Donald V. Tappan

Monday August 30, 1944
Dear Folks,

I sure don’t deserve to get any letters if I donn’t hurry up and write so I had better get to it. I thought I could get it done yesterday but I was so busy getting cleaned and straightened up that I just never got it done.

I guess I’ll start back at about Wednesday of last week and bring my story up to date and maybe you can forgive my lack of writing. Wednesday, Thursday  and Saturday morning we did firing at the field target to represent firing under combat conditions. For the exercises target to represent a man are scattered over the field at unknown distances and they sure are harder to hit than a neat line of bull’s eyes at exactly 200, 300 or 500 yards.

It started raining on Tuesday and we had a pretty miserable time for the rest of the week. We had a real hard storm just before time to get up on Thursday and we thought that the tent was going to blow over.

Friday morning we were scheduled to go through the mental conditioning course where you crawl on your stomach for 75 yards over logs, through barbed wire entanglements etc. while they shoot live machine gun bullets over your head. Of course, it rained all the night before and was raining that morning so you can imagine in what condition the ground was. Boy after we had dragged ourselves for 75 yards we were covered with mud from head to foot and we were soaked to the skin from above the knees on down where our raincoats didn’t cover. And our raincoats didn’t look like themselves when we were through. Its a wonder that working with wet clothes on for the rest of the day didn’t give us all pneumonia.

Then the rest of the day Friday was consumed by firing at moving ground targets with our own 30 caliber rifles and air targets with 22 caliber rifles. Boy the 22’s were op guns compared to the regular army rifles.

I have already told you what we did Sat. morning and then on Saturday afternoon we finished our bivouac by seeing some very interesting and informative demonstrations. Some of the real weapons such as hand grenades etc that we had been using dummies for practice were demonstrated to us at safe distances of course.

The most interesting thing we saw was the firing of the new weapon, the bazooka, which you remember coming out not so long ago.

We packed up our things on Saturday night and at midnight we fell out ready to start back to camp. We marched with the packs on our backs and rifles on our shoulders from 12:15 till we got here at 5:30. Boy were we tired and sore.

We got both yesterday and today off but the catch to it is that we must have all clean clothes and equipment when we fall out tomorrow. I spent my whole day yesterday cleaning myself up, and my rifle, mess kit, and clothes. I washed out my leggings, fatigues, pack and cartridge belt in the morning and thought that I could send the rest of the stuff to the laundry. But when I got all my socks, underwear, towels, etc. hunted up I found that I had more than my quota for one week’s laundry so I had to do another big laundry yesterday evening.

Even today we aren’t exactly free since we have already had to fall out about 5 or 6 times for odd jobs, etc. and then we have to get our blood typed this afternoon. I hope though that before the day is over I can get some reading, etc. done.

It sure is a pleasure to live in the barracks that aren’t even as well constructed as our chicken house at home. Those pup tents that we will spend the next two weeks in sure will make make us more glad than ever to see these barracks.
Well I’ve got to help clean machine guns so I’ll close for now.

Love, Donald

Sunday morning, August 27, 1944
Hello Family,

It is almost chow time but I’ll get this letter started in the time I have. After I got back from church, I wrote that letter to Clyde Montgomery’s that you suggested. Thank you for suggesting it. I know that I should have written them but it just never entered my mind.

It’s almost cool enough here to wear a jacket this morning and believe me it sure feels good. It made sleeping late this morning seem good enough to be home. I got up for breakfast and then crawled back in bed and slept till church time.

Last night I got a letter written to Grandpa and Grandma Carver and then did a good bit of reading in the Sunday School papers and the Reader’s Digest. I also hit the hay pretty early and consequently I didn’t get a letter started to you  as I usually do. Friday we did about the same old type of work and then yesterday morning we had a very interesting problem. It would get old just as everything else does but it was something new and might sometimes come in handy. It was a tank problem and was almost like the tactics that are being used in the war at present.
Time out for chow

Now to go on with the story. Here is the way the problem worked. We rode on the tanks up to a position a few hundred yards away from the enemy position. Of course, they could be firing and thus protect us all the time. Then we got off and followed behind them under their protection right up to the enemy position. They would protect us all the time and then we could finish off the stunned enemy and hold the position. This may sound like a wild tale and there was a good bit of make believe as far as firing goes but that is how it works. It’s not play by any means because you really have to hang on to those bumpy old tanks. And when you go though woods the trees all try to knock you off as you go under them – one of them did succeed in busting me in the face, puffing a lip a little. But it is a whole lot faster and safer than walking into an enemy stronghold. So much for that.

Yesterday afternoon we weren’t off duty but we didn’t go out to drill. That gave us a chance to wash up our dirty clothes, clean up our equipment and in general get straightened up fo r the week.

I don’t know what we’ll be doing next week but there’ll be plenty to do. There’s no use thinking about that anyway. Just be thankful for today. I sure wonder what you are doing today. I wouldn’t have to think about home very hard to get homesick today. In fact I find myself spending a good bit of my time wondering about my future. I sure hope I’ll still be able to go to college. I’m not worrying about still wanting to go but besides the financial end of it, I’ll have a lot of reviewing to do. I feel as if I had lost half of my high school already. A lot of this is just imagination but you just can’t help from worrying or at least thinking about it. Another hard thing to swallow is just thinking how far I would have been now if this hadn’t happened. If I have to spend another year or maybe more at this it’ll be pretty hard to live as I had planned. 

Say that was quite a write-up in the paper the other day. I can’t imagine who would have put it in but it must have been Mr. May. The trustee wouldn’t likely know all those statistics unless of course he’d looked on his records and I wouldn’t expect that of him. Ha Ha.

I got your Friday’s letter yesterday so I wasn’t expecting anything today. That letter really got here in a hurry. I wonder who Nina Perdue’s husband to-be is. It seems that maybe I’ve heard the name but I can’t place it. 

I’ll sign off for a while now and maybe I’ll have a little more to say tonight.

Evening
I was looking over some of your past letters and in the one you mentioned about seeingOWL magazine you asked if I remembered where I sat at my commencement. Well if you ever have a chance to look at it again – I remember I sat on the right side of the stage (the audience’s left), the second one from the end of the row. I don’t remember for sure but I think it was in the second row.

About the only other news I can think of is an illustration of the fact that it is sure surprising who you are apt to meet here. There is a fellow here, a little older than most of us (32 or 33 yrs old) who sleeps across the aisle from me. He is from Arkansas and is a very nice old guy (old to us). He was asking me about Indiana the other day and I found out that in 1928 he had come to Indiana as a transient worker in the tomato crop. He worked at what is now the Frazier canning factory west of Alexandria. I don’t know whether Frazier owned it then or not. In lots of ways he reminds me of Freddie and Old John whom Richard will remember working with up at Brunson’s. 

I’ve sure done a lot of reading in the S.S. papers this afternoon and want to do just a little more beforeI turn.

Good luck and God bless you.

Love, Donald

Saturday Evening, August 26, 1944
Dear Grandparents,

I thought that I would write to you tomorrow but I have just a little time tonight. If I get part of my writing done now I’ll feel a little easier about sleeping late in the morning. I always intend to get up in time for church but I tell you it sure feels good to sort of catch up on your rest on Sunday morning after a hard week. I am very thankful to the good Lord that it is still possible for me to rest and worship on His day.

Before I forget it I want to thank you for your part in the package I received the other day. The cookies were so crisp and fresh that it seemed they had been freshly baked when they got here. And they sure were good; that kind of cookies would tickle my appetite at any time. And the vaseline has come in handy for a million things – more or less – in just the few days I have had it. It is good to soften up the callouses on my feet as you suggested and I have used it a lot to relieve galled places on my body. By keeping the skin on my hand soft it has also just about cured sort of a rash that was bothering me. So you can see I’ve sure put it to good use. Thanks a whole bushel for everything!

Although we worked last week, I can truthfully say that we had a much easier schedule than we had the few weeks previous. We were studying more basic subjects and doing less of the problem type work that we had been doing. Also we didn’t even take one real long hike the whole week.

I guess that Fall is beginning to seem pretty close to you now. It sure doesn’t seem to to me that the tomato canning season could be here already. School time is almost here too and I hope you can get everything done down there you want before it starts. How are you and the new principal going to get along? Ha Ha!

Mother tells me that you are beginning to have some pretty cool weather – especially at night. Well the nights here have been cooling up a little too but there has only been about one night that I’ve needed more than a sheet over me. The way it gets hot here in the day time after being cool in the night reminds me of teh way Georgia acted last Fall.

I am still as much at a loss to know what I’ll be doing as I have always been. But you know that I am still hoping and praying for the time when all this will be a thing of the past. I hope you are as well as usual and are getting along alright with your work. I pray God’s richest blessings to rest on you.

Your loving grandson, Donald

Tuesday Evening – August 22, 1944
Hello Folks,

This has sure been a big day as far as getting mail is concerned. At noon today I got your package and then tonight I heard from you again through your weekend letter. I don’t usually get it till Wednesday  but it got here in quick time this week.

I also got a big box of my clothes, etc. sent out this morning. I saved enough extra pairs of underwear, sox and things to keep me going so I’ll have some more to send later. If you can put anything to use, go right ahead. I hated to part with my little Bible but I am afraid I may not be able to give it good care so by parting with it now I’ll have it for later. The fatigues – I bought myself in Ft. Benning – wear them if needed. I may ask you to send me a few of the things like the wristlets but I can’t take them along with me. Don’t become overly excited because of this as I don’t suppose we’ll leave for a month yet. In fact we are all more or less secretly hoping to get home once more.

We are right now sort of having some of the basic training subjects mostly for the benefit of the new men. We had a very nice rain this evening but it really soaked us before we got in.

Richard asked if I fired the bazooka the other day and I must tell him I didn’t. In fact it just hasn’t come my luck to fire one yet. Many of the fellows have though and it’ll around so that I’ll get to one of these days. Richard would also be interested in knowing that I was a radio operator in the big battalion firing problem we had last Wednesday and Thursday. 

It is easy for me to tell that Daddy is pretty thrilled about his job and I admit that I get excited myself when I think about it. I was just thinking this evening how proud, even through their worrying, that Grandpa and Grandma Tappan would be.

I don’t know hardly what to say about my watch but since I once made up my mind I hate to change it. My biggest objection is its conspicuousness. There have been a few things taken here and I’d hate to lose it. Will you please just go on and see what you can do about getting another. After the first of the month I’ll be able to spare some money to take care of it.

My Gruen seems to be running now better than it ever did. I don’t dare wear it during the day but I have it on from the time I get in of an evening till I am almost ready to go out the next morning. It got a little dirt between the face and the crystal when I was wearing it all the time but no doubt it can be taken out.

Well this isn’t very long but at least I haven’t had to fill up a lot of space with a rehash of what I’ve been doing. Hope everything is well with you.

Love, Donald

Tuesday Evening, August 15, 1944
Hello Folks,

Now I’ll try to get you at least a little letter. There’s not too much time but I sure want to write you tonight. I went to a show tonight and I think I should have been writing instead. There wasn’t anything wrong about the show but I hardly believe it was worth two hours of my time. I suppose I would messed around enough though that I would have only got a half hour or so extra sleep anyway so maybe I don’t need to worry too much about wasting the evening.

So far this hasn’t been such a hard week and there’ll be work but I don’t expect anything extra for the rest of it. Yesterday and today we spent running problems in an area pretty close to here. We are supposed to truck out to the range tomorrow sometime and after bivouacing tomorrow night we will run some sort of a fire problem Thursday.

We’ll be back here Thurs. night and then Friday and Saturday will be spent in a similar matter – bivouac Friday night and then run a problem Saturday. Only I don’t think we’ll use live ammunition.

I was very glad to get your letter yesterday. Richard won’t have so much longer to do the painting so it could be worse. There’s no use denying the fact that factory work’s any snap even at best.

I don’t quite understand about the watch. It looks to me like Leo would at least make the watch work after charging us so much. I don’t know how it worked before you sent it but it sure never worked after I got it. A watch that won’t work well will be pretty hard to get rid of anyway.

I was really a well equipped man in the problem today. I was carrying both a radio and a bazooka. A bazooka is as light or lighter than a rifle though so I wasn’t weighed down as much as you might expect. I also felt pretty good about getting to use the radio again.

I got three tribunes, so I’ll have a little news to catch up on. I hope you are all getting along O.K. Pardon this scribbling tonight but I am writing on my lap on a magazine that keeps bending on me. 
Lots of Love, Donald
I ordered some air mail stamps but the mail man forgot to get them so I don’t have any yet.

This letter is datelined “Saturday Night July 12, 1944”, and also “7-13-1944”, but was in an envelope postmarked August 14, 1944. July 12, 1944 was not a Saturday, and August 12, 1944 was, so apparently he forgot what month it was.

Saturday Night, July 12, 1944
Hello,

Well I’ll try to get you a letter at last and hope you are not too disgusted with me to be glad to get it. You can be sure I have been glad to get your letters and I wish I could have kept up with my share of the writing but this week it was just impossible. This week we have just been so busy that I doubt if I’ll even be able to remember it all.

I was out on that bivouac on the range Wednesday night when I get your first letter this week and then I didn’t get your second one till today at noon. I don’t know whether or not I’ll get  a letter from you tomorrow as I usually do on Sunday or not. But I sure hope I do. I am really anxious to hear how Daddy comes out on his job. I wish him all the luck possible.

On Wednesday we spent most of the day running problems out in one of the training areas not too far  from here. Then we came in just a little early, rolled our packs and trucked out to the range where we bivouacked over night. Then we ran plateau fire problems the next day. We fired live ammunition in the problem and I carried an automatic rifle (BAR). This weapon has the most fire power in the squad and I fired a total of 196 rounds of ammunition that day (a round is one shell). I have been working on the rifle ever since trying to get it clean and I didn’t get it into really satisfactory condition till noon today. Besides being a very hard weapon to clean, it is also heavy to carry (22 lbs and I also had 12 or 15 lbs of ammunition). But it can really spit the lead and I sure would hate to be on the opposite end of it.

We got in late that night then with straightening up everything and cleaning weapons, the evening was shot before I got any writing done. 

On Friday, yesterday afternoon, we went out to an area that was far enough away you could almost call it a hike going out and coming back. Then in the middle of the afternoon we came in and rolled our packs to start out on another problem. We were out till about 11:30 last night and four hours of the time was spent hiking. So you can see why I never did any writing yesterday.

We got up at 0600 this morning and we were sure a sorry, sleepy mess for a while around here. We spent the first hour or so cleaning up our rifles for an inspection. Then after the inspection was over we went out and spent the rest of the morning doing formal drilling and taking physical training. This afternoon we went swimming again and we got in from that sometime around 3 or 3:30. I jumped right into my weeks laundry then and got it over with before night this time. I had enough dirty clothes and equipment that I either couldn’t or don’t dare send to the laundry that it took me almost two hours to get everything washed.

After supper I went to the PX and got a Science Digest to read but instead of getting very much reading done I dropped off to sleep. It was so miserably hot that I woke up literally laying in a puddle of sweat. By the time it was about eight o’clock and I started right in on this letter.

It is now 9 o’clock and I’ll have to sign off for tonight pretty soon. While writing this letter I heard the President’s speech over the radio. If you heard it maybe you remember hearing him tell about the Aleutian Islands. Well some of the fellows here were up there durinmg the time they were being taken from the Japs. Most of them were in the anti-aircraft artillery at that time and have been transferred to the infantry since coming back to the States.

One of the fellows was sitting here listening with me tonight when the President thanked the men who had taken part in the Aleutian campaign.

Goodnight and I’ll “see’ you again tomorrow.

Sunday Afternoon, 7-13-44
The date today reminds me that I have spent 11 months in this army. It seems like an awfully long time and the worst part of it is what I would have accomplished during the last year. But I guess there is no use to even think about that.

It sure is amazing what a little relaxation can do for a person. I suppose that the climax of a nerve shattering week came yesterday morning. In the first place I hadn’t had much sleep  and I was trying my best to get the BAR cleaned up. Generally the whole squad cleans it but everyone else was trying to get his own rifle cleaned. (There is one of these to a squad and it is so much harder than the rest of the rifles to care for that everyone usually has to help clean it up. Last week was just my week to carry therefore be responsible for it.) Well every time I would start to work on it there would come up something else to do. I was about at the end of my patience.

But today after just resting I feel like a new man. And even last night you can see by my letter that just the lifting of the pressure without rest yet I was beginning to feel better.

I got up for breakfast this morning but when I came back I couldn’t even stay awake to read so I slept till church time. Then after church I read the funny paper and otherwise messed around till lunch time, I didn’t hear from you at mail call today so I’ll be expecting a letter tomorrow.

So far this afternoon I haven’t done anything but just enjoy myself and I don’t expect to do much else for the rest of the day.

I hope you folks were able  to have an enjoyable rest of some kind today. If you went down to Uncle Ernie’s, how is everything down there?

Mother asked if I am still getting the Tribunes and I can tell you that I am. I generally get them two at a time but the news is just as good even if it doesn’t get here every day. I am sure glad that the insurance took care of RIchard’s accident.

That just about takes care of my news for now but maybe I’ll have a little more before night.
Love, Donald

6:45PM
We had another little shower her this evening. It started raining on the Sunday evening I got back from furlough and it has rained about half the Sunday afternoons since then. Of course I would just as soon see it rain on Sundays as any other day. It should be a little cooler for sleeping tonight.

There are several new men coming into the company now from Camp Craft, SC. They have just had basic and it is my opinion they are just coming here for maneuvers. So unless I miss my guess we’ll be maneuvering next month.

God Bless You All,  D.V.T

Oh yes. I wanted to tell you that my bill fold is just about shot. The leather is still good but it is coming apart. I’ve sewed it up several times but my thread is too weak. Maybe I could get it fixed sometime. But until then do you suppose that you could find me something not very expensive to serve this purpose. The treatment is too rough for one with anything.  Five years is pretty good for a bill fold, I guess.

Monday Evening, August 7, 1944
Dear Family,

Here is the reason why I am starting this letter tonight. I didn’t do my KP today but will do it tomorrow. So you know that it may be impossible to do any writing tomorrow night. And we are supposed to spend at least one night in the field this week and I think it will be Wednesday night. So if I am going to get  any writing done before very late in the week, I’l have to do it tonight.

This morning I went out on the problem that I told you about that I was supposed to act as sort of an umpire. So I had a fairly easy morning.

But this afternoon was altogether a different story. We hiked out about four miles to run a problem. And boy was it hot. The problem couldn’t last very long because the hiking out and back took up a little cover half the afternoon. But the temperature was just sweltering and it about cooked us all. In fact I have taken 2 showers this evening in an attempt to be comfortable. I got heat rash over it today and I expect tomorrow won’t help it any. In fact, I got heat rash the last time I worked on KP and I have it this time before I even start. But I do believe I would rather have heat rash than the poison ivy and poison oak that so many of the fellows have. I have been having to mess around it a whole lot in the last few weeks. But I don’t feel like bragging or anything because there can always be a first time and I have had it in the past. 

I am sort of at a loss for something to read tonight. I finished the reader’s digest  and they don’t have any magazines over at the PX right now that interest me. I didn’t even get a Tribune today. When they get here I would likely have plenty to keep me occupied but I do hope you are still able to send the Sunday School papers for me.

Well tomorrow will make two days in a row of getting up early for me so I’ll sign off and hit the hay pretty soon. I just have a little time tomorrow to write a letter.

Goodnight with love,  Donald

Tuesday night
Well I am off KP now and I’m glad it’s over. I had a fairly easy day for KP but I’m really tired. I don’t have any news to tell you so I’ll just say I am doing OK. Hope everything is well with you. Donald
My rash is still with me but it didn’t get any worse.

Sunday August 6, 1944
Grandpa and Grandma Carver,

I have been saying to myself all week that I would write to you today. And then when I got a letter from you today I certainly did want to write to you. I remembered that August 6 is Grandpa’s birthday after Grandma mentioned it but like other things I don’t suppose it would have come to mind otherwise. So I want to wish Grandpa a happy birthday and good year to follow. May God bless you.

I was very glad to hear about the school house work. Here’s the way I look at it. If you get the place as clean as you can with what you have, I don’t think there is anything you should need to worry about. You can’t help what the trustee doesn’t furnish you so just don’t even think about that and let him worry about it. If school starts before he decides to do anything he’ll just have to wait till it can be done conveniently. There’s no use worrying about something you can’t help.

I have been working hard lately but I am not worrying about working too hard. There is no use in their trying to work us any harder than we are able to stand and therefore I just do as well as I can as one job follows the other. I, like Ben, will be glad when this war is over.

I am mostly just doing the regular work with the company but once in a while I do some work with the little radios. I spent 3 or 4 days last week and the week before learning a little more and reviewing what I did know about them. I am supposed to use one out on a problem tomorrow morning if nothing happens between now and then.

You mentioned about using vaseline on your feet and I have never thought about it but it would be worth a trial. If you want to put in a little bottle when mother sends me something go ahead. I certainly am using my feet enough but they are getting so that they can take it better than they used to. We walk several miles at least every day and here lately we have been having two ten mile hikes every week.

I understand you have been getting a few little rains lately and hope that the dry spell won’t be too severe from now on. We still get rain every once in a while but they don’t come quite as often as they did.

As long as I can have my Sundays off so that I can rest up I can get along very well. Today I went to church this morning and outside of that I have just taken it easy. I have read a letter, written a couple of letters and slept a good bit. 

Well I’ve about run out of news so I’ll close till next time. I hope you get along OK in your undertakings. Let’s trust in the Lord till we can all be together again. With love,

Your Grandson,  Donald