From Uncle Charles son John, who transcribed these letters:

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Here's the intro from John O'Neil on this:

Hello,

This afternoon I typed up a big chunk of Marcella Ranagan's journal and here are a few entries i hope you will find encouraging and inspiring.  For those of you who do not know, Marcella Ranagan was my grandmother who I never met, having passed away in 1955.  During the second world war she kept a small journal to remember her son, my father, who served in the Coast Guard.  These entries are so amazing to me because they demonstrate a kind of faith i am not sure exists anymore.  It also demonstrates quite clearly that this woman loved God.  And I would like to ask those who are not Catholic a simple question:  is this woman in hell?  your doctrine would say yes, and i would say your faith is so misaligned it makes me believe that whatever your reward is for believing in God will be diminished and your time in heaven will not be as rosy as you thought it would.  No theology no doctrine, rid yourselves of the kind of thinking that makes you think you know the right way to God because you are dead wrong, and that goes for the English who I know will fill the halls of hell unless they get down on their fat knees and ask God forgiveness. The damn English, you know how they looked down on the Irish for so long, well, tell the pommies their time is up and it's time for vengeance, not I, but the Lord says this.   The day is coming soon when we will be with those who we only read about.  Grandmother Ranagan,  to God and the Glory and may all the British tremble in fear, as well as the agnostic jews. 

And for anyone who knows the email to the owner of the Tigers baseball team, I swear he better come clean and apologize for showing disrespect to the faithful for having opening day on Good Friday.  I have not forgotten.  As for the Fords, it is a shame the Lions will never win.  What a stupid stupid man Ford is.  I have no doubt that family will be spend eternity in a place where their thirst will never be quenched.  Can we have a collective spit on the Ford family?  Come clean and confess mister ford.  you have a few years left. 

ok, Have a nice day,

John

ps, mary beth, your father's email is not working.  can you see he and your mother get this?  slanche.

* * * * *

Hello,

This afternoon I typed up a big chunk of Marcella Ranagan's journal and here are a few entries i hope you will find encouraging and inspiring.  For those of you who do not know, Marcella Ranagan was my grandmother who I never met, having passed away in 1955.  During the second world war she kept a small journal to remember her son, my father, who served in the Coast Guard.  These entries are so amazing to me because they demonstrate a kind of faith i am not sure exists anymore.  It also demonstrates quite clearly that this woman loved God.  And I would like to ask those who are not Catholic a simple question:  is this woman in hell?  your doctrine would say yes, and i would say your faith is so misaligned it makes me believe that whatever your reward is for believing in God will be diminished and your time in heaven will not be as rosy as you thought it would.  No theology no doctrine, rid yourselves of the kind of thinking that makes you think you know the right way to God because you are dead wrong, and that goes for the English who I know will fill the halls of hell unless they get down on their fat knees and ask God forgiveness. The damn English, you know how they looked down on the Irish for so long, well, tell the pommies their time is up and it's time for vengeance, not I, but the Lord says this.   The day is coming soon when we will be with those who we only read about.  Grandmother Ranagan,  to God and the Glory and may all the British tremble in fear, as well as the agnostic jews. 

And for anyone who knows the email to the owner of the Tigers baseball team, I swear he better come clean and apologize for showing disrespect to the faithful for having opening day on Good Friday.  I have not forgotten.  As for the Fords, it is a shame the Lions will never win.  What a stupid stupid man Ford is.  I have no doubt that family will be spend eternity in a place where their thirst will never be quenched.  Can we have a collective spit on the Ford family?  Come clean and confess mister ford.  you have a few years left. 

ok, Have a nice day,

John

ps, mary beth, your father's email is not working.  can you see he and your mother get this?  slanche.

Dec-31-1941 Wed Eve.

My dear son Charles,
This is my last note to you this year, and I want you to know my thoughts are of you tonight, I wonder where you are, and what you are doing and thinking this New Years eve, I expect to go to bed early, we are not having company. I feel so sorry for all the suffering and afflicted people of the war torn nations and again beg God to have mercy on us all and to remit our sins that peace will shine on this world in the year 1942, that we will usher in at 12 oclock tonight, I will remember you at mass tomorrow morning, I can’t keep but feel you are receiving comfort from the prayers and masses that have been offered up for you, of if could but hear from you, but I am still hoping  May God Bless You Charles and keep you safe this New Year my love and prayers always Mother.

A Holy and Blessed New Year to you,

Jan 1-1942

Charles,

I did not go to bed early last night Ursula and Russ stayed home and insisted on Papa and I playing cards, we had a nice lunch and two highballs, treated the boys they had pepsicola, Ursula got it for them, she also made our highballs there was quite a bit of noise at midnight need I tell you who I thought of most, Charles we are all praying for our men and boys, our papers and radios tell us of the wonderful work they are doing.  I have joined a red cross sewing unit with ladies of our church. Aunt Mary and Ursula are going to the red cross headquarters to donate blood next Monday, a very worthy act for a very worthy cause.  I am going to get a check up with the doctor so I can get busy and do all I can to help in anyway.  I did not cook a big dinner today as I did not feel good.  Your Dad and I with the boys went into east Liberty  and had a nice dinner.  Love from Mother.

Tuesday-Jan-20-42

weather moderate about 300

Dear Charles,

This being red cross day I sewed on ladies skirts about 6 hours I have two more to finish, our ladies of our church are doing excellent work. Ursula has the sweater just about done that she took from the red cross.  Charles I had a little blue spell for you, I get so lonesome to see you, but I just say a prayer that you are not lonesome and that you are safe, then I take up where I left off. The radio is now playing a song titled “We done it before and we will do it again,” and God willing they shall, How we pray for all our brave men on the ships at sea and in the air and on land. We are paying awful prices at the stores for eatables and I guess this is the beginning, Nothing like that matters though just so we move on to victory.

May God Bless you and keep you Charles

Thursday-Jan-29-42

Cold early this morning

Dear Charles,

I am a wee bit tired today, I had a party last night to entertain Audrey as she is to enter Mercy hospital next month to train for nursing.  I had twenty people at least, played cards and had a very nice lunch. Audrey got six dollars  in money and some lovely gifts, everyone seemed to have a good time everyone wanted to know when last we heard from you. everyone thinks you are just about the nicest person of course you know just what your Mother thinks don’t y
ou Charles, May God love and Bless you.

Monday-Feb-9-42

My dear Charles,

Here is the beginning of another week, wash day as usual, the radio is giving out so much war news, that one must steel their nerves so as not to go under with the strain of it.  We heard the big ship Normandie taken over from the French being made over for a  US transport has burnt to complete destruction at New York harbor, they believe it was from a workman’s blowtorch that the blaze  was started, it is a big loss but thank God for all there were quite a few men burnt up until now there is just one reported missing. Charles if I don’t soon hear from you or get to know somehow that you have received  our mail I don’t know what I am going to do.

Again I want to thank God for my Catholic faith, with our that and the privilege of hearing mass and receiving communion well I just could not stand it, I pity all who do have the faith. May God Bless you and keep you Charles.

Love from Mother.

Tues Feb-17-42

a dark and rainy cold day I think it will snow later.

Dear Charles,

Ursula and I were down to church this morning, this being Aunt Mai’s third anniversary, yesterday was registration day for all men 20-44 and Jimmie was in on it, I don’t know if he is going to enlist, yesterday was a great day at Norfolk Va., our newest warship, the 80 million dollar, 35,000 ton called Alabama was launched.  Times are changing, I hear we are to get books of stamps to get our amount of sugar, but that won’t worry me, I can do without sugar, if our brave men and boys can go out to battle and hardships to preserve our liberty we should be only glad to make our sacrifices  not just the mere doing without sugar.

I am still hoping to hear from you. May God Bless you and keep you always my son, with love from Mother.

My Dear Son,

My heart is heavy with longing for you tonight, if only we could hear from you, I have you way over in the far east. It just means I will have to pray harder for you.

President Roosevelt gave a talk on the radio tonight on war conditions I do hope everyone listened so these slackers and hoarders will wake up, well, I won’t hoard anything, I’ll depend on God to take care of us and you, Love from Mother.

This is an email from Mary O'Neil Kufta:

Marcella O'Neil's maiden name was Ranagan.   Grandmother Ranagan was her mother, Margaret Ranagan, who died December 13, 1914, two months after Ursula was born.  Her father, John Joseph Ranagan, died April 24, 1911.

Mary

Sunday afternoon.

            Dec -14-41

Dear Son Charles,

                        Yesterday passed as the usual saturday, today was holy name day at church your father and brothers received Holy Communion for you.  We all went back to high mass at twelve oclock for you and God’s guideness on our President and all in authority in this war.  Well Charles we are having one big snow storm today, in fact our first to lay, it snowed hard the first part of the month but didn’t lay here.  Jack and Ursula are tormenting me about Christmas, Jack said he bought me a box of cigars and Ursula said she got me a pipe so you see I will be well supplied. A little nonsense goes a long way at present:

Our war is one week old today. I think our first hero is Captain Colin Kelly who died in action in the bombing of the Jap battleship Haruna. Well Charles I am still hoping to hear from you. May the blessing of God be on you, I’ll remember you tonight at rosary and Benediction.