Dad seems to be coming to the end of his rope. The only thing that he has enthusiasm for is volleyball and ping pong! Not what you usually think of soldiers doing during war duty! But he does make some interesting comments about the rumors of Hitler’s death. Tomorrow, I’ll begin posting his letters from [...]
Archive for the ‘Western Front’ Category
Rumors of Hitler’s death, April 28 & 30, 1945
Posted in April 1945, Germany, Western Front, WWII letters, WWII memoir, WWII memories on September 29, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Fed up with war, April 20, 23 & 25, 1945
Posted in April 1945, Western Front, WWII letters, WWII memoir, WWII memories on September 28, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Funny, my Dad always was very competitive in all aspects of life, but sports was his passion. This is the latest in a string of letters where he’s bragging about his team’s accomplishments in their volley ball games with the higher brass! Not much news about the war – but he is suggesting that Mary’s [...]
The fruits of war, April 18 & 19, 1945
Posted in April 1945, Germany, Western Front, WWII letters, WWII memoir, WWII memories, tagged Essen, Gladbach, Munster, Rhur region, total destruction on September 27, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Dad’s unit has moved again and his descriptions of totally bombed out cities that used to exist are illustrative. He mentions Essen, Gladbach and Munster as being completely destroyed. And then, the cushy digs where they now reside – a former German officer’s club! I’m including a historical account of what occurred in the Ruhr [...]
Back to work, April 13 & 14, 1945
Posted in April 1945, Western Front, WWII letters, WWII memoir, WWII memories, WWII photos on September 26, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Dad’s back to work after his furlough and it sounds like a rough transition. How couldn’t it be? He mentions purchasing a carved picture and sending it to her and this is so exciting to me, as I grew up with these carved wooden pictures and thought my Dad had gotten them in the war, [...]
Last day in Nice, April 9, 1945
Posted in April 1945, Western Front, WWII letters, WWII memoir, WWII memories, WWII photos, tagged Antibes, Cannes, Grasse, Juan-les-Pins, La Cote d'Azur, Monaco, Monte Carlo, Saint Raphael on September 26, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
By a stroke of good luck, no train showed up and Dad got an extra day of furlough! He had such a great time dancing and meeting girls in the south, it’s going to be tough going back to duty in the 79th! I’m including another photo packet called “La Cote d’Azur”. Some great pictures [...]
Excursion to Grasse, April 5, 1945
Posted in April 1945, Western Front, WWII letters, WWII memoir, WWII memories, WWII photos, tagged excursion to Grasse, France, Grasse on September 24, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Another fabulous excursion to Grasse! LOVE this “Welcome to the Riviera” brochure the Army gave Dad. I’ve scanned in most of it and will share it at the end of today’s post. 5 April 1945 V-Mail France Hello, honey – what a perfectly swell day! Bright sun (I have the beginning of a tan) and [...]
The Riviera, April 3, 1945
Posted in April 1945, Western Front, WWII letters, WWII memoir, WWII memories, WWII photos, tagged Courtesy pass card, Hermitage, mess pass, military personnel price list, The Riviera on September 23, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Another delighted letter, this one to his Dad, from Nice, France on furlough. Hard to imagine that the cost of one week’s vacation = $2.00!!! 3 Apr 1945 V-Mail France Dear Dad, Here I am in what was once the finest gambling casino on the Rivera! It is now the Red Cross Club, and being [...]
Crossing the Rhine, March 24, 1945
Posted in March 1945, Western Front, WWII letters, WWII memoir, WWII memories, tagged Crossing the Rhine on September 20, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Well this appears to be one of the most important events my Dad has been a part of during the course of the War – the crossing of the Rhine River! I’ve read a number of different historical documents about this, but think this short video is extremely powerful in its telling of the story [...]
Back in Germany, March 20 & 22, 1945
Posted in March 1945, Western Front, WWII letters, WWII memoir, WWII memories on September 19, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Dad’s back in Germany again and it sounds as though they’ve traveled through some pretty war torn areas to arrive at his current location. His description of his environment is once again illustrative! It appears from the research I’ve done that the troops and division that Dad is part of (9th Armored Division) is moving [...]
Shining through adversity, March 14 & 17, 1945
Posted in Holland, March 1945, Uncategorized, Western Front, WWII letters, WWII memoir, WWII memories on September 18, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
These two letters show a side of my father that I’ve only really learned through reading his letters – despite the most intense adversity, he does his best to create a comfortable “nest” for himself! In the first letter he describes taking over a “room upstairs” that was a wreck and with the help of [...]
