Donald V. Tappan

2nd page censored, probably because he mentioned the Queen Elizabeth

Nov. 14, 1944
Dear Folks,

Yesterday I thought of about a half dozen things that I wanted to tell you so I can see now that I should have written you then. I find it hard to even think now at all. The main thing I believe was that my Tribunes have started arriving. I was really glad to get them even though they were dated the 12th and 13th of October. They were still addressed in the old manner but as I remember they wouldn’t even have had my new address at that time.

At home you wouldn’t even consider reading a month old paper but here its really a different story. When we are lucky we can get the most important news every few days from the army’s overseas newspaper, “The Stars and Stripes.” If the Tribunes keep coming I shouldn’t lose out altogether on either the headline news or news of local happenings.

I hardly know what to think about the slowness with which our mail travels. I… [page missing?] …letters to go back and forth.

I might tell you a little about the country here that I got a chance to see. Of course, it’ll have to be very general facts. After the boat ride [CENSORED] I saw some of the territory. The scenery certainly was interesting and in some places very beautiful. Since its time for the tree leaves to be taking on their autumn colors the scenes were doubly beautiful.

There are enough people on this island that you don’t see any wide open spaces like those at home. When riding along it seems as if you were passing through one small village after another with only a very few small fields between. Everything is done on a small scale and I guess that’s why you can see so much in a very small space. The whole country-side is built of small irregular shaped fields, a few very small patches of trees and small groups of houses crammed together. You can see that things haven’t grown up according to a pattern but have just been built up as the population grew. A look at things in general reminds you of a crazy quilt with hedge or stone fences separating the pieces.

Because of the lack of trees, you see no frame buildings. Everything is built either of brick or stone. Things are picturesque to say the least but I can’t say that I would enjoy living permanently under these circumstances. You have to read about English weather and it really is damp, but so far I haven’t seen any of the extremes that you often hear about.

We are living in a very interesting place that I’ll tell you about one of these times when I need a little chatter to fill up space. I’ll also have to find out just  how much I can’t tell.

I sure wonder how things are coming at home. Of course, one of the questions in my mind is the outcome of the last few of the football games. I guess Dad’s Indianapolis trip should be coming off about now too. I forget whether it is supposed to be last week or this one.

I hope you are all well. I can truthfully say that if you are all as well as I am there would be nothing to worry about. I have felt no ill effects at all from my change. Don’t you dare worry about me because it wouldn’t do any good and definitely isn’t necessary. I have a decent place to sleep, am not working too hard and get plenty to eat. By the way our food is very interesting. You can see that all of it comes from the United States. All of it is processed – canned or dehydrated but it is very good, especially when you’re hungry.

God bless you all. Write when you can.

Lots of love,    Donald

Note: this is written on much thinner paper than previous. That may reflect the availability of paper pulp in England at the time.

Sunday
October 29, 1944
Hello Family,

The situation of my writing materials is still in a state of shortage but I’ll do the best I can. This can’t be V mail or airmail but I hope you’ll be glad to get it when it does arrive. I’m even all but out of ink and am writing with about 2 ½  inches of pencil so you can see that if a PX doesn’t open soon I’ll have to get something in a civilian store. I’d appreciate it very much (if you’ve not already done so) if you’d put a few airmail stamps in one of your letters.

As yet we’ve not received any mail so it’ll really be a treat when it does get here. One night last week about a half dozen letters came in for the whole company but outside of that, its been almost two weeks now since any of us has got mail. We were almost promised a mall-call tonight so just in case that does happen, I’ll not put this letter in the box ‘till after that time.

At last we have a Sunday off again. The last few Sunday were spent on the move so its good to have a free one again. I was hungry at breakfast time so I crawled out of bed this morning to go eat. When I got back I hit the hay again and slept so hard that I almost didn’t wake up in time for church. (By the way: that hitting the hay is almost a true statement now because we are sleeping on straw mattresses.)

Outside of a couple services on the boat, the church service this morning was the first one I’ve got to attend since we started moving. Our own chaplain held the services but it was in one of the churches here. It was a Methodist church so that made it sound not too different from home. The church was old fashioned but it was so neat and well kept that you could really call it beautiful. The seats were very square and the wood work had all sorts of carving and fancy work on it. Everything was well varnished but the floor, and that was bare almost entirely. But it looked as if it had been scrubbed ‘till it fairly shone. There was a large pipe organ high up in a balcony and it was played  by an old man with very gray hair. Like a lot of other things here you can really say it was picturesque.

Since our meals consisted of all dehydrated foods at first, they are becoming more tasty now that a little variety is being added. I think our Sunday dinner today was fixed mostly from frozen foods and it was the first really appealing meal we’ve had here. We had chicken (I think it was boiled but I had two good pieces, a leg & a thigh, so that made up for the flavor), green peas, potatoes and gravy, apple sauce and a vegetable salad. You can see that even though we grumble a lot about the food we are by no means going hungry.

I sure do wonder how things are coming back there but I don’t even know enough about the recent happenings to ask you any questions. You think a lot about home over here and I’m very glad that I have a few pictures with me. It does me a lot of good to look at them once in a while. I’m also happy that I got my watch before I left. It’s a good feeling to have sucha dependable timekeeper and it’s just like always having a good friend with you. 

Did I ever tell you why I never sent my civilian shoes home? A little while before we left they said we could bring them with us and since I got them to wear while I’m in the army Itook a chance & brought them along. At least while we’re here its possible to get some good from them and it gives you just a little more dressed up feeling to look down below your OD’s and see nice shiny shoes that aren’t quite so crude as your GI’s.

As usual I wonder how you are spending your Sunday. I’’s about the middle of the afternoonnow so I expect it’s just about church time back there. At noon today just after church was over I was trying to think what you would be doing and six hours from noon made it about 6AM. No doubt you were just getting up and maybe Daddy was going down to milk. It’s really very confusing to try to think in differences of time. I guess about the best way to do it would be to think of what you would be doing if it were 3PM back there.

I think I’ll write a couple more letters this afternoon so I’ll sign off now till evening.

19:30
Hurrah!! At least this will have a happy ending. We got mail at last this evening. I got two letters from you and one from Uncle Floyd. I could almost shout for joy. The letters you wrote were the ones dated the 16th and 13th. That was the night before the Elwood football game and the weekend after. It sure tickled me the way the game turned out.

Time has gone so fast lately that I have to try to figure out just where I was in order to see how long ago things that you mention happened. I hope it doesn’t take two weeks to get all your mail but even if it does, I should get letters regularly but they will just not be quite as fresh as they were back in the States. Boy it is good to hear from you though. Thanks too for the clippings. Maybe I oughtn’t say this but I read both your letters through twice before I even stopped. God bless you.

Love, Donald

England
Oct. 26, 1944
Hello Family,

This may not turn out to be much a letter but I just want to let you hear from me tonight. This will also serve as an experiment to see how quick you get a letter sent “Free.” Let me know how much difference there is in the speed of the different methods of sending mail.

We haven’t received any mail yet but I don’t suppose we’ll have to wait too much longer. I sure hope so anyway. At least even if we can’t get mail, I hope the letters we send can get out of here and started on their way.

While we are here we are going to have to use English money. Its just about like learning ato count again. We’re even going to get paid in this so I guess we’ll either catch on or wish we had. Getting all the pence, shilling, crowns, pounds, etc. straight sure does take concentration at first.

I wanted to tell you a little bit about our immediate surroundings so here goes. We are living in a rather small English town in a building that used to be a mill. There’s even a dam out back and the water-fall that turned the mill wheel. It sure is a rambly old building but it is very solidly built. It reminds me of an old castle of some kind.

We’re almost in the heart of the town so we’re a lot closer to civilization than we have been in the past. We have to go down the streets to get from one place to another and every time we go to chow we have to go right through the center of town.

You have heard about the children begging things from the American soldiers in different countries and we sure see a lot of it here. Even though candy and chewing are scarce, they’re not destitute and most of its just that old beg, beg, beg idea.

Well be good and take care of yourselves. Let’s trust God that everything will work out for the best.

Love, Donald
Ask me any questions you’d like to have answered and I’ll do the best I can to answer them. Maybe I’ve missed something & it’ll give me something to write about.

According to the history of the 87th Infantry Division, they were deployed in Scotland/England as follows

[Note from: An Historical and Pictorial Record of the 87 Infantry Division in WWII – “The Queen Elizabeth” departed from New York Harbor on 17 October 1944 and arrived at Gourock, Scotland, on the Firth of Clyde, on 22 October. Debarkation proceeded on 23 and 24 October with the Division Headquarters and other organizations proceeding by rail to Cheshire County, England. Division Headquarters was set up at Peover Manor, near Knutsford, England, with the other organizations being billated in nearby towns.]

England
October 25, 1044
Hello Folks,

While I’ve got a little time now I’ll start a letter and I’ll do my best to get it finished before too many days have past. This is the last air mail stamp I have so I’ll try to make this a fairly long letter and then I’ll have to use V-mail or the “Free” method till I can get some more. Till they get some kind of a PX opened up around here and I can get some ink and V mail forms I wish you would sort of share your letters with Grandma Carver, Aunt Mary and whoever else you can without putting yourselves out. After things get to working on schedule here I don’t know how much writing I’ll be able to do but I’ll do my best. It’ll sure be a happy time for me when we start getting mail from home. Of course, it hasn’t been any extended length of time since we got mail but even a few days seem like a long time when you want news so badly. I hope it won’t take too long for… [missing page?]… hate to use Vmail but I think I’ll use it the next letter I write. I haven’t received any of them yet and I just wonder how fast they do travel.

There’s one phase of being overseas that I haven’t said anything about and I wouldn’t even mention it now if I weren’t in need of talking to someone about it. That is the way the morals of the fellows drop when they feel they are so far from home that no one knows them. It was bad enough back in the States but some few had their wives with them and whatever other influences there were just held them in check a little. It’s just like the bottom had dropped out of everything and things just go wild. I’ve enough determination to continue to do as I have done in the past but it does take courage. I want you to pray for my strength along this line as well as any other.

I’m pretty tired and since I couldn’t possibly fill another page I’ll sign off. God bless you all.

Love,  Donald