Category: Souvenirs

Letters that contain or mention souvenirs

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Background France Letters Souvenirs

June 21, 1945 (morning)

Document showing moves of the 346th Regiment command
Moves of 346th Regimental Command Post since leaving Pettypool, England. June 1945
21June1945_morningDownload
Thurs. morn.

I found this list in my pocket and decided that if it were home I'd have a greater chance of being able to keep it. I got a beautiful sleep last night and am feeling great this morning.
                           Love, 
                                Donald

MOVES OF THE REGIMENTAL COMMAND POST SINCE LEAVING
PETTYPOOL, ENGLAND
INFORMATION & EDUCATION 346TH INFANTRY REGIMENT

November 25, 1944 – Left Pettypool, England
November 26, 1944 – Arrived Southhampton, England
November 27, 1944 – Disembarked at LeHarve, France
November 29, 1944 – Arrived Redhorse Assembly Area, Critot, France
December 5, 1944 – Left Critot, France via 40 & 8’s
December 7, 1944 – Metz, France
December 9, 1944 – Kalhausen, France
December 10, 1944 – Achen, France
December 11, 1944 – Gros-Rederching, France
December 15, 1944 – Riesling, France
December 21, 1944 – Bliesbruck, France
December 24, 1944 – Munster, France
December 26, 1944 – Assembly area in vicinity of Reims, France
December 29, 1944 – Glaumont, Belgium
December 30, 1944 – Recogne, Belgium
January 1, 1945 – Freux-Suzerain, Belgium
January 7, 1945 – Remagne, Belgium
January 10, 1945 – Rondu, Belgium
January 14, 1945 – Aspelt, Luxembourg
January 15, 1945 – Betzdorf, Luxembourg
January 26, 1945 – Hautbellain, Luxembourg
January 27, 1945 – Lingreef and Espelar, Luxembourg
January 30, 1945 – St Vith, Belgium
January 31, 1945 – Herresbach, Belgium
February 2, 1945 – Schonberg, Belgium
February 3, 1945 – Auw, Germany
February 7, 1945 – Roth, Germany
February 12, 1945 – Kobscheid, Germany
February 20, 1945 – Auw, Germany
February 26, 1945 – Roth Germany
March 6, 1945 – Kerschenbach, Germany
March 7, 1945 – Schuiler, Germany
March 8, 1945 – Junkerath, Germany
March 13, 1945 – Rubenach (Koblenz), Germany
March 19, 1945 – Kobern, Germany
March 23, 1945 – Seberhausen, Germany
March 24, 1945 – Oppenhausen, Germany
March 26, 1945 – Crossed Rhine River to Osterspai, Germany
March 27, 1945 – Schweighausen, Germany
March 28, 1945 – Lindenholzhausen, Germany
March 30, 1945 – Kraftsholm, Germany
April 5, 1945 –  Heringen, Germany
April 7, 1945 –  Bad Liebenstein, Germany
April 9, 1945 – Tombach, Germany
April 11, 1945 –  Oberwillingan, Germany
April 12, 1945 –  Ehrenstein, Germany
April 13, 1945 – Etzelbach, Germany
April 15, 1945 – Dragensdorf, Germany
April 17, 1945 – Treuen, Germany
April 25, 1945 – Limbach, Germany
May 6, 1945 – Rebensgrum, Germany
May 7, 1945 – Auerbach, Germany
May 21, 1945 – Elsterberg, Germany
May 27, 1945 – Pormitz, Germany
May 29, 1945 – Dittersdorf, Germany

Categories
Germany Letters Paris Souvenirs

May 18, 1945

Flyer from pass to Paris
May 18, 1945

Hello Folks,
     Could you guess what I’ve been doing? I’ve been to Paris. I didn’t intend to let all the time slip by without writing at least one letter but I just didn’t get it done. When I wrote you on the morning of the eighth I had no idea when I was leaving. But no sooner than I got the letter finished and I was off. I just got back yesterday evening so you can see that there is a good bit of traveling time to spend three days in Paris. We did spend one night going each way at a rest camp in Belgium. Trucks took us from here to the rest camp and then it was a train ride from there on. Five hundred miles by truck sure was a long, hard, dirty ride.
     I did have an enjoyable stay though in Paris. The Red Cross furnished a place to stay and your meals. It only cost me 40c a day for a room and 20c for each meal. With food conditions like they are, eating would be quite a problem if it weren’t for this.
    There was nothing that one would want to buy except some souvenirs and you can just about guess what sort of a hold-up price they charge for things like this - about six times what it is worth. You could see movies for nothing, ride the subways for nothing and get your necessities through the army or the Red Cross so the trip cost very little. Lots of army men spend enormous sums in Paris but it’s always on something to drink or something along that line that’s no good at all to them.
     I spent one afternoon on a sight seeing trip so that I could see the interesting places that I might never find for myself. The Red Cross sponsored this also so you can see they do a pretty good job of making your pass interesting. I'll send you the leaflet telling about the trip rather than try to list the places myself.
  In the letter you wrote on V-E day you wondered how I would be spending the day. I believe that starting to Paris was a pretty good way of ending the war.
  I got eight letters and a package from you last night but I'm not going to try to answer the letters this time. I want to be sure this gets in the mail today
  I was happy to hear about Richard’s scholarship. Congratulations.
    The package was mailed April 6. I have opened one of the cases inside of it and it turned out to be divinity fudge. That sure made me mad!
    We’re living a pretty easy life right now. Most of the outfit is guarding captured equipment. I don’t know anything about the future and don’t suppose I could tell you if I did. Of course, everyone is trying to guess about it. 
     I’m going to sign off on this and get it started on its way. I think I’ll start another letter to you before the day is over.
    Be good and God bless you.
               Love,                                           
                 Donald
18May1945Download
Categories
Germany Letters Souvenirs

April 6, 1945

Germany
April 6
(I think)

Dear Folks,
   If you remember from last winter how long it would take our mail to catch us whenever we’d move, you’ll understand thoroughly why it is habitually slow now. It’s been several days now since I heard from you and as usual I begin to get anxious. Not worried because that wouldn’t even do any good but just anxious to hear.
   I got the box of souvenirs (junk) started that I spoke about in the last letter. In the last couple of weeks I could have picked up a million things and I have said that I didn’t want a thing from over here. But it would be a shame not to have one single trophy. Of course, we aren’t allowed to take any civilian property because that would be stealing but practically all captured military equipment may be sent home. Lots of fellows send rifles but unless I change my mind I want none of these. Pistols can’t be sent because of laws concerning them in the States. As you can see most of the stuff that you could and would want  to send is worth very little except just for its souvenir value. 
   Now my stuff: the medals and knife are from prisoners we took and the flag is from the house (in a town our outfit captured) of an ardent Nazi. The house seemed to have been some sort of a military headquarters. The knife may not seem like a military article but we take knives of all kinds from prisoners just for safety sake. This little knife reminded me of my pearl handled knife that I lost while serving in the army. It’ll serve me the twofold purpose of being useful as a pocket knife and also be a trophy. It’s just about the right size knife to carry to school. I don’t believe I would have taken three times its value for my other little one just for that reason. After I had my package wrapped I found a medal just like one of those I had intended to send. I couldn’t be sure whether it is the same one or one like it. Several of the fellows had them. Just in case I missed wrapping it up, in the first attempt, I am sending it in this letter. If it turns out that I have actually sent two, Jim can have one of them.
   Hope everything is OK back there. God be with you all.
                Love,  
                  Donald
06Apr1945Download
Categories
Germany Letters Souvenirs

March 10, 1945

March 10,1945

Hi People,
   I am a little surprised to be still where I can write to you today but you can be sure I’m not unhappy about the situation. There are a few things, mostly samples of money, that I’ll send along for you to see. These aren’t anything special but just bills from each country that I happened to have. I hadn’t even intended to send them home but decided the other day that you might be interested. You’ll be able to decipher what country they are from and how much they are worth. These bills are invasion money (printed and backed by our gov’t.). Invasion money is always printed in these two sizes and the larger denominations the size of our dollar bills. That way it fits into our billfolds. European money is printed in a million different sizes  and always has to be folded someway or other to fit our pocketbooks. Some of their notes are bigger than this sheet of paper. We had this trouble in England and if we were to use what is printed by the governments on the continent it would be the same thing.
   There isn’t much new I can tell you as far as news goes. It’s just the same old story of sweating out the time when we start moving again.
   Yesterday someone was talking about dogs and the thought came to me that it has been a long time since I have heard anything about old Topsy. Is she still around? If she is she should be old enough now I’d think to have lost a little of her puppy pop.
   I got a whole stack of Tribunes yesterday evening. One bunch of them was from Dec 24 to 27 and the others from the latter part of January. You can see that they come sort of irregularly. Any time there is anything really special even in the Tribune I’ll be glad to receive it as a clipping. Then I’ll be sure to get it and I’ll have it 2 weeks to 2 months sooner.
   Think I’ll hold on to this letter until after mail time this evening. It's time I was getting a letter again.

  5PM
   Rather than start a new page on this letter I’ll sign off by telling you I got to attend church this evening. I’ll be looking again tomorrow for mail. No luck today. God bless you all.
          Lots of love,
            Donald
10Mar1945Download