October 1, 1945
Click Here to Enlarge Item
310.247.1-3.2017 Transcription
Reims Vicinity
1 Oct 45 Mon
Dearest,
Lordieee——lookieee[1]——
another month. Whewww!
Lets just hope that October can
mean we are together again—
just like another October meant
we had a whole ocean between
us.
It’s funny——I’ve haunted
the mail clerk over at the 189th G.H.[2]
so much he even knows my
name & says so. Anyhooo, he (too)
admits that 35 to 40 missing
letters are worth haunting for.
All in all, I go for that 15 minute
trek-over each day c̅[3] as much
hope as I ever had. Someday,
mebeeee, before I’m Z-Ied[4] Ill
collect.
My day almost seemed busy
(though, justifiably, trite to you) but this
[2]
was it:——I laid on the bed till
rounds were made by the docs (they never
pester me—I’m cut-‘n-dried, medically—
but hold your breath as to being so “red-tape-ly”).
Then I went over to my old room at
the 189th G.H. & repacked all my stuff.
Thus the AM was shot: I lost 2 hrs
waiting for a recalcitrant baggage-
sargent after lunch. I finigeled a
Jeep c̅ driver & got my posessions
lugged over here to the 193rd G.H. which
means fuss ‘n feathers. I sent
in one “roll” my purchased zipper
sleeping bag + air matress ($1.80) via
Parcel Post. A second bed-roll
(regular GI) c̅ the “gift” sleeping bag +
beaver mackinaw + incidentals PLUS
one of the 16 mm. electro cameras all
via Parcel post (244 Fr.). “The Voices Of
Experience” say to use Parcel Post
on whatever they’ll accept——
it’s that second bed-roll that’s on
“probation” c̅ the A.P.O.[5] moguls right
now, but I’ll learn for sure tomorrow
A.M. as to the final acceptance. I
even lugged the footlocker over to
the P.O.’s scales but it was 44 lbs
over the 70 lb wt limit. Thus the foot-
[3]
locker will have to go via the hazzard-
ous “protection” of the Quartermaster.
[P.S. that has the 2nd electrocamera & all my
picture cards, etc in it——heres hoping it
makes it through. I use to carry the
cameras {one in musette bag one in val-pac}[6] but it took
too much of the already limited room, & added
that last 7 lbs of wt that broke-the-camel][7].
Sooooo, just as Parcel Post brought
Dachau to Bismarck——lets hope
P.P. can bring France to Dakota.
Again my German (speaking) “paid-
off” today. It was getting near P.O.
closing time & I couldn’t ham-string
the Jeep driver forever, so I talked
a Kraut[8] sign painter into labeling
both rolls immediately. Cigarettes,
gum, & candy clinched the deal.
Which reminds me of something:—
way too much, I use quotation
marks (to say nothing of brackets & parentheses).
Yet, living in foreign countries just
further emphasizes how much our
American language is filled/stuffed
[4]
c̅ unlicensed slang phrases &
figures of speech that license the
use of quotation marks. About
every 10th word we use in America
is not literally as it was intended
to be. Ill bet Noah (or was it Daniel)
Webster has turned over in his grave
more times than there are dollars in
the War debt!
“S.&.S.”[9] tells me U. of Wis. “took”
Marquette 40 to 13. Wheeeeeeeeee!
Golly, how I’d love to have been
yelling myself hoarse aside a
precious Phi Mu. Mebeee, just mebeee,
we could yell oul ourselves
into an old-college-dream (AFTER
a Pewee Nest visit) some forthcoming
Saturday. Yup, dearest, someday——
sometime——somewhere——
I can yell across America that
you do have———
All my love,
Dave
[1] In original, there is an arrow pointing from “lookieee” to “Oct” on the line above.
[2] General Hospital.
[3] Medical abbreviation meaning “with.”
[4] Sent back to the Zone of the Interior (The United States).
[5] Army Post Office.
[6] In original, “one in musette bag” is written above “one in val-pac.”
[7] Bracketed text is part of original.
[8] German.
[9] Stars & Stripes, a military newspaper.