The Fred Arnolt Letters were written primarily between 1933 and 1945 from Arnolt, who was a merchant marine in the Isthmian Lines and later served in the Navy Construction Battalion "Seabees," to his parents in Metuchen, New Jersey. From 1942 to 1943, he worked as a technician and engineer for Spencer, White, and Prentis Incorporated in Sierra Leone, South Africa, Iran, and other government-censored locations. Also included are several letters from Joe Mitscher to his wife that are dated 1966; Mitscher wrote about being bloodthirsty and his love for his wife. The attached letters are transcribed.

Fred Arnolt was born in New Jersey on May 7, 1914. He was a merchant marine on the SS Steel Mariner of the Isthmian Lines from at least 1933 to 1934, a technician and engineer in Sierra Leone, South Africa, Iran, and other government-censored locations from 1942 to 1943, and in the 42nd U.S. Naval Construction Battalion, or “Seabees,” from 1943 to 1945. He was married to Florence Arnolt. He died in Baxter, Arkansas on September 21, 1995.

Fred Arnolt was a merchant marine from Metuchen, New Jersey who worked on the Isthmian Lines aboard the S.S. Steel Mariner, which shipped steel products around the world. He began working on the ship when he was 19 years old in 1933 and continued until at least 1934. The ship docked in nearly every major North American port on the east and west coasts, as well as the Caribbean, territory of Hawaii, and islands throughout the Pacific.

From 1942 to 1943, in the midst of the Second World War, he worked as a technician and engineer for Spencer, White, and Prentis Incorporated in Sierra Leone, South Africa, Iran, and other government-censored locations. He wrote about the conflicting emotions of enjoying his work yet feeling homesick, in addition to his interactions with the locals, which included purchasing a double barrell shotgun from a sheik that he used for hunting in Iran.

In 1943, Arnolt joined the 42nd U.S. Naval Construction Battalion, or “Seabees,” and began training at Camp Peary near Williamsburg, Virginia. After being stationed in California and Hawaii, he was sent to Calicoan Island in the Philippines in 1945. As the Japanese retreated, the Seabees were responsible for constructing airfields, forward bases, and general facilities. 

Arnolt's letters were written to his wife, Florence, and his parents. Also included are letters to Florence Arnolt from Harold Miller, as well as several letters from a man named Joe Mitscher to his wife that are dated to 1966 and detail his bloodthirst and his love for his wife. There are several postcards and photographs in the collection.