November 16, 1944
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310.37.1-5.2016 Transcription
Somewhere in So. France
16 Nov. 44
Dearest,
Before I forget something for the
umpteenth time—I know that
Dad [from his letters while in the U.S][1] would give me Hell for
having worked so hard these past
10 days as Anesthetist to the H…Gen’l
Hospital. Sure, he’s right—yet
I can answer him to the satisfaction
of my own heart—which is this:
Remember way back in Elko how you
once described to me how you felt
that I could sorta-somewhat act
for you on your behalf of these poor wounded
guys by giving them conscientious &
sincere anesthesia care? Well when-
ever I get tired &/or begin to get a
little slip-shod I remember that
I’m working for you too—& thus
I get myself back onto “the-beam” ad
you would want it, dear. There are
some other ramifications/thoughts
which you know or understand so I
won’t go into them. Anyway, I have
lots of [different][2] reasons for my work, haven’t I
darlin’!?
Speaking of work—God has
certainly been helpin’ me c̅[3] my
[2]
anesthesia work. I have written you
already about (1) that piece of booby trap
in the lung & (2) the decapsulation (releasing)
of a whole lung—well today was
not “dramatic” but I did a lumbar
parasympathetic nerve block which
is all done blindly (by “feel”) c̅ long
needles through the back to get around
toward the front-lateral body of the
vertebrae. Well, I hit the nerve chain
c̅ infected novocaine & it relieved this
poor guy of the phantom-pain in his
amputated leg, & was he happy. He said:
“Hell! doc, that’s the first time I have
been free of pain in those toes [gone, of course][4]
for 3 weeks, day or night.” P.S. Again, how much
do I have to pay you to not tell these N.Y bigshot-surgeons
that it is the first one I have ever really done—I have
watched a few, but the “feel to do it was a God-send.
It seems that every night I tell
you I am pooper-out. I’m sure nothing
is wrong c̅ me—it’s just the excessive
work of a place as big (& yet as under-staffed)
as this PLUS the nerve strain pf doing
serious procedures as well as some new
procedures that burn up big amounts of
“nervous-energy”. As a fault of this
“poopedness” [there goes Wilitzski[5] coining words again, she screams][6]
I haven’t written one other single person
except you, cuz I go to bed night after
talking to you each night. So, please, please,
please, dear, tell Dad (I owe him ) from Kline) & Mom
[3]
that the interesting & newsie & nonpersonal
parts of all my letters are for them too. Maybe
that will stimulate them to write me—
(& I’ll thus learn sumthin’ about you—you modest
ol’ buzzard).
Just cuz I repeat things at different
times & in different letters dont think
my mind is slippin’, darlin’. Its just
that I feel so anxious about this-or-
that letter getting lost—so I write
it twice. Maybe even 3X, sometime! One
thing I’d write 3,333 times to make
sure it got through to you is this—
please send me pictures of you & Terry
together. Please don’t you try to “hide”
out of a picture—none of ‘em. I
so love the one I have of you & Terry
together that I just eat it up many
times a day. So there! See! Huh!?!?
For security reasons & by Army Order
reasons, I don’t carry your letters en
toto, but boy! do I ever cut out those
super-special parts about my Beloved Ones
& I carry them around. Gee, it will be
so good after this War to do those things
related to my P-E-R-S-O-N-A-L life that
I want to do s̅[7] being “told” by that ol’
geezer Uncle Sam what ‘n how ‘n when.
I heard today that a huge shippment
of mail came into this part of the world,
[4]
& I all the more wish [for mail reasons, now][8]
that I wasn’t still “loaned” away from
my gang as they have probably received
the 116th’s batch already. However, the guys
surely were swell to bring up that
wonderful 1st letter of yours (written Nov 1st),
& then again yesterday bring up two bunched
together (written Oct 28th & Oct 30th). Just as an example
of what I said on page 3—I have purposely repeated here (above).
I could write lots more about
France, French {men [and] women,[9] French food, etc but
I’ll do that later when paper-weight-
problem isn’t imminent. All I wanta
write anyway is—I love you
both, I love you both, I love you both
so, so, sooo c̅
All my love & prayers, dear,
Dave
[1] Bracketed text is part of original.
[2] Bracketed text inserted into original with a caret.
[3] Medical abbreviation meaning “with.”
[4] Bracketed text is part of original.
[5] Wilsey’s nickname for himself.
[6] Bracketed text is part of original.
[7] Military abbreviation meaning “without.”
[8] Bracketed text is part of original.
[9] In original, “men” is written above “women.”