January 16, 1945
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310.86.1-5.2016 Transcription
Somewhere –France
c̅[1] 7th Army
16 Jan 45 @ 5:15 PM
[Can you please send me some
carpenter tools—I may
specify specific ones in
future letters. Thanks.][2]
Lordy! darlin’!
No first class-airmail has
even entered this Evac[3] in 6 (or is it 7)
days. My! my! what “sour” people
that makes! Anyhooo, so help me, I
loves ya, a hundurd [sic] million!
Before I forget—just as
a reminder upon rereading/reciting
after the War—ask me what
the 7th Army expected of the 116th Evac
prior to the last 17 (to 13) days.
Say!—you have seen in
movies or in cartoons what a
Hot-Foot is? [stick a match under
a guys shoe sole & light it so that the heat of
burning makes him jump—sortof a practical
joke, idea].[4] I had somebody slip-me-
a-Hot-Foot last night for the first
time in my life last night when I
lay down for 5 minutes & happened to
doze off. Lordy!!!! how it hurts like
Hell! The damndest burn-like sensation
that doesn’t actually make a blister.
Guess the reason I convey this to
[2]
you is to give you the [bitter][5] advice
to take your shoe off just as fast as
you can—dont expect it to
cool off quickly. Why, you can even
get a combat boot [buckles ‘n laces ‘n all][6] off in not over 3
seconds if you go right after it, & the
damn heat-sensation of a Hot-Foot
will last 10 to 40 seconds.
Guess I never told you much about
Corporal Chet Derbin [he Hot-Footed me].[7] He’s
really a very much Polish boy (despite name)
from the coal mines of Scranton, Pa
which is a plenty tough place—
he says dees, doze, dem, tanks,
ritcha here, etc, etc. He is about 19 ½
years old but has been in the Army
almost 2 yrs. He’s one of these cute
little guys (5’ tall) whom everybody
likes real well & either “mothers him”
or “fathers him.” He’s just as a[g]ile
& athletic as a leopard & is a beautiful
wirey physical specimen. His letting
the nurses “mother-him” is just a
scream. Even more appauling is his
relationship c̅ officers—there just
is no rank-difference/”distinction”
when you are dealing or talking c̅ Chet,
by any officer.
[3]
In other words, he is one of the most
personable individuals in the world.
All this ties in in a direct way c̅ me
because ontop of everything else the kid
has an inate intelligence & natural
scientific ability. Ive taught him
to be an anesthetist & he is damned
good. He can pass an intratracheal
anesthesia tube about as good as I
can; he gives a good pentothal, ether,
& Heidbrink-machine anesthetic.
On top of it all, he has such good horse-
sense in anesthesia-emergencies—
I now finally can turn-my-back
on the other nurse (recently trained) anesth-
etists & other c̅ peace of mind ‘cuz
little ol’ Derbin can & would
handle an emergency well. As you
can suspect, he thinks Im a “God”
& I have him 99% convinced to become
a doctor—a real goal as
compared to going back into the
coal-mines. Most important—he
is absoloutely “a-natural” as far as
becoming a doctor—& a good one!
I could tell you 1000s of other things
but it would take too long—oh yes
[4]
he’s pretty good at J[iu]-Jitsu so
naturally we “throw” (trow, to Derbin)
J[iu]-Jitsu at each other every day.
Infact, if it weren’t for little ol’ Chet
my life would be pretty dull & drab—
as well as more fatiguing as he is
so reliable & can turn out the work
of 3 nurse-anesthetists. I’ll have to
try to get a picture of us together, so
you can see what he looks like—
maybe I should not though—he’s a
handsome little guy! Ho! ho! hum!
Golly! I guess not more than 4 sheets
of this stuff (paper) will go for 6¢.
Anyhooo, I hope (1) P[ower] of Att[orne]y (2 batches of 3 each)
arrived. (2) the $50 New-Years Eve present
to you arrived via letter & later P.T.A.[8]
(3) My “dribblings” about Income Tax c̅ the
keynote that they can’t pester us till
after the War (4) Dads V-mail letter
arriving there c̅ absoloute silliness in
it [still, it looks like such will be the circumstance for
a long time to come][9] AND I so so hope all
my letters reach you telling you of
our closeness, our dreams, our Life,
& our prayers for eachother. All OUR love,
Dave
Hi, there Thump,[10] ol’ sock!—be helpfull!
[1] Medical abbreviation meaning “with.”
[2] Bracketed text written in a box in the upper left-hand corner of the original.
[3] Evacuation Hospital.
[4] Bracketed text is part of original.
[5] Bracketed text is part of original.
[6] Bracketed text inserted into original with a caret.
[7] Bracketed text is part of original.
[8] Personal Transfer Account for sending money back home.
[9] Bracketed text is part of original.
[10] Nickname for their infant son, Terry.