This is scanned in color because he mentions his new (blue/purple) pencil. This was in an envelope postmarked June 3, but addressed using the same pencil, so possibly it got held up in the mail.
May 20, 1945
Germany
Hello all,
Don’t think I am getting extravagant doing all this writing in one day. The other letter I dated the 20th I really wrote last night.THis is the first I have written today. By the way how do you like my new pencil. It is something that was in a captured warehouse. I was using it tonight when I was helping the mail clerk re-address some letters to boys in the hospital. It wrote so easily that I decided to write a letter with it. (It looks like a carbon copy doesn’t it?) You can see that I got your letter of May 1 today because I am using the air mail paper you included. I had received later letters but this cleared up a few questions in my mind so I was very pleased with it.
You asked if I had ever got any of Ben’s letters. As I remember I have gotten one of them and I wrote to him once not so long ago. I expect I ought to write him again.
I knew at the time that it would sound crazy about that prisoner deal (guarding them and writing at the same time) but I guess that’s why I mentioned it. But that actually wasn’t such a complicated situation. Most of those guys were soldiers who had been wounded and were at home recuperating. They just couldn’t get out of town when we came in and weren’t very likely to cause trouble.
An order just came out that we can now tell you where we are and I expect you would be interested. I know you can find Plauen, Germany on the map. Well if you could find the Plauen airport at the little town just outside or Plauen, you’d have my exact spot.
We’re living in tents as we’ve always done but it’s pretty nice weather now and not bad at all. An airport makes a nice area to bivouac in but of course when it rains there aren’t any hills for the water to drain from. If your tent happens to be on ground that’s an inch or so lower than the next spot you’re liable to have to move out of a puddle of water.
I got to go to church again this morning. I hope that since the war is over, we will be able to have services more regularly. Our company is away from the rest of the battalion and we had a service of our own this morning. Consequently the crowd was pretty slim and it almost was like being at a prayer meeting at home. It was such a nice little get-together and the chaplain talked on such a good subject that I got a lot of good from the service. The theme of his talk was God’s wrath on the evils that we see around us. Boy he really brought it down to our present situation.
I learned something tonight that made me feel a little better about my silver star’s not getting home yet. I had told the mail clerk to insure it for me and thought I had paid him for it. But I never had been given any receipt so in had no proof. He asked me tonight if it ever reached home and so I was asking him about it. We got to figuring on the date, etc. and he found my receipt. So now if it doesn’t get home I’ve got a little proof on my side.
Well I’m about to run down for now. Hope things are running smoothly back there. God be with you all.
Love,
Donald