The Stitch

HEADQUARTERS U.S. MARINE CORPS
COMMANDANT’S OFFICE
WASHINGTON
25 July, 1944

My dear Mrs. Wood:

It is a source of profound regret to me and to his brother officers of the Corps that your son, First Lieutenant Philip Emerson Wood, Jr., U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, lost his life in action against the enemies of his country and I wish to express my deepest sympathy to you and members of your family in your great loss.

There is little I can say to lessen your grief, but it is my earnest hope that the knowledge of your son’s splendid record in the service and the thought that he nobly gave his life in the performance of his duty may in some measure comfort you in this sad hour.

Sincerely yours
[signed]
A. A. VANDERGRIFT
Lieutenant General, U.S.M.C.
Commandant of the Marine Corps