2024-03-20 18:42
Hi folks,
I’m sorry for not being more active on this space . . . it’s something I am working to rectify as my new program direction duties become a little less chaotic and my… Read More
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Matthew Luckett, Ph.d. Blog
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Official homepage and blog for historian and author Matthew Luckett, Ph.D. Dr. Luckett's first book, Never Caught Twice: Horse Stealing and Culture in Western Nebraska, 1850-1890, will be released in late 2020 by the University of Nebraska Press. He also regularly blogs about his grandfather, a Pearl Harbor survivor, and a new book project based on the hundreds of letters Dr. Luckett inherited when his grandpa passed away in 2018.
2023-09-08 03:59
Hi folks,It’s been a while, hasn’t it?If you’re still subscribed or even just in the habit of occasional checking this space out, I just want to say thank you for your pati… Read More
2022-10-31 19:41
Dear Sir or Madam, will you read my book? It took me years to write, will you take a look?
“Paperback Writer,” The Beatles (but also me)
Hi all,
It’s been a busy cou… Read More
2022-08-31 20:09
In honor of Never Caught Twice’s paperback release on December 1st this year, I am going to post a series of photo essays each week on my blog in order to promote the book an… Read More
2022-08-24 15:00
I clearly enjoy writing a lot, but I love doing photography. Although I still have much to learn about the technical side of taking a good photograph, I think I have some of the fundamentals… Read More
2022-06-07 16:05
When explaining this strange, too-brief-to-be-pleasure and too-long-to-be-business trip across the world to the Philippines, I tend to use the word “research” a lot. It’s p… Read More
2022-06-06 02:28
At SFO last Wednesday, the ticketing line for Philippine Airlines stretched away from the counter, around the corner, and past the entrance doors. I rolled my luggage to the end of the queue… Read More
2022-03-31 16:00
Summary: Easter Greeting “card.” Too many goodies! Dad’s gift will be a surprise. Enjoyed liberty on Sunday.
Scanned version:
Audio version: Read More
2022-03-26 16:00
Summary: “Just a few lines . . .” Easter plans. How time is spent aboard the ship.
Scanned version:
Audio version: Read More
2022-03-23 16:00
Summary: The joys of leave. Easter’s greetings. Changes back home. The absent uncle.
Scanned version:
Audio version: Read More
2022-03-20 16:00
Summary: Easter gifts arrived . . . lots of candy and cigars. Updates from home and from Hawaii. Changes… Update on the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.
Scanned version:
Audio version:… Read More
2022-03-16 16:00
Summary: Spring time. Flush with cash. Everyone is well . . . are you?
Scanned version:
Audio version: Read More
2022-03-14 18:46
Hi all,I’ve been making some changes to my site in order to make it less of a blog about one particular project and more of an author platform that connects all the things on which I a… Read More
2022-03-13 16:00
Summary: Correspondence updates. The importance of secrecy. Dealing with homesickness. Dad’s birthday.
Scanned version:
Audio version: Read More
2022-03-10 17:00
Summary: parents proud, sharing letters with others, friend updates, cigars, inflation, food in Hawaii
Scanned version:
Audio version:
Audio transcription of scanned letter Read More
2022-03-07 17:00
Summary: Royal Hawaiian Hotel delayed, correspondence notes, loose lips, reading habits aboard the ship, hopes for advancement.
Scanned version:
Audio version:
Audio transcription… Read More
2022-03-04 19:58
Hi folks,
In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve started posting again. One of my goals has always been to find some way to put all of my grandpa’s letters on here so that th… Read More
2022-03-04 17:00
Summary: Received several letters from home. Asks parents about insurance, allotment check. Discusses plans to stay at Royal Hawaiian Hotel.
Scanned version:
Audio version: Read More
2022-03-03 15:37
Summary: Harry Scott wrote an “interesting” letter. Mom’s candy arrived. “Very little to write about.”
Scanned version:
Audio version: Read More
2022-02-03 21:35
If someone were to ask you where the first Pearl Harbor monument is located, what place would you guess? Honolulu? Washington, D.C.? Perhaps someplace in Arizona?
If you didn’t come… Read More
2021-12-08 02:02
Hi folks,Today has been a busy day on my end. I’ve had a final exam to complete, urgent work matters to sort through, and a child who really wanted Winter Wonderland pancakes from IHOP… Read More
2021-11-12 01:24
Hi folks,
It’s that time of year again . . . thank you to all of you who have served our country.
Be sure to thank a veteran today. And if you’re you are looking for a way… Read More
2021-09-21 19:15
Hi folks,I just wanted to post a quick announcement about some wonderful news I received last week:Never Caught Twice is a 2021 Nebraska Book Award winner for Nebraska History! Thank you to… Read More
2021-08-17 06:29
Hey folks,
Sorry, it’s late and I forgot to do this earlier, so I’m just going to post the rest without bothering with photos . . . let me know what you think! – Matt… Read More
2021-08-10 20:23
It’s almost back to school time! Whether you or your kids or grandkids are starting a new grade or a new school, this is a good moment to reflect on what our school and college experie… Read More
2021-05-31 16:45
Hi folks,First off, thank you to everyone who has reached out to me here, on Facebook, on Twitter, and offline to express their well wishes with respect to my post on Saturday about pursuing… Read More
2021-05-29 19:14
Hi folks,I apologize for being so negligent over these past few months in writing or contributing to this blog. It’s been an interesting few months here in Orangevale, and for all of u… Read More
2020-12-31 22:09
You probably don’t need a reminder from me, but 2020 has been a tough year. As both a historian who values hindsight and as a human being who simply wants things to get better, I will… Read More
2020-12-07 22:55
Today is the 79th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. However, for many of us our minds are elsewhere this week as COVID continues to ravage the nation.
In fact, statistic… Read More
Hysteria In Hindsight: Remembering Iben Browning, The New Madrid Fault, And Quake Day 30 Years Later
2020-12-03 01:14
Thirty years ago, on December 2nd, 1990, a massive earthquake was supposed to strike the New Madrid Fault in southeastern Missouri. Iben Browning, a climatologist-turned-disaster prophet who… Read More
2020-11-11 20:57
I recently had the honor and privilege of talking about Grandpa’s Letters with Dr. Samantha Cutrara on her Imagining a New We video series. During the show we chatted about Veteran&rsq&hell…Read More
2020-11-02 18:00
Even though Billie Joe Armstrong wrote this song about losing his father at the age of 10, the song has been reinterpreted in a variety of ways, including within its own music video. After… Read More
2020-10-22 17:00
I delivered this paper on October 17, 2020 at the online Western History Association Conference. Parts of it were taken from my Marquette University MA Thesis, which is entitled “In th… Read More
2020-10-19 17:00
“Are we doomed to it, Lord, chained to the pendulum of our own mad clockwork, helpless to halt its swing? This time, it will swing us clean to oblivion.”Walter M. Miller, Jr… Read More
2020-10-12 17:00
In the last weeks of the war, Elmer and the Mink spent their days doing what they had been doing for the past fifteen months: slaking the American Navy’s seemingly endless thirst for f… Read More
2020-10-05 17:00
A month after V-E Day, it was business as usual in the Pacific. The work to defeat Japan continued unabated, isolated from the celebrations and culminations unfolding a continent away in Eur… Read More
2020-09-28 17:00
V-E Day did not bring the war to an end for the Allies in the Pacific Theater. But Germany’s surrender brought a sense of relief and joy, as well as a wave of sadness and mourning for… Read More
2020-09-25 17:00
Hi folks,
Guess what? Good news: my book is officially published!
If you’re interested in ordering a copy of Never Caught Twice: Horse Stealing in Western Nebraska, 1850 –… Read More
2020-09-21 17:00
Elmer began his Easter Sunday letter on April 1st, 1945 complaining that dehydrated eggs could not resurrect themselves into a hard-boiled form. “The hard-shell variety of ‘hen f… Read More
2020-09-14 17:00
“Thanks for the Memory” (1938) was one of the most iconic breakup songs of the WWII generation . . . it even won the Oscar for “Best Original Song”If Elmer’s… Read More
2020-09-12 01:38
Neil Young’s tribute to the heroes who died on United flight 93.Never forget . . . always remember. #September11th Read More
2020-09-12 00:08
Hi folks,I just wanted to post a quick update on the fires up here, since people have been asking us all week about it . . .
First of all, we are OK. We’re tired of all the smoke, a… Read More
2020-09-07 17:00
“Your boy is growing a bit weary of this mess. In fact, he’s damn tired of it.”
The four years and counting of active service were beginning to take their toll on Elmer… Read More
2020-08-31 17:00
No one knew with certainty when the war was going to end, but most observers believed that 1945 was going to be the year when, at minimum, Germany surrendered. It was just a matter of time… Read More
2020-08-24 17:00
It is the day before Christmas and all through the ship not a creature is stirring, not even a mouse. (P.S. We don’t have any mice.)Elmer Luckett to his Parents, 24 December 1944
De… Read More
2020-08-17 17:00
The Mink remained in San Pedro Bay throughout November, where it continued to refuel ships as part of the 77.7.2 Task Force. On the 9th it replenished its own cargo with 277,788 gallons of d… Read More
2020-08-13 20:00
Well, folks, I’m back . . . as in, back on Twitter. You can follow me at @mattluckett6. I’m not going to sweat out my follower count too much – I like being able to opine f… Read More
2020-08-10 17:00
On December 27, Elmer sent his parents his latest – and last – Christmas menu from the Mink’s official holiday dinner. It contained the usual fare: roast turkey, candied sw… Read More
2020-08-06 17:00
Hi folks,
I am excited to announce that the Grandpa’s Letters series will resume next Monday, August 10th, at 10am Pacific Time with my “October 1944” entry. I will then… Read More
2020-07-30 08:18
I’ve heard a lot of great things about Greyhound, the new World War II Naval drama starring Tom Hanks and, I guess, Elisabeth Shue (more on that later). I read that it was the most rea… Read More
2020-07-24 22:01
Now that my classes are winding down I’m starting to work on the Grandpa’s Letters project again. But since I’m sure how much longer I’m going to have unfettered acce… Read More
2020-07-15 03:55
Hi folks,I’ve decided to deactivate my Twitter. There are a few reasons for this . . . first of all, it was driving me bonkers. My blood pressure is high enough.
Secondly, as a sel… Read More
2020-07-06 19:51
One of my favorite aspects of military history is the availability of documentation.
Militaries are big things, indeed. They have lots of soldiers, lots of vehicles, and lots weapons tha… Read More
2020-07-01 23:53
Hi folks,I received some news yesterday that was not unexpected: the 2020 Western History Association Conference will be conducted entirely online. The good news here is that the entire conf… Read More
2020-06-30 21:11
Good news: the Interior Borderlands: Regional Identity in the Midwest and Great Plains has just won a Midwest Book Award for Best General History. I’m honored and privileged to have ha… Read More
2020-06-29 21:14
Hi folks,Sorry about the lack of posts this past week. One reason is because I’ve been busy with the three courses I’m teaching this summer, as well as spending time with visitin… Read More
2020-06-22 17:00
Hi folks,
You may have noticed that there are now ads on the website. That’s on me . . . this is not a free account, and I have my annual site renewal coming up, so every little bit… Read More
2020-06-18 17:00
The Mink dropped anchor in Biak’s Mokmer Harbor on September 2 and discharged diesel fuel there until the 5th. At some point during that time Elmer left the ship and went ashore. It ha… Read More
2020-06-17 04:17
I’ve been reluctant to write about the relationship between my research and recent debates over police reform. That’s in part because, as I’ve said earlier, I think it&rsqu&hell…Read More
2020-06-12 01:17
Hi folks,I apologize, but I don’t have anything for you today. My September 1944 post is not ready for prime time, nor are any of my other planned Grandpa’s Letters posts. I&rsqu&hell…Read More
2020-06-08 21:52
Elmer ended up spending over a month in Australia. Once his leave ended at the end of the month, he was ordered to hang out in Sydney and wait for his transportation back to the Mink. In t… Read More
2020-06-04 17:00
Hi folks,There won’t be a Grandpa’s Letters post today or for the rest of the week. There are a few reasons for this. For one, I still feel like it is important for me to step as… Read More
2020-06-01 20:19
Hi folks,In general my policy is to keep this space – particularly the Grandpa’s Letters blog – as free from politics and current events as possible. As a historian, one of… Read More
2020-05-28 17:00
By July, the daily grind and the ongoing isolation began to wear down the Mink’s crew. So the ship’s officers cooked up some surprises for their men. “Yes sir,” Elm… Read More
2020-05-25 17:00
Today is Memorial Day, and it is an even more somber holiday than usual: instead of attending backyard barbecues and opening swimming pools, many Americans continue to reel from the COVID-19… Read More
2020-05-21 17:00
The whole watched on June 6th, 1944 as over 150,000 Allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy. It was the largest amphibious invasion in history, and the fate of the planet would be de… Read More
2020-05-18 17:00
The Mink would spend the next several months in Seeadler Harbor. Elmer discussed his ship’s role in our interview:
The Admiralty Islands, it had a wonderful gulf or a bay in there… Read More
2020-05-14 17:00
Rose’s letter from May 15, 1944 wasn’t the first one she wrote, but it is the first one we have and was probably the first one he kept, for reasons that will soon become apparent… Read More
2020-05-11 17:00
As has been pointed out several times in this blog, Elmer did not save many of the letters he received during the war. So far as I can tell none of the letters written by his parents have su… Read More
2020-05-09 03:57
Hi folks,
Exciting news: The Interior Borderlands: Regional Identity in the Midwest and Great Plains is a finalist in the “History-General” category for the 2020 Midwest Book… Read More
2020-05-08 17:00
On April 1st the Mink got under way with the U.S.S. San Pedro and the rest of its convoy and sailed toward Seeadler Harbor in the Admiralty Islands. The harbor was located on the north side… Read More
2020-05-07 07:22
Today’s the big day: Grandpa would have turned 100 years old this morning.
Oddly enough, after writing some 40,000 words about my grandpa thus far for this blog, I’m not sure… Read More
2020-05-04 17:00
“It’s been a long voyage . . .in fact, the longest I’ve ever made. And the sight of land will be a pleasure for us all.”
The long voyage across the Pacific took… Read More
2020-04-30 17:00
Along with the Battles of Guadalcanal and the Coral Sea, the successful defense of Milne Bay and Port Moresby in 1942 helped stop Japan’s southward expansion in its tracks. But the maj… Read More
2020-04-27 17:00
Before the Mink arrived at Milne Bay on March 9, 1944, Americans, Australians, and many Papuans had been fighting the Japanese on New Guinea for over two years. Yet the counter-offensive was… Read More
2020-04-23 17:00
On February 3rd the Mink pulled into Cristobal, a port on the Caribbean side of the Panama Canal Zone. The crew had two nights to rest, mail letters, and paint the town red. Elmer “had… Read More
2020-04-20 17:00
It was January 1944, and it seemed like everyone was nursing a cold. Elmer had the sniffles for the first week of the month, and Rose was sick as well. Elmer’s mother was so ill that… Read More
2020-04-17 21:05
Hi folks,When I first started this blog, I had hoped that I would stick with it for a while. But if you would have told me last September that I’d still be doing this after nearly nine… Read More
2020-04-16 17:00
Despite being able to spend Thanksgiving at home with his family, Elmer’s holiday was overshadowed by developments in his love life. He and Rose had their first fight.
Both parte… Read More
2020-04-13 17:00
During the next several months Elmer and Rose saw a lot of each other, at least given their distance from another and Grandpa’s service obligations. As mentioned in a previous blog, El… Read More
2020-04-09 16:59
“Remember me – the fellow with the ‘blue suit?'”
Elmer wrote his first letter to Rose less than a day after arriving in Cape Girardeau. He had not heard from her s… Read More
2020-04-06 17:00
I was a little trepidatious about reading and writing about my grandparents’ love letters. Not enough to just file them away in a closet and give them to my more emotionally and genera… Read More
2020-04-02 17:00
“It’s a wonder he didn’t shoot his foot off.”
That’s my dad, Steve, commenting on one of the non-Pearl Harbor-related stories my grandpa liked to tell about… Read More
2020-03-31 17:00
Hi folks,So far I like taking a month-on, month-off approach to my posts about Elmer’s letters to his parents, so I think I am going hold off on talking about 1944 (which was a VERY ev… Read More
2020-03-30 17:00
When Elmer arrived back in New Orleans after his Thanksgiving leave, he still had several weeks ahead of him in Louisiana before he would be able to join his new boat. But now work, training… Read More
2020-03-26 17:00
Elmer had his hernia operation on October 27th. It did not take long for his mother to find out about it, and she expressed her disapproval for being kept in the dark in her November 2nd let… Read More
2020-03-23 17:00
Leaf peepers like to spend their time and money visiting Vermont, but Cape Girardeau is every bit as nice when the leaves change. Flaming oranges, reds, and yellows polka dot the thick green… Read More
2020-03-19 17:00
Within a month of arriving in Cape Girardeau, Elmer had established a routine. Sleep. Chow. Exercise. Class. Rinse. Repeat.
His studies went well, though his course load was heavy enough… Read More
2020-03-18 23:03
Hi folks,Great news: the University of Nebraska Press has just released the cover art for my upcoming book, Never Caught Twice: Horse Stealing in Western Nebraska, 1850 – 1890. Check i… Read More
2020-03-16 17:00
Elmer quickly found himself busy once classes started on July 6th. “Same routine,” he wrote two weeks later. “Exercise, chow, classes, chow, exercise, classes, study, cho… Read More
2020-03-12 16:00
A few weeks ago I started going through some of my grandfather’s papers again. It’s been a slow, plodding effort – not all of it is that interesting, and I stay pretty busy… Read More
2020-03-10 17:09
Elmer did not write his parents another letter until June 18th. He did not have to: at 2:15 PM on May 11th, Grandpa arrived at Saint Louis Union Station. His parents were waiting.
After s… Read More
2020-03-06 18:00
Hi folks,
Great news: my blog has just hit 100 followers! Thanks to every single one of you who has signed up to receive updates. It really helps me out, and I do appreciate it.
Meanwh… Read More
2020-03-05 18:03
Elmer had another surprise in store for his family.
As the United States dove headlong into the biggest war in human history, its Navy began to grow dramatically in size. Despite the loss… Read More
2020-03-02 18:45
The year was 1943.
The United States had been at war with the Axis Powers for over a year, yet it felt as though Americans were only getting started. The first half of 1942 brought a seri… Read More
2020-03-01 05:40
I just want to say a quick thank you to JoAnna for holding down the fort for me this past month. I needed the time, apparently: I’ve been very busy with copyedits and I’ve had to… Read More
2020-02-17 16:57
Hello!
This past week my students learned about Ancient Egypt. If you think about Ancient Egypt, chances are you will conger up images of pyramids, sphinxes, and hieroglyphs. Where is the… Read More
2020-02-10 18:11
Image from the University of California. The Mammoth group won the game, but I gave everybody extra credit for participating.Hello All,
As you know from the last post, this is JoAnna, Mat… Read More
2020-02-03 19:06
Portions of Tablet V of the Epic of Gilgamesh. This cuneiform writing depicts Gilgamesh and Enkidu meeting Humbaba, guardian of the Cedar Forest. The tablet dates to the Old Babylonian Perio… Read More
2020-02-01 00:25
Hi folks,Thank you for reading, commenting on, and following my blog over the past several months. I have really enjoyed sharing these letters with you and taking this opportunity to not onl… Read More
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