December 29, 1944
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310.71.1-4.2016 Transcription
Somewhere–
France
c̅[1] 7th Army
29 Dec 44 615PM
[Mountains!!
(Sincerely) Thank
God & Thank
Heaven! to see
a picture of mts.][2]
Dearest,
You may be cheated a little bit as to the
length of this letter but I’m so pleased about
this stationary that Marian & Lorraine sent
me that I just must thank them tonight
when I know I can [P.S. We should be in that
messy [thing called][3] “move,” any day now for the past 3 days—but
it may be 3 or (33) more days. We dont move far
but the mess is just as much a mess][4]. In the
same Xmas-box was fruit rolls, peanuts,
& twin “Old Spice” (men’s) Talc-lotion which
Im going to send to you & Dad Mom[5] (you two
argue it out—the lotion “acts” just like
it would make swell cologne (sp?) & the
powder “makes” good dusting powder.
It seems to me that one of you two gals
had “Old Spice” as sort of a 2nd or 3rd choice.
[P.S. For some days now Dads cigarettes have
been sent postage 17 Francs; & a few days after
I sent them, up jumps a notice on the Bul[letin] B[oa]rd
that such a thing violates Internal Revenue—
I “razzored” the GI-“stamp”-seals so I dont
see why I can’t send home that which I
pay for—or could have paid for?][6] Also
to “hog” your time is a very genuine card-letter
from Evelyn Sheerin....telling among other
things how Clyde took a machine gun nest
at Saint Lo & in so doing found a Free Press.
Lastly, I wrote for 2 hours to you this morning
as an enclosure c̅ the first 3 (of 6) P[ower] of Att[orne]ys, [OVER][7]
[2]
& after doing that I spent another hour
arranging EFMs[8] to you, Terry[9] & Mom-Dad.
Please report on all 3. Which brings up
that you got my V-mail-Xmas cards but
Mom-Dad did not (?) get theirs?? — !!
Lastly, I go a little crazier every day over
no word that you 4 received 1st my “Don’t
Open Till Xmas” letter to you 4 which I had
so hoped would be on the tree by Dec 25th as
it told you of the [cabled][10] Personal Transfer Account’s
$50 I sent to divide between you 4 as my
presents; & 2nd not a word have I heard
about whether the $45 you [DID][11] received [sic] is
“short-changing-skulldugery” on this (above)
$50. If our pillaging gets down to money,
that really is the rock-bottom-of-BOTTOM!
Finally—no pkg has ever come through
from you (Mom-Dads, Margery’s, & now tonight, Marian-
Lorraine’s have “run-the-pillage-line”).
Based on time-factors tonight I
don’t know just how to manage answering
your 3 letters (& Dad’s Dec 12th [THANK HIM!!][12]) that came
this evening. These three are “back-numbers”
that suffered “gaposis”, but boy! how I
love ‘em! Which reminds me—NO LESS
THAN 20 TIMES YOU DEPLORE THE
INFERIORITY, OF YOUR LETTERS—
LORDY! THERE [sic] PERFECT! Maybe if I’d stop
the-old-Army-game-we-all-love, so dearly, called
B-i-T-C-H-i-N-G, mine would be of a rank
equal to yours! Anyhooo, here goes on as
much of your 3 “gaposis-ers” as I can:—
[3]
[gotta preserve
this specious space][13]
Your Dec 8ths:—Guess American
salesmen “racketd” as good as do
French salesmen [Xmastime or no Xmastime][14]——however, dont
you worry about your 100, 50, 10 & 5 Franc
notes as I have them already. If I can
ever learn exact rules [so many rumors exist][15] I
may send them, but you can at least bet
that I have them (& any other countries) in my
pocket book.
Before I forget—in 5 letters I forgot to tell
you that I’ve fullfilled your request of snapshots,
& 3 different ones have been taken but the owners
won’t relinquish the negatives—&printing (picture)
paper is very precious over here. However, dont
dispair as Ive a hunch some paper is forthcoming soon.
[Screams she:-“Again!—he heckles me” !Ü!卐!«!”][16] —
but howzabout you now fixin’ up my request
[(4x)][17] of a roll of film of you & Terry together being
shot-up every 2 weeks! (OUCH!—but I wont stop)
I know how you feel about getting a
Saturday’s letter to tide you over till
Monday. We work 7 days a week (IT JUST EATS
INTO A GUY AFTER AWHILE!) [THE 7 RELENTLESS DAYS ON END—ON END][18] but
compensatorily, mail moves 7 days a week,
though I surely do wish it would move
in “stream-manner” instead of “gaposis-
clumped-manner.”
Thanks a lot dear for [telling about][19] or {mailing[/]getting}
the Fuller {tooth [and] hair} brushes & forgotten pl[ie]rs.
Ill keep Bernards 90th & Milano’s 9th
in the corner of my eye-&-ear. Dobie[20] is c̅in
spitting distance from me, but I just cant
establish contact. I have 3 separate messages
[illegible deletion] enroute to Dobie after via hard work. Hope!
[4]
[DONT LET THIS SWELL
STATIONARY SLOW UP
YOUR EFFORTS AS I
JUST MUST STOCK-
PILE THIS STUFF
AND WEEKLY STAMPS!][21]
Time out for 6 minutes
One of my roommates who
is on Medicine-Service just admitted-examined
a Doctor Baldwin (Capt, M.C.[22] playing “nursemaid”
to negro QM[23] troops—God, save him!) who
lives at Langdon, No[rth] Dak[ota]. Summary = usual
scanty knowledge except a Faulconer lives in
Langdon. Ill visit more when not so rushed.
He knows a FORKNER IN BISMARK
Your Dec 11ths:— Im so relieved to
know Randy is not in the Pacific. Yes,
mail stinks (yet it doesnt stink) all over,
including Randy’s England.
Golly! Umm! Golly! —25 INCHES
LONG worth of back-breakin’ M-A-N!
Boy! dearest, I just cant say often enough
how swell and perfect a job you are
doing! P.S. Just read Terry’s EFM when it
arrives & you’ll see something expressed there, too.
PLEASE DONT EVER STOP WRITING THOSE
“LITTLE-THINGS” HE DOES—such as
giggling in a mirror, or sockin’ himself
in the mush——dearest, I eat those things!
Lucky for me, huh?!, that he’s around to sock you
in the mush if you don’t take lots of pictures—huh? [OUCH!][24]
Honestly & seriously dearest, I know pictures are
lots of work, but there is nothing greater you could
do for me along c̅ your letters, which are the other
other half of the greatest thing you do for me.
If you can, please send the Mpls[25]
Tribunes story about War doctors, AND
DON’T WORRY, DARLIN’—GOD IS DOING
THINGS FOR YOU & I just happen to be the
lucky intermediary Lug.
[5]
Your Dec 14th’s:— Evacs[26] use to be
always in tents, but in this Theater you
fix up a building if at all possible—
so “operating room” (UNQUOTE) is a room.
I have, however, worked in a tent when
they had me on my second “loan-out” to
a Field Hospital ages ago. I flew there by place.
[Multiple repititions][27]:—I read that you
received the Truax papers; this is the 3rd
letter [(& an EFM)][28] in 30 hours telling you about P. of Atty
being enroute; & your beautiful (“Xmas-letter”)
(both copies) did arrive, thank the Good Lord
in Heaven. DEAREST, I ABSOLUTELY KNOW
THAT NO MAN EVER RECEIVED A
FINER LETTER IN HIS LIFE!
Gee, I gotta hurry to work (8PM→8AM).
But I wrote more than I thought I could.
[Also I gotta hurry—after the war ask me about
the first “telephone-letter” we got—just a reminder.][29]
So c̅ all my heart and soul &
prayers I say goodnight to you & Terry
who have————
All my love,
Dave
[1] Medical abbreviation meaning “with.”
[2] Bracketed text written on top of page, with an arrow pointing to the Airmail design featuring a fighter plane over a mountain range.
[3] Bracketed text inserted into original with a caret.
[4] Bracketed text is part of original.
[5] In original, “Mom” is written above “Dad.”
[6] Bracketed text is part of original.
[7] Bracketed text written in lower right-hand corner of original.
[8] Expeditionary Force Messages, with numbers corresponding to messages for quick correspondence.
[9] Their infant son.
[10] Bracketed text inserted into original with a caret.
[11] Bracketed text inserted into original with a caret.
[12] Bracketed text written underneath parentheses in original, with an arrow pointing to the date.
[13] Bracketed text written in upper left-hand corner of original, with arrows pointing to the Airmail stationary image.
[14] Bracketed text inserted into original with a caret.
[15] Bracketed text is part of original.
[16] Bracketed text is part of original.
[17] Bracketed text inserted into original with a caret.
[18] Bracketed text written below the text in parentheses in original.
[19] Bracketed text is part of original.
[20] One of his friends in the Army.
[21] Bracketed text written in upper left-hand corner of page, over Airmail stationary image, in original.
[22] Captain within the Army Medical Corps.
[23] Quartermaster Army Corps.
[24] Bracketed text written below “huh?” in original.
[25] Minneapolis.
[26] Short for Evacuation Hospital (his workplace).
[27] Bracketed text is part of original.
[28] Bracketed text inserted into original with a caret.
[29] Bracketed text is part of original.