Author: dan

Monday Evening – September 4, 1944
Leesburg Range
Hello Family,

This is just a little different from my usual procedure but I can’t see that there will be anything too wrong with it. I have a little time tonight so I’ll start a letter now. I won’t send it out till tomorrow evening and if I have time then I’ll write a little more. But just in case we have to work extra late tomorrow I’ll have a little letter written.

We got out here at about 4:30 yesterday evening and thus had time to get straightened up before dark. Then this morning we got up at five o’clock and started to work. Those of us that didn’t have to fire anything did about the same kind of work we do back in the company area.

We had a half hour of close order drill, a half hour of physical training and three hours of study and work on squad tactics. It was, of course, all stuff we have done many times before but they just had to find something for us to do.

I’ll let you in on a little secret. I believe that all they are doing now is just finding something to keep us busy. We’re just going over old stuff and just so we’re doing something they don’t seem to care whether we’re learning or not. In the first place, they wouldn’t have sent us all out here to do nothing but fill in time if there had been anything important for us to do. Since we didn’t go on maneuvers, I think, they’re about at the end of their rope as far as training goes. They seem to be just stalling for time till we move out of here. I may have the wrong idea about what they are waiting for but they sure are waiting for something.

Well I got to jabbering and forgot to tell you about what I did this afternoon. I went out on the rifle range and spent most of my time keeping score. That’s just about my type of work and I can say I spent a fairly enjoyable afternoon. Boy, I sure and lazy, don’t you think so?

I haven’t heard from you since the middle of last week so I sure hope to get a letter at mail call tonight. 

Maybe you think I wouldn’t like to be home tonight. It’s really hard seeing school time come around and me being stuck here.

That’s just about all the news I can think of now so I’ll close for the present. Boy it’s sure been hot today.  DT

I’ve changed my mind again. I got your letter tonight and I want to let you know how I feel about this watch. In the first place that’s a whole lot more than I wanted to pay. It would take me quite a while to save that much money. But use your own judgement and if you are fairly sure it will satisfy me I suppose it might be alright to go ahead. Some of you’ll have to finance it for a while though. But I sure don’t want you to sell my other one for $10 dollars.

I’ve enumerated again some of the qualities I’d like for a watch to have. A second hand of some kind and luminous numbers, of course. Be neither conspicuously large or small or be otherwise too outstanding. If my Gruen were built in the shape that service watches are (usually round) it would be about the right size. I suppose it’s not too necessary to be a well known name or an American make but I would like for it to be possible to be repaired without too much fuss or worry. Please use good judgement.

I expect I could sell my watch here for a good bit more than $10 or maybe you could put an ad in the Tribune. I see Daddy wearing it in the picture and if he likes it and thinks he could get $25 worth of good and enjoyment from it I’d give it to him. I don’t mean sell either. If he doesn’t especially care for it then we’ll sell it.

I wish I could find an air mail stamp to put on this but if I can’t it’ll have to free. I’ve got one back at the barracks but that doesn’t do me any good here.

Oh yes – you don’t need to worry about the color of the watch face suiting me. It can be white, black, brown or what not just so it’s not radically outstanding. 

Those were good pictures in the letter tonight. I’m keeping the one of Dad and old Friday. The ministers look like real nice people to me.

Use your good judgment. Good luck and lots of love,    Donald

Sunday September 3, 1944
Dear Family,

In order that I could get some of the things done that I like to do on Sundays I had to get up and get started at it early. It is only 7:30 now and I’ve already washed and done a few other things so you can I didn’t waste all morning sleeping. I didn’t get up for breakfast but since I couldn’t go back to sleep right away after they called breakfast, I got up soon afterward. Thank goodness I’m pretty well caught up with my writing so this letter will be all I’ll need to write today.

We are going out to the range today but I’m happy that we don’t move out till afternoon sometime. This will make it so that I’ll get a chance to go to church this morning. I don’t know what ever got into them that we don’t have to follow the usual routine of going out on Saturday night and then firing Sunday but I’m sure not going to kick.

Boy this is sure a different kind of weather from what we had last weekend. It was cool or almost cold then and now it’s hot as all get out. Friday we did the usual kind of stuff and then yesterday we ran another firing problem. And boy the heat was sure terrible. Our platoon didn’t start the problem till just after noon and, of course, that’s just when it’s the hottest. We just had discussion type classes in the morning when it was just a little bit cool but I’m not blaming anyone for that because we just had to take out turn at the area over which the problem was to be run.

The problem was about 1200 yards long and we started out with 23 or 24 men altogether. When it was over six men out of that number had fallen out because of the heat. They all recovered but you can get some idea of the intensity of the temperature.

I was glad to get the pictures in your last letter. I’m going to keep one of the pictures but since I didn’t know the calf personally I guess you can keep the pictures of it. It sure does look like a good sturdy  calf and I’ll bet it will turn out to be quite a chunk of meat. Seeing the bee-house and garage all painted up gives me a kind of funny feeling inside. I don’t know whether you’d call it homesickness or not.

About that dream that Daddy had in which I came home. It’s alright to think about it but please don’t do any planning on it. The chances are just as good or maybe better for not getting one as they are for getting a furlough. So let’s just keep on writing and get along with whatever turns out.

I didn’t hear from you yesterday so, of course, I’m sort of hoping for a letter today. If I’m too busy next week and this is the last letter I get written for a  while, I hope you’ll understand the situation and look over my short-comings.

I’ve about run down so I think I’ll sign off and maybe read a little before church time. I forgot to tell you but we are going to have communion services today. If I don’t think of any more news before noon I’ll put this in the envelop and start it on its way. Best wishes to you all.

Love, Donald

I forgot to tell you that I found my sunglasses broken in my glasses case yesterday. I don’t know how or when it happened but that’s not the question. I don’t know how long I’ll be needing them but I’d appreciate another pair. The kind I had served quite well. Thanks

Thursday August 31, 1944
Hello Family,

I’ll try to get a little of this letter written now during my noon hour and maybe it’ll turn out to be a little more of a letter than the past one did. We got payed this noon but I’m afraid that I’m going to go back on my promise on sending some money home to help out on the watch deal. To explain why I’m going to tell you the plain facts on my financial situation. I had a little less than $15 left from last month’s pay and I got just over $21 this month. Although it seems like a lot of wishful thinking this soon but if I should get a chance to come home before we go over I want to be prepared for it. So I would like to keep $25 dollars in reserve just for this purpose and that doesn’t leave me much that I could send home. I hope you can see how I feel about it. I guess if there is any money to be needed for the watch deal I can ask Richard to help me out on it. I don’t like to have to do a thing like this but I’ll get paid again next month. If you couldn’t do any good on the watch deal in Anderson I hardly know what to tell you. I guess that Daddy’ll be going to Indianapolis in October and if you think there would be any chance down there I suppose I could stick it out till then. Maybe you could get rid of the watch somehow before-hand and then you would only have the problem of buying another one. Just use your head and don’t do anything very drastic. The one I have will do if that’s the best that can be done. It may be silly of me to want to do anything like this in the first place.

Thursday Evening
It’s 7:30 and I’m finally down to writing again. I ought to be able to get a little writing done easier than usual tonight because of the scarcity of distractions. Since this is payday night there is hardly anyone here in the barracks. A lot of these crazy guys will go broke for a whole month just so they can see how much money can be spent in one night. That’s one of the ill effects I’m afraid will come to the men who have participated in this war. And besides just causing them to lose all respect for the value of money, it’s going to make a lot of them pretty lazy. Take it from me, its very easy not to do one more than you have to.

Well, we didn’t have that problem that we were supposed to yesterday and last night. I don’t know why but for some reason it was canceled. It may come up yet but it’s going to have to hurry if it gets here this week. I just don’t know how we’ll be spending the rest of the week.

Yesterday and today I went down to communication school again! It was just the same old stuff we had before and it wasn’t worth the time as far as learning goes but maybe the review didn’t hurt me. 

Unless things change (which they might do, of course) we’ll be going out on the range Sunday. I don’t suppose those of us who have been here for a while will have to fire. But a bunch of new men will have to. We got in another bunch of men yesterday so I suppose we’ll have to go out again in two or three weeks for them to fire.

I think I’ll close now and write to Uncle Floy’s before I turn in. Oh yes, I got your week-end letter yesterday. So long, good luck and god bless you all. Lot’s of love,  Donald

Tuesday August, 29, 1944
Hello Family,

It’s 8:30 and so I’ll have to hurry but I sure won’t be able to write tomorrow. I had table waiter today so I’ve not been loafing. After I got off tonight I cleaned up and finished a letter to Ben which I had started yesterday. I’ve only written one other letter to him and I believe that was while I was still at Ft. Harrison. I’ve always intended to write to him again but just never made myself do it.

The reason why I said I wouldn’t be able to write tomorrow is because we are going on a 24 hour problem. We’ll go out tomorrow morning and not come in till the following morning. Except for this morning’s work we’ve been doing about the same old stuff so far this week. This morning I did something that I told you I’d get to do one of these days. I got to fire the bazooka. It’s a great weapon but just a little dangerous to fire. There is a great amount of flame that shoots from it with every shot and you have to fire it correctly to be safe. It can really ruin a tank though and so its worth knowing how to use.

Yesterday noon I got a box that contained stationary from Gladys King. It had a church label on it so I suppose it must have been through the Ladies Aid. I wrote her a letter thanking her for it before I forgot it as I usually do but I have no idea under what circumstances it was sent.

I didn’t get any letter from you today so I’ll expect to get one tomorrow or if we don’t get mail tomorrow then the next day.

Well I’ve not got enough news to start another sheet so good luck and God bless you. How’s my watch deal coming out?

Love,  Donald

Monday August 28, 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.