December 24, 1944
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310.66.1-3.2016 Transcription
Somewhere – France
24 Dec. 44
c̅[1] 7th Army
Almost Xmas Eve
My dearest,
Guess the letter I wrote
last night may bear the wrong
date, & I know it bear the wrong
time-relationship, as I stated in it
that the Folks package had arrived (WHOOPIE)
48 hrs before Xmas [really 24 hrs before
Xmas eve opening-time][2]. Sooo, if I
dated it 22 Dec—you just
change it to 23 in your very
swell “file”-like-scrapbook.
Gosh! darlin’, I could get so
reminiscent right now that
it would be horrible (AND WONDERFUL);
you made me the first decent
home-like tree I’d had since
I was a kid; you gave me sincere
& heartfelt love; we played
hard [probably too much hard-liquor][3] c̅
the Elks bunch; etc; etc; &
greatest of all, I guess, we went
to Church together (say! even Thump[4] was
“with” us in Church—huh?)
[2]
You “shook” packages while I
chattered a reprimand (like a mother-hen);
we had cold, [some][5] snow, & the rest
that makes a real Christmas [we haven’t
seen a speck of snow & believe-it-or-not, a
field jacket (only) is more than enough.][6]
A’course that awful gap-of-Clarice
was powerfully boring [in][7] but we
at least managed. I can’t
just help but feel that little ol’
sweet Thump will is “man-enough”
to help her-gap & my-“gap”
very very appreciably. Yes, I
am so God-thankful that ol’
Thump is “in-there-a’-pitchin’” for
both of us.
Dearest——this is one
of those times/moments when a
guy just shouldn’t try to even
write (I haven’t written very well at all, I know,
as to what I deeply feel). So, I’ll stop by
letting you know that we absoloutely
will be taking Communion
together tomorrow morning at
10 AM with
All our Love,
Dave
[1] Medical abbreviation meaning “with.”
[2] Bracketed text is part of original.
[3] Bracketed text is part of original.
[4] Nickname for their infant son, Terry.
[5] Bracketed text written above “snow” in original.
[6] Bracketed text is part of original.
[7] Bracketed text inserted into original with a caret.