Author: dan

Sunday Evening
January 6, 1946

Dear Folks,
   I realize that it's sort of unnecessary to write to you tonight because this will get there on Tuesday or Wednesday and about all the news I have is that I won't get there on Tuesday or Wednesday. I'm in one of the companies for discharges and don't really hear any official news any more but I suppose there must be several men coming in and slowing things down a little.
   The lists are all out for those that start processing tomorrow and thus will get out Tuesday. I'm not on any of them but surely I'll be on one of them sometime within the next couple of days. I suppose I'll get home on one of the examination days but don't let me upset things too much till that's over. If I was deciding, I wouldn't pick that day to get home but I don't think I'll delay coming on that account.
   I received your box containing my hat and the candy yesterday. Thanks a whole lot. The hat's fine. I'm really not in the 30th company now but I'll still go down there to get my mail while I'm here. They don't give out mail in these companies that aren't for permanent party men anyway.
   Well I'm not doing a very good job of writing tonight and I really haven't any more news so I'm going to sign off. Hope everything is OK with you. I'm still planning on seeing you before this week is over.
           As ever,
             Donald
P.S. I'm doing a lot of resting now. To be sure I went to church this morning.

              next Page

Monday Night
Hello again,
   Well I didn't get this sent out today so now I might beat it home. At least it won't get there much ahead of me. I feel kind of silly even sending it at all now. But if everything goes off OK I can give you some pretty accurate information. I am on a roster that will finish its processing about 4:30 Wed evening. Even at that, of course, it's still not fool proof.
   But if nothing else happens I'll leave Philadelphia on the 9:19 PM on Wednesday and get to Indianapolis at 11:58 Thursday. So the middle of the afternoon should see me home.
   I may or may not get home before this but anyway I'll be seeing you.
            DVT

January 4, 1946
6:30 PM

Hello Family,
   Outside of a few facts that I have on my mind. I don't feel very windy so don't expect a long letter.
   I am now through with my work in the army! I was officially finished at 6 O'clock this evening. I hardly dare say that this will be my last letter from here but it's entirely possible. I expect I'll have time to write at least a short letter on Sunday but I may not be in the mood or I may be near enough out that I'd beat it home.
   Tomorrow morning I'll go to one of the companies for dischargees and then it'll just be a matter of time. The actual processing for discharge takes forty-eight hours and I ought to start processing at least by Monday. As I've said before things can come up to slow down the schedule but I feel pretty sure that sometime before next week is over I'll be home. I think that's allowing plenty of time. Of course, if there should happen to be an extra big shipment of overseas men come in it might take a couple days longer to get on one of the discharge rosters (lists).
   This morning I mailed my last package of belongings. The rest I'll carry. I won't have so much more and may be able to get it all in my suitcase.
   Oh yes. I also received the letter today that contained my social security number. I'll keep watching the mail so that I'll get my hat in case you've sent it. What did you do about my glasses? If you haven't already sent them wait until I get there now.
   God bless you and I'll be seeing you soon.
             Your son and brother,
                  Donald

January 1, 1946
Noon Hour

Dear Folks,
   I'll start this now one of these times I'll get it finished. I sort of hope that I won't be needing to write to you very many more times. And if things go right I shouldn't. I'll never be able to set an exact date because there are too many things that upset plans. I might not be released from my work as soon as I expect or even after the processing for discharge starts it's possible to be held up if everything pertaining to your records aren't perfect. But don't be surprised if you see me some time next week. It's entirely possible I'll get as close to home as I can and then get home the rest of the way if you can't come after me. I wouldn't be writing this confidently if I hadn't heard from pretty reliable sources this morning that I'll be released in a few days (less than a week).
   Well I'll bet I had a bigger dinner today than you did. We weren't expecting anything extra but we had almost as nice a dinner as at Christmas. We had all the conventional feast-day items including turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, ice cream candy, cranberry sauce, fruit cake etc. The army has fed me for 3 Thanksgivings, Christmases and New Years. I'm sure thankful that it isn't a year ago today. 
   I haven't heard from you yet this week but I did get the after-Christmas package yesterday. Thanks a lot. When this reaches you, I expect you'd better cease sending anything but letters. If I don't get my hat in time to wear it home there'll be no great harm done. You can still write but you needn't worry even about that. I may sort of get lazy on that myself. 
   Well I expect I'd better stop now and get back to work. If I don't add any more to this you'll at least have heard from me.

8:30 PM
   Just want to tell you that I received your letter of Dec. 29 this evening. Happy New Year. I'll be seeing you.    Donald

Sunday Evening

Hello Again,
   Pardon the use of air mail paper when I am not really using air mail. I hope that before long I'll have some really exciting news that I'll want to send air mail. I hope and kind of think that you should be able to count the Sunday letters I'll be writing after this one on about two fingers. Don't get excited if it doesn't happen quite that soon but things look favorable for it.
   Well tomorrow will be New Year's eve. I think that New Years eve and New Years Day will have an added significance for me in the future. It'll be the anniversary of when I became eligible for discharge.
   Now let's see what you asked me in your letter written on Christmas. I'm glad the money you sent me was mostly my own. I don't believe there was quite enough left of what I had sent to take care of it but it sort of lessens the debt.
   Waldo may be right about getting out sooner by re-enlisting but I doubt it. It looks to me like he would have been out by sometime next Summer anyway. If he was going to re-enlist, he should have done it when the war was first over and had a couple months served by now. I expect the furlough and mustering out pay looked pretty big to him.
   As near as I can describe the weather now is that it seems like March. For the last couple of days it's been cool and damp but it hasn't been down to freezing. It snowed for a few minutes last night (of course you couldn't see any of it this morning); and right now it is raining.
   I'm working days all the time now and naturally today was no exception. I did get off at noon though to go to church at eleven. For that I was very thankful.
   I don't think I'd better start another page so - so long for now.
        Donald. 

Christmas 8:15 PM

Hello Everybody,
   I promised you that I'd write on Christmas and now I'm almost too "fizzled" out to do it. I worked hard all day long today so it couldn't seem too much like Christmas. I still feel that Sunday was my Christmas.
   Of course, we did have a very nice dinner today. Turkey and all the trimmings - even down to fruit salad, ice cream, mince pie, oranges, apples and candy. And the going out of the mess hall, Santa Claus (in the form of a Red Cross girl) gave us a nice little box. The varied in contents but in general they contained candy and small books, and then perhaps a pencil and some writing paper or any such small article to fill up the box. It was sort of like getting a treat at Sunday School.
   I suppose you went to Grandma Carver's today. Did Ben get there? How about either of Aunt Myrtle's boys? Maybe you heard from them at least.
   I hardly ever thanked you for my Christmas box in the last letter but I did appreciate it a lot. Because of the way personal property has been disappearing I didn't dare leave it unopened for fear my watch might be in it. So I had my thrill of opening packages last Friday. Thanks for everything. The shirt didn't necessarily have to come but it's alright. I hope all you folks did as well by Christmas as I did.
   I wonder if you had a very White Christmas. It was white here when I got up this morning but not much that way now. It started melting this morning and by noon you could see the ground coming through where the snow was thin. Then just before dark this evening it started to rain and that spoiled everything. Now all we have are mud puddles and slush. You know - one of those real messy thaws. I wouldn't be surprised to see everything turned into ice in the morning though.
   What's on the schedule to be done during the rest of vacation week? I haven't heard from you since Saturday so tomorrow I'm sort of expecting a letter. Before long now the mail service should be back to normal, I hope.
   Well I've almost run down for this time so I might as well sign off. I'll be seeing you one of these days. Every day brings me just that much closer. Be good.
          Donald.   

Saturday Night

Dear Folks,
   Well it's about 9:30 PM and I didn't intend to be writing this late but I just fell asleep on the job. I guess it must have been about 7 o'clock when I stretched out on the bed not intending even to go to sleep necessarily. The next thing I knew one of the fellows was asking me if I intended to sleep on top of the bed all night. I might have too.
   Well it was kind of a rough situation for me about by bill fold. But it sure was a great Christmas present to have someone to come to my aid. Thanks a whole lot. That was the emergency I've always dreaded and tried to avoid but it just slipped up on me. At first I thought that I might have lost it but now when I hear about at least a half dozen more people having the same experience I'm pretty sure about what became of it. I always intend to sleep with it under my pillow as a precaution but either I forgot or it had fallen of onto the floor somehow by my moving around in the night. And that just happened to be the night someone was looking for such things. That very day (or rather on Thursday) we had received about two thirds of our month's pay so the fellows would have money to go home etc. over Christmas. That helps to explain the why of the thing. But as the old saying goes "it could have been worse". I'm very glad I sent home the money for the bond and also happy that we hadn't received all of our pay. I guess I'm to blame for your sending me so much by not stating a number. And I know that sending a collect telegram put you to some trouble getting it but I'll be seeing you one of these days and settle up. You sure gave me good service. I had the money in my hands just 24 hours after I sent the telegram. With so many people coming and going here and what's worse going for good, you might expect things like this to happen. Thanks for helping me. Since you've sent me as much as you have I'll buy me a billfold when I find one that suits me. 
   Your package arrived yesterday evening. I expect that I'll want to write a letter on Christmas and I'll wait until then to talk more about it. Thanks. (Well this is a good start now so I'll say goodnight till tomorrow).
                                                      Sunday Evening
   Well how have things been with you today. I suppose Santa was at church this morning and in general things are beginning to seem a good lot like Christmas. What are you going to find to do during Christmas vacation? Since this is vacation week it is just a little vacation for me in having one less letter to write today - to Richard .
   I am working nights this week so that means that I got to attend church this morning. It almost seems to me that today should have been Christmas. We'll have Christmas dinner on Tuesday but otherwise I expect it'll go off about like any other day.
   I'm going to sign off for this time and I'll try to get another letter started before too long
     Merry Christmas,
        Donald

23ND x 10 COLLECT
             DMX FORT DIX NJER 1234P DEC 21 1945
WILLIS TAPPAN
         , ORESTES IND
WALLET LOST OR STOLEN, APPRECIATE FEW DOLLARS
BY WIRE
       DONALD
            105P

Thursday Dec 20,1945
5:30 PM

Dear Folks,
    Merry Christmas. Unless this gets held up by the rush, this should be letter that reaches you most nearly to Christmas. It might even get there Christmas day.
    I guess that about the only Christmas gift I have to send you in this letter is the announcement that you probably already know. I hope it is official. Anyway the news came over the radio yesterday that on December 31 all men with fifty points of over will be eligible for discharge. Of course, being eligible and actually getting discharged are two different things. But at least that's the "beginning of the end". I'll be willing to guess that before this time next month, I should be a civilian.
    Your week end letter came at noon today. Since it wasn't mailed till Tuesday it made very good time. The news of the Intrepid's getting back to States sounds pretty good to me. If Ben is on it, surely he will get to be home for Christmas. I wonder just how near ready he is to be discharged. It would be a shame for some technicality on that subject to keep him from getting home. I heard on the radio that any soldiers who arrive in the States before Saturday of this week will be discharged in time to be home for Christmas. So an effort is being made to get as many home as possible and we can hope that the Navy has similar plans.
    It sounds to me as if the weather in Indiana is about what we've been having. It snowed most of the day Tuesday and quite a lot the night before. So I feel pretty lucky that we only have 3 or 4 inches. That's enough to be quite a little snow on the ground but not enough to be in the way too much. The roads are pretty slick but I can't see that any of us here, at least, are suffering from it. The temperature has been low enough today that the snow makes a sharp "crunch" when you walk on it. I expect you've already had really colder weather than we have. I'm pretty sure that it's never been down as low as zero yet.
    I wonder how the Christmas program at school turned out. What else is being done in the way of Christmas activities this time? I'll be working nights next week so I won't have to work on Christmas Day but I expect I'll have to miss the service at the chapel on Christmas Eve. So whatever is done about Christmas in the Sunday service will be about all I'll get in on. Of course, lots of things might turn up that I haven't expected.
    Well for right now I seem to have just about run down. Be sure to have just as merry a Christmas as you know how. You can be sure I'll do the same. God bless you.
        Your son and brother,
            Donald
    I'll be seeing you!

Tuesday Dec 18
6 PM

Hello Folks,
    Another day's work is done and now it's only one week till Christmas. It's quite a change for me to be working days regularly again. I had been working nights for a while before I went on my pass and since then up until this week I worked almost all nights. The days are so short now that it's dark almost as soon as I get off work and I sort of miss the daylight for my spare hours. When I work at night my free time is between noon and six o'clock and that's all during daylight.
   I hoe the weather at home is as nice as it's been here. It's been cold enough that the snow that fell almost a week ago is still on but the sun has been out beautifully every day. There hasn't been any wind blowing for a couple of days now. Today it was really nice to be out. Usually when the sun shines you expect the snow and ice to melt but it stays cold enough here that it's possible to have bright sunshine and cold icy weather at the same time.
    At noon today I received your letter that had been written on Friday. I also received a Christmas package from the Mission Circle. It was an airmail writing kit and a book of airmail stamps. No more air mail letters than I'll be writing now I should have enough of that to last me for quite a while. I expect Mother knew what was in it without being told, though.
    I believe that the only question you asked me in the letter was if I saw in the Tribune about Richard 's English credit. I did. It seems kind of funny though that a thing like that would find it's way into the paper; and then when something really big happens like his getting the scholarship, it isn't even mentioned. I guess it's according to who knows about a thing. 
    Well be good and I'll be seeing you. Merry Christmas.
       Donald