Year: 1944

                                                   Nov. 7, 1944
                                                   7 PM
Hello Folks,
   It may not be very good to start  a letter in such a manner but this is uppermost in my mind. My problem concerns the mail situation. It has been a week now since I have received any mail at all and I am getting more anxious every day. It looks to me very much like there must be a bottle neck somewhere between here and home. Likely I’ll get several letters at once one of these days and it may even be tomorrow but you can see how I feel till then. I sure hope the mail going in the other direction is not meeting up with a similar fate 
   Just to be truthful about the matter it is just a little hard for me to get started writing tonight. I guess the main reason is that as yet I haven’t thought of much to tell you. There’s not much more I know to talk about concerning things around here.
   The work we have been doing lately is more of a manual nature than military training and it is very easy work at that. Things have been in a pretty bad mess and we spend a lot of time just straightening up, repairing, etc. It almost seems like we’ve been on a vacation for about a week now.
   I don’t know why but thoughts of home have been running through my mind a good bit for the last couple of days. I wish that I was up to date enough on the news to know what to ask about. It’s sort of hard to write letters getting ideas for a whole week from just one letter.
   Just guessing, I suppose that the weather must be looking like Fall is really here back in Indiana. If you had heavy frosts three weeks ago likely things are pretty brown by now.
   Football is over and I suspect that basketball is either started or very close to starting. I wonder how the prospects look for that this year. If Eulen stuck to his job, I guess he is senior manager this year. I wanted all last year to see a basketball game and of course I want to no less now but I doubt if it’ll be possible this time.
   I’ve been intending for a good while now to ask what Richard is intending to do the last part of this school term. I have wished often enough that I had got a little college work that I wonder how he feels about it now. I wonder how much time he could get in before he would be drafted. I still am anxious to go back to school and if I had got started in college I expect that I would have been just that much more eager.
   I also wonder what consideration Richard has given the different services. No bigger kick than I have got out of the army, I just wonder if he has thought of the navy. If he didn’t like it I’d hate to think I’d influenced his decision but I believe it’s worth thinking over. Don’t think I’m trying to rub it in or anything else. I just want to let you know how I feel about the matter.
   Likely I won’t think of anything else and I’ve got just enough paper to quit on. I’m getting along OK. God take care of you. 
       Love,
        Donald

                                                        Nov. 3, 1944
Hello Family, 
   We finally have been able to get some air mail stamps so I’ll try to get a fairly decent letter written. I don’t know if we’ll get mail tonight but of course I hope so. Before I forget it I’ll tell you what I did tonight and then it will be off my chest. I told you that I was going to increase my war bond allotment but I decided to do it just a little differently. I made an allotment of twenty dollars to be sent home in cash every month. It’ll save me the costs of trading it for British money and sending it home and will be just a little more flexible than bonds. Most of the time I’ll want it put immediately into a bond and the extra dollar and a quarter can sort of be held as a reserve for incidentals. The bonds will also be as an addition to the school sales or any other drives in the community. Or if for some reason you don’t want to buy them in Orestes you can always get them in Alexandria. I had my allotment made out in mother’s name because some of my other things, insurance, etc. are made out like this and I figured that this will be a more permanent  address than if I made it out to Richard. Any bonds can be made out just like my others with Richard’s name on them.
   This way if at any time I either need money or something bought it can be used for this. Then if I am ever stationed in the U.S. again I won’t have to change any of my allotments but can just cancel this one altogether. All in all I hope and believe that this will work out OK.
   For the first two times it comes home, without any back talk I want it to go for the payment of my watch. With this, what I sent the other time, and what is left after a bond is bought a third month, I should be just about square. Now I want it this way and don’t try to argue me out of it. Let me know when it starts arriving. Well so much for that.
   They have finally got an exchange system set up here but it is sure operated differently than I ever thought of. There is a regular rationing system to it. We each have a ration card and can only buy a certain ration of anything each week or periodic weeks. For instance: one bar of soap a week, a box of razor blades every two weeks, tooth powder once a month, 3 or 4 bars of candy a week. etc. I guess that makes it fair so that everyone will get his share but there may be times when I want you to send me things to sort of supplement this. I expect, to start with, that any time you want to drop a stick of gum in a letter, it’ll be appreciated.
   We’ve not been able to get Vmail yet but I’m definitely getting to the place where I don’t care much for it anyway. I have a harder time writing one of these than I do writing a big letter. I guess I worry too much about getting in the important points that I forget everything I was going to say.
   The last few days we’ve been sure lazying around. I just wonder how long this easy life will last. I’m still feeling well and doing OK.
   Oh yes. Your last letter mentioned about the number of letters you had sent up till that time and I think I’ve received them all. I would be very glad to get the Sunday School papers if they allow you to send them. If newspapers can be sent overseas it’s worth a chance to try this. They might be a long time getting here but they’ll be good when they do arrive. 
   I’m sure anxious to hear about Uncle Floy’s accident. I just hope I get a letter tonight or tomorrow morning.
   I’m about run down and if I hear from you before morning I’ll have room to let you know about it. If not - Good night and God bless you.  
          Donald
   If you think I’m cutting myself short of money, I’m getting about as much as ever. I’m not paying for laundry now, am getting 20% extra for overseas and four dollars for Pfc. Just figure it up for yourself and see.

                                                     Nov. 1, 1944
Hello Family,
   Well another day, another dollar. I sure wish I could have a whole string of days as easy as this one. I suppose we did about an hour’s work apiece all day today. There’s some mail on the way tonight but as yet it hasn’t arrived so I don’t know whether I got any or not. I’ll leave enough space at the bottom to let you know. It may reach you before this does but I started my extra money home today. Rather than carry it around in British money I just traded it for a money order. By the time the costs are taken out there ought to be about $25 of it. I want it to go to whoever footed the bill on my watch. Don’t let me ever see any part of it again.
   If and when I get a chance I think I’ll increase my war bond allotment. It’ll save me money to do this rather than always having to send it home. That’ll also be less to trade into English money and that costs about four percent so it’ll be an extra saving.
9:30 I’m happy to say I received your letter of the 17th. Am anxious to hear more about Uncle Floy’s accident. God bless you all.
Love,  Donald

                                                       Oct 31, 1944
Dear Family,
   Well I guess this is Halloween and it just about passed without my knowing it. I don’t know whether or not they celebrate it here but I haven’t seen one thing to remind me of it. In fact, I didn’t realize what day it was till I started writing tonight and noticed the date.
   I don’t know how regular my letters arrive but I wonder if you wonder about receiving a greater number of letters than usual. I can’t get very much on these Vmails and it only takes a few minutes to write them. If they ever start coming very much less often don’t be alarmed but just be thankful for the letters you get now. I didn’t receive any mail from you yesterday.
  I noticed on one of your last letters you used a six cent air-mail stamp. Several of the other fellows have received letters with these stamps too. Have they reduced the cost so soon after raising it?
   I’m still faring OK. I just wonder how many Halloween pranks have been played in the last few days and weeks. I’m out of space. Hope to hear from you soon.    Love,  Donald

                                                  Oct. 30, 1944
Hello Folks,
   We were cleaning up a building today that had been used before by American troops and found a few Vmail forms. And since I was able to borrow a pen full of ink, I’ll write you a little letter tonight. By getting mail yesterday, of course, I couldn't expect any today but tomorrow I’ll be looking again. How have my letters been coming through to you? How do you like receiving these letters that I have to think twice on before I write because of censorship. I hope none of my letters have been ruined by anything cut out. I guess I can be thankful that the ones I received aren’t censored. I never have to worry about anything being missing from them. I’ll be glad to get a Vmail letter or two so that I can see how big to write so that it can be read after it is photographed. I just wonder if those that I wrote in pencil could be read.
   You can easily see that I had nothing to tell you tonight but just wanted to let you hear from me. As anxious as I am to hear from you, I know that you might feel the same way. I’m still here and am OK.
                 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 such a 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 I took 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. It’s about the middle of the afternoon now 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 Floy. 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 to 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.

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

                                                     England
                                                     October 25, 1944
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 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