March 23, 1945
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310.128.1-6.2016 Transcription
Somewherelse–France
With 7th Army 8:30 PM
23 Mar 45
My dearest one,
Please, please don’t fret for one
split second about Thump’s[1] fall—
either as far as I am concerned or as far
as any damage to him is concerned—
please dearest ? And besides, God (for
some unfathomable reason) wanted him to
go kerplop yet He still is giving that
little ol’ guy the same “got-what-it-takes”
that I told you about the very first
48 hrs in Ft Devens. “Carelessness” “blame”[2]?—
gosh! what an INAPPROPRIATE word you
encorporated in your letter (as a possible reaction).
Your 3 swell letters arrived out here
in tent-town at a time yesterday when
they were most needed. As I wrote you
in my preceeding 4, 5 or 6 letters, we were (are)
in a nightmarish holocost—now the
only difference is that we have tent {strangeness, disorganiz., inconvenience[3]
added ontop of the holocost. Gosh, darlin—
[I dont mean to complain or have self piety [sic] but][4] a
guy just wonders how many times the
World is going to ask for f these holocost-messes
to be gone through. Each one seems like
about the “last-straw” & yet more & more come!
[2]
Compared to other types of service (certain types) we
are Godgivenly lucky & well off, of course
but oh me! oh us! Guess if I could only
be more a ”hard-hearted-sonofabitch” Id
be better off [or maybe I’m just getting too old to
“take-it”—as an additional factor][5] Ho! Hmm! Ho!
I’d like to write/”talk” to you
for hours ‘n hours darlin’ as it seems
I’ve been “robbed” of these talks c̅[6] you too
often lately (no letter even possible last night), but
I dont know how long my candles will
hold out [or how soon that in-boring fog/mist
will drive me to bed].[7] Anyhooo here goes as
it’s fairly quiet in “this-here” tent tonight:—
Your Mar 11th’s:- Yes, Precious, everything
in Life is by comparison greater than
average & greater than you should have to
stand. Keep that car in shape dear as
even if for only weeks I’m taking you
c̅ me the very first moment I can!!
Don’t believe all the “guff” they
hand you about airmail curtailment—
its only at sporadic “pre-push” times. Oh
yes, just have photo paper in airmailable-
sized evelopes (12¢)—& if they look
inside they are libel (sp?) ! Ü ! « ! 卐 !
[3]
The pkg you are to foreward is
just a field jacket from Chet to his
girl-friend [not really][8] as she isnt permitted
to buy one.
Yes, Russian, Alsatian, Poles, etc “soldiers”
who were “suppressed” into German uniform
for 1-4 yrs escape when they can. We worked
like Hell to save a Russian who got it
threw the belly while fleeing out of the
Nazi trenches, but the poor guy died 4 hrs later.
Whoopieeeee—SIX (VI) (6) (iiiiii) TEETH!
Klichsssch (meaning 6) teeth! is probably the
way that ol’ buzzard lisp-whistles out about
his Klischsssch teeth. Aint it swell!!
Sez Thump:—“Whooosh, retarded”?!?!
Your Mar 13th’s:-Camel ads use to
say:-“Blow some my way” [smoke][9]—howz
about blowing-some-“fuses”-my-way—
honest Id love it darlin A N D it would
help you [Y O U][10] a lot—see! S E E ?!
Im glad the projection-print of the
blizzard shot was not too bad—so
help me, the snow-flecks socked so hard
it seemed like I was squinting [Reps:-
7 wedding pictures & 3 “passport-postcard” portraits
for left of over from American Boards Application “shooting”
should be almost too you now—I “staggered” ‘em
all. Also 2X repe’d was that you now can use novocaine-
insertion on the xiphoid for a clear picture].[11]
[4]
We will probably be moving so
frequently & so fast c̅ such short stays at
each site that even we wont be able to
keep up c̅ ourselves, let alone anybody else.
Guess maybe thats one of the reasons why
we are into tents is because you have
exactly known “rooms” always available
at fast speeds (no cleanin’, fixin’ up, etc.).
(Rep) P.S. I still would like you to put my
Columbia portrait into/alongside some other picture
you are shooting cuz that Bis[marck] Capitol picture [rep.][12]
didn’t show me much, dear, of what I am curious
about. Tanks.
Your Mar 14th’s:-is about that tough
ol’buzzards kerplop except for the point
about innoculation-reaction—
why? yes, just why in Hell!, should
anyone (let alone 2 people) storm around
because of a socalled innoculation-reaction?
Sonofabitch!—shit! shit! shit!
It couldn’t be our Dear-Friend-Christian-
Science, could it?! 卐Ü«. Lordeeeeeee!
Something that can so help a little guy
in the future, to be stormed {at [or] about![13]—
even if it “costs” a little something now
in March 1945. Whatinhell are blood-
guts-puke-pain-pleasant death as of March
1945 doing/”costing” now if it werent
for helping little guys so much in the future?
Thus—“cost” now; “dividends” future {Perdipigen War.[14]
[5]
I trust you realize that novocaine
inserters can be used on words as well
as anatomy. Please acknowledge is possibility
dear in writing, huh?
Reps:- A Feb Readers Digest did
come. 2 (or 3? cant remember) Forewards for Easter-
[illegible] came. 2 batches of buzzy-
Teeter-babe snaps came [who’s camera, huh?].[15]
I hope my $50 PTA[16] to Terry for a bull session
c̅ his ol’ pal Arlie Barnes arrives. (I’m glad
your allottments “land” ever[y] 5th & bonds in
due time). Did Grandma get Aunt Ks letter
I forewarded on (written on the back thereof) &
Im glad the bib & ersatz ration book got
to you as well as Aunt K. My Application
for Amer. Brd. of Anesth finally got off on Mar 14th
towards making me a Diplomate of the
Board (a Specialist—an “ace-up-the-sleeve,” ONLY).
I surely hope you got my 2X (or 3X) request to
cut out (or copy off) “Questions Asked On Prev-
ious Board Exams” found in most issues
of “Anesthesiology” Journal.
Gosh – {paperweight
{boring night-fog/mist
{3 candles almost burned up
force me to close this swell “talk” c̅
you dearest———but now instead,
I can dream of you c̅
All my love,
Dave
[1] Nickname for their infant son, Terry.
[2] In original, “blame” is written beneath “carelessness.”
[3] In original, “strangeness” is written above “disorganiz.,” which is written above “inconvenience.”
[4] Bracketed text is part of original.
[5] Bracketed text is part of original.
[6] Medical abbreviation meaning “with.”
[7] Bracketed text is part of original.
[8] Bracketed text is part of original. In original, there is an arrow pointing from “really” to “girl-friend.”
[9] Bracketed text is part of original.
[10] Bracketed text is part of original.
[11] Bracketed text is part of original.
[12] Bracketed text is part of original.
[13] In original, “at” is written above “about.”
[14] In original, “Perdipigen” is written above “War.”
[15] Bracketed text is part of original.
[16] Personal Transfer Account for sending money back home.