March 1, 1945
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310.284.1-3.2017 Transcription
Somewhere–France
c̅[1] 7th Army
1 Mar. 45 @ 11 PM
Dearest,
This is the latest I’ve ever started
a letter to you I guess, huh? Anyhooo,
I lovez ya I lovez ya, early, or late,
or anytime—see!!
Andy McGee “broke-down” & wrote
me a letter which I just answered.
Which reminds me (& us) that we
surely can’t praise the mail service
very much the past 10-14 days—
it hasn’t been “stinko” or anything
like that—just not as spoilin’
of us, as it use to be, I guess. There’s
an awful lot of “gaposis” in your letters
to me made up, I can tell ya.
While on mail—some
week or month (or year, mebeeeee) you
will receive a package, addressed
in my printing but it isn’t yours.
My “right-hand-man” (Corp) Chet “Sonny”
Derbin wants to send something
to his Wac girl friend & it is better
send via you. Subsiquent letters
will clarify this. (for reasons you will see
in the ultimate end).
[2]
All we wish you to
do is readdress it
c̅ the address I send in subsequent
letters [it is “wrapped-double”—outside
wrapping to get to you; inside wrapping blank
for your readdressing][2]. It will cost
you 12¢-25¢ to mail it but it is
money-well-spent-on-Freindship’s-behalf.
Again—today—another Assoc
Press’ version from an Indiana news-
paper came about that “glamour-scoop”
A.P. made on the 116th Evac. Boy! oh
boy! is the 116th ever getting “spread”
over the U.S.A.—chiefly Middlewest
but elsewhere too. For one example,
the Ky. paper where Col Ball (C.O.) is from
is going to “splurge” a full rotogravuer ← (?)
picture of him in association c̅ the
article. P.S. It still all whittles down, we fear,
as repititiously said before—we’re too good to
get disbanded after Nazidom falls—the Army
will probably use “a-good-thing” in C-B-I[3]!
S———H———i———T——— SHIT !
Oh yes, I saw the negatives on
the wedding-party pictures & they’re
pretty encouraging. Now we are
“scrounging” for printing paper as at
[3]
least 7 to 9 people want
prints of all the 6 to 8
“shots” & thus that’s 50-75 pieces of
printing paper. Woe is us! Anyhooo,
dont dispair as they’ll arrive someday.
‘Sfunny—[or isnt it][4]?—how
often I get out all those snaps
you’ve sent me & regobble ‘n regobble
‘n regobble them. Geeeeee! Purrrrr!
If my memory doesnt fail me
there are some more in the process.
(Maybe still on a half used roll in a camera).
Did that paper (still no cloth) shoulder
patch of the 7th Army get to Terry? Ive
always forgotten to mention that it
is {7 steps to Heaven
{7 steps to Hell[5]
Interesting, huh?!
Well dearest, it will be Heaven,
when this “Hell” is over in the World, to
be c̅ you & Terry who have
All my love,
Dave
[1] Medical abbreviation meaning “with.”
[2] Bracketed text is part of original.
[3] China Burma India. CBI was the US military designation for this area during the war.
[4] Bracketed text is part of origina.
[5] In original, there is a drawing of a pyramid with 7 numbered steps ascending on one side and descending on the other, with arrows pointing to “Heaven” (on the ascending side), and “Hell” (on the descending side).