December 2nd, 1942

From Charles E. McCall, CMM to Mrs. Ellis M. Zacharias, Sr.

Dear Mrs. Zacharias;

We, the crew, have endeavored to convey to you, the feelings that we had during the time that Captain Zacharias was "Our Captain".

While he was in command, our feeling of confidence in him and in ourselves, inspired by him, his leadership and our admiration, his ability and our respect for him were summed in the name that we used in referring to him - "Captain Zach".

We realize that the Captain is a very busy man and the great importance of his work, and we feel sure that you will convey our feelings to him.

Every man in the crew has a personal interest in the gift we sent to you at 1000 "G" Street, Coranado, CA., (as we have been unable to determine your present residence). We hope it will be enjoyed by yourself and the Captain, and that it will serve as a reminder to you that we will always follow with great interest the rest of his career - "We knew him when".

We offer our best to you and the Captain.

Sincerely,

C. E. McCall, CMM
For the Crew

January 7th, 1943

Dear Mr. McCall,

You will never know how much your letter of December 2nd with its expression of confidence and affection toward my husband meant to me and will mean to me for years to come, because I intend to place it among other treasured letters and papers in a scrapbook where in the future not only myself but our boys can turn for inspiration and with pride. We feel that these are things in life that are really important.

That the crew wished to further demonstrate its feelings by sending us "the most beautiful silver service and candelabra [see picture below] I have ever seen or would want to possess", has left me with a feeling of futility when it comes to expressing my appreciation and thanks to every member of that crew. Believe me, we shall cherish it always! And, I can assure you that these very deep feelings are reciprocated for whenever the Salt Lake City is mentioned it is promptly followed up with "there's the finest crew I ever had or could want." Furthermore, we follow as closely as possible your every move and you are in our thoughts constantly when the going is rough. God know we wish you well and you have done a splendid job - we knew you would.

Will you please, on behalf of myself, 'Captain Zack' and the boys, see to it that the crew is informed that we received in perfect condition their beautiful gift; how much pleasure it brought to us and how very grateful and honored we feel.

With our every good wish for the future and thanking you personally for your nice letter, I am,

Very sincerely,

Claire Zacharias
3505 Porter St. NW
Washington, D.C.