses from Pearl Harbor to D-day and the Battle of Okinawa. It all heats up to a suspenseful climax as D-Day and the Battle of Okinawa approaches.
Recipient of Multiple Readers Awards!
"We have been in the book business for nearly 40 years and I have never experienced a book with the warmth, sensitivity, insight and humanity in a wartime setting as Ashworth has been able to present." -R. Alan Lewis, President, Ground Zero Books, Ltd.
"An amazing job transporting the reader back to this era with language, scenes and interactions between the characters. I felt like I was living and breathing this story from all perspectives and it was amazing!" - Our Family Adventure
"Poignant, tender, funny, violent, heartbreaking - a delightful time capsule of star-crossed love during the war of all wars." - Archaeolibrarian
"I gave this book 5 stars but it deserves many, many more. A great addition to anyone who enjoys history especially if you are interested in WWII." - Coco's Book Review
"A historical look at life aboard a minesweeper
in the Pacific. Highly recommended." - Jack Magnus, Readers' Favorite
"A moving and powerful read." - View from the Birdhouse
