This appears to be Dad’s last letter to Mary before shipping out for home. I’m attaching an interesting publication called “Angels Harp” dated July 16, 1945 with news of the day and a piece called “Opened by Mistake” which details life aboard the ship! I am taking a short break from the letters and will [...]
Archive for the ‘WWII memories’ Category
Last letter from Europe, July 6, 1945
Posted in WWII letters, WWII memoir, WWII memories, tagged Angels Harp 7-16-45 on October 28, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Last few days in Europe, June 30, 1945
Posted in June 1945, WWII letters, WWII memoir, WWII memories on October 28, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
He’s estimating just a few more days until they go to the staging area where they will be shipped back to America. They have a pool going to see who can predict the actual date they land on US soil. 30 June 1945 Good evening, sweetie, Here are a couple of MOs that will be [...]
En route, June 24, 1945
Posted in June 1945, WWII letters, WWII memoir, WWII memories on October 24, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Dad’s back in Rheims in a camp much like the US where they’re in tents with no lights, no water and they could be here for up to one month. But he’s chipper because he knows he’s on his way home. Trying to make plans to visit his folks in Seattle, as his Dad isn’t [...]
Coming home, June 19, 1945
Posted in Germany, June 1945, WWII letters, WWII memoir, WWII memories on October 23, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
This is it folks – the moment we’ve all been waiting for! He’s coming home! In his mind to that warm fuzzy place that he’s been fantasizing about for years – he’s hopeful – joyous even though he doesn’t know what really will happen to him. I thought it would be interesting to google what [...]
Coming home at last, June 14, 1945
Posted in Germany, June 1945, WWII letters, WWII memoir, WWII memories on October 22, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Great letter! Fraught with emotion! 14 June 1945 I’ve been waiting a long time to write this letter, sweetheart, so sit down and take it easy…Unless something goes wrong, we should be home in about a month to six weeks from now!!!!! We have finished our mission here (last Sat, in fact, when we were [...]
Fascinating times, June 9 & 11, 1945
Posted in Germany, June 1945, WWII letters, WWII memoir, WWII memories on October 21, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Now that the censors have gone, Dad’s letters a more substantive which is wonderful! The ever-present “what’s next” is looming in his letters as they go about their days wondering. I love in the second letter where he and his pal Spalding have been put in charge of the Rathskeller and have so much booze [...]
Party with the “girls”, June 7, 1945
Posted in Germany, June 1945, WWII letters, WWII memoir, WWII memories, WWII photos on October 20, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Dad says he’s in Bielefeld, Germany and has included this aerial view of where he’s stationed. I remembered that I may have posted this earlier – but this is the correct context for this photograph. He has an arrow drawn to his room! And then later in the letter he tells a funny story about [...]
Creative bartending, June 4, 1945
Posted in Germany, June 1945, WWII letters, WWII memoir, WWII memories on October 16, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
This post-war time period is getting interesting! Dad volunteered to be a bartender at a shindig for the big brass! He and his pal Spalding invented two new drinks: the Fraternizer and the Buzz Bomb! Gosh, there may be something to this DNA thing after all! 4 June 1945 V-Mail Germany Good evening, sweetie, Haven’t [...]
Bitter, June 1, 1945
Posted in Germany, June 1945, WWII letters, WWII memoir, WWII memories on October 15, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Whoa, this letter is downright hostile! Mary hasn’t been following along! I can empathize in some ways, but guess what? I have been following along and at least knew that he was in the 9th Army! His nerves are frayed and he finally speaks openly about being so close to the battle zone that they [...]
Day to day, May 24, 27 & 31, 1945
Posted in Germany, May 1945, WWII letters, WWII memoir, WWII memories, tagged Edward R. Morrow radio broadcast, liberation of Buchenwald Concentration Camp on October 14, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
I must admit that there’s not too much of interest in these letters – one guy has gone off to France, so Dad’s work load has increased and he’s really tired. He warns Mary that he hopes she’s rested when he gets home “because I’ve been storing up a lot of energy in the past [...]
