some World War II postal history

I received this item the other day from Listia for a pretty low bid. There were several other items also listed which went for much higher amounts ... mainly because they had the return addresses intact.

the letter was included .. two pages of chatty news about the young sailors job, current events, and movies he'd seen.

He mentioned the explosion while unloading ammo off of the USS Solar DE-221 a few weeks earlier at a different dockyard ... info from wikipedia

Destruction by accidental explosion, 1946
On 30 April 1946, Solar was berthed at Leonardo Pier I of the Naval Ammunition Depot Earle, New Jersey, to discharge ammunition. The operation went smoothly until, shortly after 11:30, one of the crewmen dropped a hedgehog charge. He was able to escape with relatively minor injuries, but three ensuing explosions blasted the ship near her number 2 upper handling rooms. Her number 2 gun was demolished and the bridge, main battery director, and mast were all blown aft and to starboard. Both sides of the ship were torn open, and her deck was a mass of flames. The order to abandon ship came after the second explosion and was carried out expeditiously. Nevertheless, the tragedy claimed the lives of 7 sailors and injured 125 others.
Salvage work on Solar was begun by 15:00, and her wrecked superstructure was cut off to prevent her capsizing. She was moved to New York, where she decommissioned on 21 May 1946. Solar was then stripped of all usable equipment, towed 100 nautical miles (200 km) to sea, and sunk on 9 June 1946, in 700 fathoms (1,300 m) of water. Her name was struck from the Navy List on 5 June 1946.
 

and a picture of the Solar after the explosion (source)

I was able to identify the author of the letter. His name is Joseph H. Cowan, he was born in 1926. The 1940 US Census lists him as the 14 year-old son of Harry G and Irene Cowan. I am still looking for information about the ship Joseph Cowan was serving on (the lack of return address makes this harder).