June 23, 1945
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310.198.1-5.2017 Transcription
Bad Mergentheim, Germany
23 June 45
Ahhh, darlin:—
Life iz worth livin’!—
need I even say why—two letters
came from you today (which is in a [much
reped][1] “Mail-Era” that is sooo bad [seemingly][2] that a
guy contemplates “hari-kari”). Anyhoooo, it
surely was swell! grand! superflomgloptious!
Your A.S. on June 2nd’s:- speaks of
the large & the small printing paper so
I’ll “rep.” an acknowledgement to the
small one having arrived. Here’s hoping
on the big size too.
Margery V-mailed me too about
Randy’s Captaincy. Im very glad fro
him. All we “foreward-combat” docs
wonder what they are gonna do c̅[3]
those “Paris-London-comfort” Gen’l Hosp
docs when it comes to rippin’ Japs
outa coral fox-holes. Probably they’ll
go to “comfort-Generals” in Manila. About
the only reason we think of it is that
unless we can get into a General
we’ll never get any more money because
T/Os freeze us at Captain’s dough.
[2]
Your understandable/truthful “tirade”
about rank ↔ ”class” strikes my key-
note too, although Ive probably never
worded it as such in detail—
such mental-inferiority/ability-inferiority
cloaked [supposedly][4] in “honor” (?).
Geeeee!—this letter & the
other one today was soooo brimful
of what ol’ Thump[5] is doing these
days, that I absoloutely “float.” You
surely are an “ol’ stinker of a mother”
[note I didn’t say Mother][6] to go interruptin’
a young man’s “work” alltha time by
sleep, feeding, & hygiene measures.
Your kind iz “Rats,” Schmaltzie! He, he!
Juss you wait till he & I get to
huntin’—Hell, you’ll see us
“free” [maybe!][7] once a week for a
bath, some provision, & more ammunition.
Wanna “divorce” us both right now, ahead of time???
Please be sure to mention if &
when that “S&S”[8] clipping about another
kind of Thumper arrives. Youzah, these
Thumpers iz tough, take-it guys.
P.S. I’ll betcha he can ketplop out of a buggy or high chair—too!
RESULT = ZEEERO.
[3]
Your June 12th’s:— c̅ 2 stamps (danke)
tells about the Lees & Krutchkoff (you spelled
it just right). Again (as page #1) what are they
going to do c̅ these rear-doctors. The
“S. & S.” told 2 days ago of 42 General &
Station Hosps, in England alone, having
closed. Now that, m’ Love, is a mess
of docs! Probably! [damnit][9] its overseas time, per se, that
will count & they’ll just move into “comfort-Generals”
such as Lovell.
Which reminds me—we laugh
at least every 3rd meal for the past
couple of weeks. they feed us rice—
rice pudding, rice creoles (sp?), rice in
soup, rice, rice, rice! Oh me, hee hee!
I’m sure that its just a logistical proposition of Etousa[10]
finding itself stuck c̅ a lot of rice & they are just
using it up—but oh how we razz the Mess
Officers about {“preparatory-suggestion” & supposed subtile suggestion[11]—let alone
getting us “accustomed”/trained.
Whatcha mean, Schmaltzie?!—
“Pappy’s pretty blue car” (UNQUOTE). YOUR/our car,
& my only regret is that it is not
“new-blue-you” [yours][12]. Seeeeeeee!
For several letters I’ve not explained
something you [likely][13] have half figured out, already
viz. I dont censor my envelopes anymore.
Well, even 2 weeks after we were told
[4]
we didn’t have to do it anymore, I
still did it on the bases of “for-good-
measure.” Maybe it prompted the censor to open them &
thus caused a slowing of my letters to you—I dunno!
Anyhoooo, the rule is this:—only alerted
outfits need comply c̅ censorship
“rigamarol” these past weeks. Maybe this
factor could be a hint to you when
you see my censoring-signature restart
again [BUT, be careful not to let an old delayed letter
confuse you—they all were censored—even up till just
my last 3 or 4 letters, so please dont get “misled” dear][14].
These two letters that came today
surely got cut up & the special/purrrie
parts got put (saved) along c̅ dozens of
others from the past 9½ months. Gosh
I wish I could climb inside an
envelope so as to pop out & S-A-Y—
I love you both sooooo,
Dave
P.S. There is one thing good about this Bad M. deal—
the 63rd Div. is still here [though I hear they are
being “manipulated” via Class III mechanism][15] &
that means I can again attend a Eucharistic
Service @ 8:30 tomorrow. I’ll be even more c̅
you, dearest—if such is humanly possible.
[1] Bracketed text is part of original.
[2] Bracketed text is part of original.
[3] Medical abbreviation meaning “with.”
[4] Bracketed text is part of original.
[5] Nickname for their infant son, Terry.
[6] Bracketed text is part of original.
[7] Bracketed text is part of original.
[8] Stars and Stripes, a US Military newspaper.
[9] Bracketed text is part of original.
[10] European Theater of Operations, US Army.
[11] In original, “’preparatory-suggestion” is written above “&,” which is written above “supposed subtile suggestion.”
[12] Bracketed text is part of original.
[13] Bracketed text inserted into original with a caret.
[14] Bracketed text is part of original.
[15] Bracketed text is part of original.