Written to his mother during his training and subsequent WWII action in Italy, Ted's letters show a sense of humor and reflect the language and attitudes of the early 1940's.These letters serve as a small part of the history of the 10th Mountain Division seen through the eyes of a patriotic 19-year old volunteer, Theodore Gordon Hoople. They document the daily life of the 10th from training through combat over a period of two and a half years and emerge as a coming-of-age chronicle.Truly a slice of life from those times.