Submarine Service in the Pacific Theater, World War II: Donald Bromeland, Letters Home to Minnesota Hardcover – January 21, 2026

Donald Edward Bromeland, was born on September 5, 1923 near Brush Creek in southern Minnesota. He had three older siblings: Gertrude, Melvin, and Arnold. When their young parents passed away, Gertrude raised the "energetic" boys herself. During his service in the US Navy during WWII Donald sent over 140 letters between August 1942 to December 1945 to Gertrude. No matter where he was in the world - Chicago, San Francisco, Pearl Harbor, Midway, Saipan, Guam, New York, or Connecticut - he would send her a letter. The letters are an incredible record of how challenging life was during the war for sailors and families at home and abroad. Money, food, farming, and family are always front and center.Torpedo Specialist Bromeland served on the USS Trigger under Executive Officer Edward L. Beach, a highly decorated United States Navy submarine officer and best-selling author. In the book, Run Silent, Run Deep, Beach wrote “And, with little else to occupy their spare time, our crew became prolific letter writers … I did carry away the impression that some of our letter writers were certainly un-abashed, if not adept, at putting their thoughts and yearnings down on paper.”These letters trace the route from a farm boy, child of Norwegian immigrants, to the big cities of the US, and naval service that took him across the US and the Paciific. It provides a window into a special time in Minnesota history, when young men and women ventured into the world in service to their country. Read more