Donald V. Tappan

May 8, 1945

Post author By dan
Post date May 8, 1945

VE Day

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May 8, 1945
Dear Folks,
Yesterday sure was a great day for me. We attacked on the sixth and were supposed to shove off again yesterday morning. But instead of receiving an attack order, we were ordered just to stay where we were. Then a little after ten o’clock we got the news that the Germans had signed unconditional surrender. Even though it doesn’t take effect officially till tomorrow, it meant that we were though fighting. Boy oh Boy! What a feeling. The Lord has certainly been good to me. I’ve got lots to thank Him for.

The “Stars and Stripes” also brought us some pretty good news yesterday. It said that over half of the combat troops would get a furlough back in the States before they are shipped to the CBI¹. Don’t plan too much on it because there’s just about as much chance against it as there is for it. But wouldn’t that be great!

Yesterday also I received a box from you and my name was turned in for a pass to Paris. It was the package containing pop corn and it really hit the spot. The corn was still as crisp as it was when you packed it. It would have done your heart good to have seen the fellows (and me) go after it. I wish I could send the box home and let you fill it up again.

If my pass had come a little bit sooner it might have kept me out of a little fighting but I’m glad to get it now. I’ll be going in a day or so. Considering everything that happened, wasn’t yesterday a pretty eventful day for me?

Well it looks like Spring again today. Maybe the weather is doing a little celebrating. We’ve really had some pretty rough weather for this late in the season during the past week. There has even been a little snow. I hope it stays nice now.

It’s been almost a week now since I got any letters but no doubt there will be two or three when they do come.

Hope everything is ship-shape back there. Be good and God bless you.
Love.
Donald

Tags germany, letters

Date wrong? Fort Jackson, South Carolina Letters

September 15, 1944 (date unclear)

Post author By dan
Post date September 15, 1944

The 87th Division staged at Camp Kilmer, at Stelton (now Edison), New Jersey, on 10 October 1944 – placing this around Sept 15, 1944 based on letter

Unknown1943_3 Download

[Unclear Date – United States Army stationary – with mention of school – possibly written to Carver Grandparents]
Friday Night
Hello,

I got about half an hour so this can’t be very long. We have just finished scrubbing the barracks and getting everything cleaned up for inspection tomorrow.

I got the letter you sent out on Wednesday this evening. I also got a letter from the Mongomerys today. They sure are great folks. They said that they had the Lilly Creek ministry read my letter to the church. I suppose it was alright but it wasn’t a very fancy letter. Most of what they had to say was news about happenings that likely you know. I was glad to hear that Bob has taken up football and that Richard is helping him out a little.

They sent me the first news I have had about the Lilly Creek preacher, but I don’t quite get the whole story on him yet.

It seems to me I have heard of the new teacher but I just can’t place her now. No doubt I have seen her. It sounds like you’ll be able to get things straightened out and running in good order.

Down here we’ve been doing the usual kind of thing. It does seem that it may not be very long before we’ll move out of here. We took a physical examination today and they are packing up equipment all the time. Things like this don’t happen all at once though so we may be here for 3 or 4 more weeks.

I don’t have much news and maybe I’ll have time to write a decent letter Sunday. I sure hope so anyway. Good luck and God bless you.

Love,
Donald

Basic Training Fort Jackson, South Carolina No Transcription Uncategorized

July 16, 1944 – Grandparents

Post author By dan
Post date July 16, 1944

16Jul1944-Grandparents Download

Date wrong? Fort Jackson, South Carolina Letters

July 06, 1944 (probably)

Post author By dan
Post date July 6, 1944

[hot – sometime after Basic at Fort Jackson, South Carolina – written on “United States Army” stationary – mentions “news” – perhaps after D-Day?]

Unknown1943_Nov_1 Download

Thursday Noon
Dear Folks,

I’ll start this now and I’ll be just a little ahead of myself tonight. This is a pretty sweltering day and I hope it is a little more pleasant back there. We had a pretty hard day so far and I think we are going to do a couple hours of hiking this afternoon. So far the really hard part of our work was a period of physical training and an hour of bayonet drill and believe me this i swork.

To top it all off I don’t feel like work today. I haven’t had to take any shots for a while but yesterday afternoon it had to be done again. I got a smallpox vaccination, a tetanus and a typhoid shot. I don’t suppose the other two will bother me but the typhoid is sure sore today. The arm is about hail(?) and I just ache all over. It really made me grit my teeth to take those arm exercises this morning.

Yesterday all day except for about an hour in the afternoon when we were the shots was spent doing basic subjects like we did this morning.

What do you think of the news by this time? I sure hope things go well as they have in the last few days. I just wonder how these developments will effect me.

Thurs Night
I sit down now to write and I find myself wondering what I am going to say. I just about hit the nail on the head when I guessed about this afternoon’s work. We spent over half the afternoon hiking out and back from a training area so we didn’t have a whole lot of time to spend out there. But I guess they consider the hiking part of the training too.

I sure have been a drag to myself today. I just seemed that part of the time I wouldn’t be able to put one foot ahead of the other.

I got a letter from Aunt Mary this evening and from what I can gather she isn’t feeling very well yet. It’s been three months now and so surely her tonsils weren’t the only trouble.

Aunt Nora also sent me a very nice box of cookies that I received tonight. They were really good and we all got a very big kick out of them. And I forgot to say anything about them but those cookies int the last box from you really were something. You can send that kind to me any time you want.

Well I want to take a shower and hit the hay. We got in late tonight and I didn’t get to take a shower before retreat as I’ve been in the habit of doing. So I’ve still got it to do.

Hope everything is well with you. I’ll not put an airmail stamp on this but save it for some other time.

Lots of love,
Donald

Basic Training Fort Jackson, South Carolina

July 4, 1944

Post author By dan
Post date July 4, 1944

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July 4, 1944
Hello Folks,

This will be kind of a hurry up letter but it’s the best I can do this time. We were out on a night march last night till about 2345 and so by the time we were able to get in bed it was almost twelve thirty. We are off till ten this morning but I had to get up at 6:30 to go table waiter. We finished up on the breakfast part of our work at about 8:30. So by the time I got everything straightened up to fall out I have very little time left. I might have waited to write tonight but it may be too late to write when I get off.

Yesterday during the day we marched for about two hours out to where we were to run squad problems. Then we had to come back that distance of course. So we spent at least 12 hrs working yesterday with eight of them being marching. And then I only got about 6 hours sleep. I feel about as tired this morning as any time I can remember. I really do ache all over and my feet are so sore I can’t hardly stand on them. I am wondering how I’ll feel after working late tonight. Boy this training is getting pretty rough if you ask me.

I don’t suppose July 4 will be much of a vacation for you this year either but I do hope you don’t have to work too hard.

Evening
Well to tell you the truth if I’d had to work very late tonight on table waiter I wouldn’t have got to finish this letter today. But I got off at about 7:30 so I consider myself pretty lucky. I’m going to hit the hay as soon as possible tonight and see if I can’t sleep a little of this ache out of my bones.

We had a pretty hard day today as usual. We spent all afternoon studying war gases. They threw tear gas on us 6 or 7 times so that we would get reality into our gas mask training and all of us were about sick from the stuff before the afternoon was over.

We had quite a treat for dinner today. I guess they were getting liberal on the fourth. They gave each one of us a pretty good sized slice of watermelon. And boy it sure did taste good.

This isn’t much of a letter but I am about out of news. I surely am still thinking of home. I hope to hear from you tomorrow. Take care of yourselves

Love, Donald

Wed morning,
Well I am feeling better now but I am still tired. I don’t know any more news so I’ll drop this in the box on my way to breakfast

DVT

Basic Training Fort Jackson, South Carolina

June 28, 1944

Post author By dan
Post date June 28, 1944

28Jun1944 Download

Wednesday Evening, June 28, 1944
Hello,

It may seem strange that I am writing tonight but here is my situation. I have K.P. tomorrow and that fixes the chance of writing tomorrow night. Then you know the usual story of Friday night so that means if I am going to write before this weekend it will have to be tonight. So you’ll have to imagine that this letter was written a day or so later or just forgive me for not writing you for the next few days.

I was very glad to get your weekend letter this evening. I was pleased to hear that Daddy is coming along OK with his job. It sounds to me like you will have a few cherries to eat next winter that you wouldn’t have had otherwise. I suppose you won’t have to be buying milk now. Maybe you could get a picture of the calf for me before you sell it.

I have a little more good news for you. Again my name was on an unexplained list on the bulletin board. When we fell out at 12:30 today we were taken down to the eye clinic and examined for G.I. glasses. So that means in a week or so I’ll have some new specs. Now that my ear has straightened up and my teeth have been fixed, I should be in pretty good shape when I get my glasses.

I spent all afternoon over at the clinic but outside of that time we have been doing the ordinary type of training. We have mostly been running squad problems, and just a word of explanation: these are just situations set up that we must meet which are likely to be met in combat.

Richard asked if we can only attend the church services of our own organization (in this case regiment). No – there is no restriction of that sort. I just wasn’t sure where to find another chapel anyways near close and I didn’t know anything about the time of services. But there is no use denying the fact that if I had really been on my toes that morning I could have attended services somewhere.

I have been eating the hard candies tonight that you put into my package. I want to thank you again for them. That kind of candy really goes good for a change.

Well I’m about run down and I’ll have to be getting up at about 0500 in the morning. So goodnight and good wishes.

Donald

Fort Jackson, South Carolina Letters

June 25, 1944

Post author By dan
Post date June 25, 1944

25Jun1944 Download

Sunday Afternoon, June 25, 1944
Hello Folks,

Well I didn’t expect to be free today but because of some miracle I didn’t get any details. So I am enjoying a very pleasant day of doing very little. The only trouble is that I find it hard to keep from being just a little homesick. I got a letter from you today so that helps out quite a lot. The box hasn’t come yet but no doubt it’ll be here tomorrow. I had plenty of “extras” anyhow today. I got a cake from La Vera and we just got through finishing it off. She had made it for Ben but the box was too large to comply with postal regulations so instead of unpacking it she just put on a new address and sent it to me. Of course, it didn’t come amiss here.

I went to church this morning and got a letter written to Uncle Everetts’ and that’s all I’ve got done except sleeping and reading. I am feeling sort of in need of a nap so I’ll probably not stir around much this afternoon.

Well it seems as if communications school is over for me. We finished up on Friday evening so I suppose I’ll go back to training with the company tomorrow. They talked as if we would have to carry on communications within the company whenever problems or maneuvers start so I don’t know whether or not they’ll try to keep us in touch with the subject until that time comes.

I was very sorry to hear about Mandy King’s death. I wonder how it will effect Pappy.

I saw in the paper that the church had hired the preacher from Rosedale. I wonder if he started preaching for you today or if he had asked for a few weeks to finish up with his other church.

I am beginning to wonder how Leo is coming on the work with my watch. He should at least be almost ready to get around to it. I don’t know how hard this been on my good watch but if as much dirt has got into the works as is between the crystal and face it must be about ready to stop. I have also broken my good strap and a cheap one that I got here. I’ll either have to get another strap or quit wearing it. Drop in and see Leo one of these times just so he won’t forget this will you?

I was just looking over some old school letters and I see that Richard wanted to know a little about parades. Well a parade for us usually means a lot of practice for a very few minutes of parading. We march for about a mile out to the parade grounds and then stand for about an hour in formation while the whole division assembles.

The parade itself only lasts for about 15 minutes while each battalion marches past the reviewing stand. Usually the only spectators are the general and whatever dignitaries happen to be around. But on infantry day we were viewed by, I suppose, 4 or 5 thousand visitors. I think about half of them were soldiers’ wives. In fact the whole area was open to the public that day and there were several displays and demonstrations put on for the public here in the division area.

About Daddy’s job: although I don’t know the exact function of armatures, I wonder if he knows just what those he handles are off of.

Well I started this letter this morning and have written on it whenever I thought of something all day. It’s now about 1830. I’ll not seal this now but since I am about out of paper I’ll not write any in the morning unless something important happens.

Lots of love and good wishes, Donald

Fort Jackson, South Carolina Letters

June 22, 1944

Post author By dan
Post date June 22, 1944

22Jun1944 Download

Thursday Evening, June 22, 1944
Dear Folks,

My week of leisure is just about over. The company is supposed to get in sometime this evening. That means that I’ll be getting up for reveille in the morning and from now on will be a soldier again. Being free from a large number of people and being able to do as you pleased except during working hours has made this week seem almost like civilian life. I guess if no other good at all comes from our being in the army, it will at least make us appreciate doing as we please when we get out. When you are doing something because you want to, you work a whole lot harder and put in longer hours than you do when you are doing something that is forced upon you. For example: I actually believe that I worked a whole lot harder in school than I am working now and I know that I was getting a lot more enjoyment out of it.

I am sort of mixed up on what to think about radio school so I can’t tell you whether I’ll be going any longer or not. For the past few days we have taken quite a number of tests and yesterday was supposed to finish us up. But almost in the same breath that they say we will quit going down there, they tell us how much we haven’t even touched upon yet and will have to know before we are through. Yesterday was supposed to be our last day but we went today and they told us to come back tomorrow so I don’t know how long I’ll be at it.

I think the trouble is that the higher ups think we should be through as soon as we have learned radio procedure. But those who actually did communications work on maneuvers know that we’ll have to know a whole lot of other things besides this and they are going to give us all they can before we go back to training with the companies.

I am sure wondering by this time how things are coming back there. I hope you are able to keep up with everything. Our mail service has been so mixed up this week that since about this time last week I have only received the short letter that you wrote last Friday. You certainly do miss the mail when it stops coming through.

Well this seems like kind of a short letter but I have said about all I know. I guess the pages are longer than those I have been used to writing on and I have written sort of close together in places so maybe I’ve said about as much as usual anyway.

Well so long with love, Donald

Fort Jackson, South Carolina Letters

June 20, 1944

Post author By dan
Post date June 20, 1944

20Jun1944 Download

Tuesday Evening, June 20, 1944
Hello Folks,

Well I certainly am living a great life this week. If the army was always like this it wouldn’t be half bad. Since there is no one here hardly we don’t have to stand reveille, retreat or anything. We just get up, go eat and go to work. Then after we get in at night we take a shower at our leisure, go down and eat and have the whole evening to ourselves.

If things work out as we have been told they will, our radio school should be over in the next few days. After that I’ll go back to work for sure I suppose. But I feel like that since the company is going over about the same stuff I have had anyway that I haven’t lost much, and maybe I have learned a little that will be useful some time.

As you can see, I all but ran out of my stationary that you sent me so I had to buy some of this stuff (“United States Army” imprint). I don’t know where you got that other stationery but I sure got a great kick out of using it. Someway it just suited me. But of course I don’t want you to send me any more right away because I have this to use up.

Since news is kind of short tonight I’ll tell you a little about what rumors say about our going on maneuvers. The general opinion seems to be that they will start sometime in August. It is also rumored that in September we might go to Louisiana for a little training there. But don’t take this too seriously – there are also rumors about going to North Carolina for maneuvers so there is no use believing anything. It does seem though that, unless we are shipped out in small groups instead of as a unit, we will be here for a while.

They got mail to us today and I got the letter you had written Friday. That was the first letter I had received since about Friday so I was glad to get it. I am getting all the mail but it goes out to the range and comes back here so it takes quite a while to get here.

I think those sun glasses got broken while laying around here instead of in the package. But I just stuck them in anyway. Just chuck them in the junk.

I’m anxious to hear about Daddy’s job and how Richard is coming with his.

This is sort of irregular, writing on two sides of one sheet and not on the other, but I just didn’t have enough to start another sheet.

Loads of love and good wishes, Donald

Fort Jackson, South Carolina Letters

June 18, 1944 (Grandparents)

Post author By dan
Post date June 18, 1944

18Jun1944-Grandparents Download

Sunday June 18th, 1944
(Written to Alfred and Grace Carver)
Dear Grandparents,

Well how are you coming in the school house work by this time? I hope the trustee has started letting you have supplies, etc. so that you can get some of the work done before bang-up school time. I’ll bet the lawns won’t again look like they did the first week of my furlough.

Speaking of furloughs, I understand that Duane Cook is at home. I wonder if you have got to talk to him yet. Ben’s furlough was just a little before mine and his is a little after and I turn out missing everyone. But even at that it was sure good to be at home.

I haven’t heard from Daddy yet since he started his new job. It will be something different from what he has done in a few years but I hope he can get along alright with it.

Going to communications school brought me quite a lucky break for this week. There have been so many new men come into the company since we were out on the range that the company had to go out again yesterday for them to fire. But those of us going to school got to stay back in camp so that we could go this week. You really appreciate barracks and the conveniences of camp when you know the other fellows are sleeping out in tents.

I wonder if the church had a preacher this morning. Since most of the fellows were out on the range, services were held out there instead of here so I didn’t get to attend any service today.

I sure hope it isn’t as hot back there as it is here. You just bake out in the sun and even when you aren’t stirring at all the sweat just runs off you. I hope mid-summer doesn’t get any hotter than it is now.

I got my teeth fixed up this week and my ear has stopped giving me trouble so I am in pretty good shape now.

Monday and Tuesday of this week we went out several miles from camp and had a little tactical problem. We took our radios with us and got a little practical experience in using them. Of course, it wasn’t like combat but it gave us some idea of how really useful they could be under combat conditions.

Have you heard anything from Ben lately? I believe Mother said that she had read one of his letters but she didn’t make any mention of what he had been doing.

Well I hope you are as well as usual and are coming along alright with your work.

Your grandson, Donald