Somewhere in Germany
February 21, 1945 – 6AM
Hello Folks,
I enjoy getting a regular letter so much more than V-mails that I am beginning to be ashamed of them. They do serve the purpose of just letting you hear from me during a busy time, though, and I’ll have to continue using them. I generally get air mail letters a week or so sooner that the others and I wonder if would be the same way with these I sent you. For example: yesterday I got a V-mail dated January 24 and two air mails of Feb. 5 (One of them contained the watch strap. Thanks a million.)
If you wonder why I am attempting a letter like this now, I can safely say we are back for a little relaxation period. You can hardly call a time like this a rest period but they do let your nerves relax a little. We’re not in a rest camp or anything like that but we are just spending a few days living inside in a town a little ways back. We always work at a time like this but it’s work you don’t mind too much after some of the more exciting kind. Yesterday we spent all day giving our billets a general house cleaning inside and out (the area surrounding). Today we are supposed to get ourselves cleaned up as much as possible and get our rifles and equipment back in shape again. If we’re here tomorrow it wouldn’t surprise me to find us starting out on some sort of a training schedule.
Would you be interested in knowing how we live at a time like this? Since this is Germany the civilians aren’t trusted like they were in Belgium, etc. so they are all moved to one end of town. In Belgium and France we often lived in one room and the civilians in another but here we can have the whole house. When we move in we always have to clean up the place and then get rid of as much furniture that we won’t use as possible. A little room with a bed in it will only sleep two people on the bed and two or three on the floor. But the same room without the bed will sleep a dozen people on the floor. Usually everything but the stoves, a few chairs, and anything too big to move is put in the attic, basement or somewhere. Then with the floors bare or with a little straw on them we get several men into a room. With nothing between me and the floor but a GI blanket I really sleep food any more. Boy will a bed be good! Even living like this you really appreciate it. I’ve spent lats of time in barns and enjoyed it. Anything is better than living outdoors.
In this last letter Daddy was telling about a radio program he had heard describing conditions over here. Although you don’t spend all your time living like that, everything he mentioned certainly isn’t fiction. As far as telling you a lot of stuff along this line, I figure if for no other reason its a lot better for my morale just to not talk about it.
Before I forget it I want to tell you that I had my teeth worked on one day last week. It really surprised me how close up work like this can be done. I had two great big fillings put in and even with the few instruments that can be carried in their portable units, I think it was as good a job as I have ever had done.
If possible while I am still here, I want to get my silver star started toward home. I don’t know whether you’ve heard anything about it or not but the papers that go with it should do enough explaining.
I wonder what Richard has found out by this time. If I don’t write another letter tomorrow, “Happy birthday Jim.”
Let’s keep trusting and praying that we’ll all be together soon. God bless you all.
Love, Your son and brother, Donald