France, May 4, 1945

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These letters were written on onion skin paper and are very fragile. I find it very interesting that both Paul and my dad would send type written letters. For years, the letters that I received from my dad were type written, and he would usually write them all cap. He would never sign them, just his typed name at the end of the letter. After reading these war letters, I wonder if that is where he learned to send letters in this fashion.

Holland, November 16, 1944

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This letter is very difficult to read because the blue ink has faded over the years. I have typed and provided the text of the letter below:

Holland

16 Nov 44

Dear Joe,

Your air mail letter with the stamps enclosed arrived the other day. Thanks again Joe, they really do arrive at times they’re most needed. I’ve received two supplies since I’ve been here in Holland and haven’t done a heck of a lot of writing, so I have quite a supply.

Yes, I’m still in Holland and I too am wondering when I’ll leave this God forsaken mud hole. Still, I suppose it could be a lot worse so I haven’t reason to bitch too loudly. Yes, Joe, I was also in that affair the papers played up as much as they did, but as long as I’m still up and around, I won’t worry about who the papers said were there. Those were the days when even a cold can of hash would have been relished.

I was surprised, yet pleased to learn that some one pays enough attention to my letters to notice a difference between my first letter from France and the first from Holland. I imagine it was because we all expected the confession. I hope I’ll never have to write you a letter from a third place.

Annie writes quite faithfully. She mentions you quite frequently too.

Did you ever get to see the short movie of the airborne landings here in Holland? We had the opportunity to see it, but I didn’t get to see it. They have movies now and then here, but I haven’t seen one yet. I always seem to have other things to do about the time the movie is playing.

Like most of the boys here, I have a Jerry pistol. It’s a P-38. A .38 cal that replaces the Luger. There only seems to be one Luger in the outfit. Needless to say, I don’t have the rifle I had in England, so I’ll hang on to the pistol. It’s a lot easier to carry than a rifle anyway. There really is a lot less to write of here then you have there, so I’ll be signing off.

I haven’t heard from Bob Nelson or Griffin for ages. Laurence is in California, Meyer is in France.

Thanks again for the stamps, Joe. Write soon.

Paul

November 6, 1944

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To learn more about V-MAIL click the wikipedia link below:

V-Mail

 

Paul mentions the old man's view on birthdays and holidays and he was referring to Paul Senior, his father. Paul also mentions the problem my father had with goodies sent to him from home. They were stolen during the night, as I remember my father relaying that story. I guess Paul solved the problem by eating the whole thing in one setting!

August 31, 1944

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This V-Mail letter was in the same envelope as the previous posting. I do not have any of the letters that Paul wrote while in the hospital. I assume these letters have been lost. As of this post, I have no information on why Paul was in the hospital. I am reading these letters as I post them, so maybe in a future letter there will be some enlightenment.

I think for this era, it was pretty high tech to send recordings. I imagine this was quite a popular business back 'home'. With resources short, I bet this was quite costly. Here we have a glimpse of how the family back home felt about their men over seas.

To learn more about V-MAIL click the wikipedia link below:

V-Mail

May 15, 1944

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Joe Holasek was my father's best friend. If memory serves correctly, he had a bad leg that kept him from serving in WWII. He resented his situation. In the coming weeks, on my family history blog(see link to the right), I will be posting pictures of my dad and Joe Holasek including additional information.

To learn more about V-MAIL click the wikipedia link below:

V-Mail

April 16, 1944

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As an aside, my father wrote on the envelop the date when he received these letters. From Europe to the South Pacific, V-Mail took about one month. In this present age of the Internet where an email takes seconds to minutes to be delivered, can you imagine waiting 30 days for a one page shrunken letter?

To learn more about V-MAIL click the wikipedia link below:

V-Mail

January 2, 1944

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To learn more about V-MAIL click the wikipedia link below:

V-mail

October 8, 1943

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Paul is somewhere in England, while Joseph is stationed in the Pacific near New Zealand and Australia.

August 4, 1943

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Bn - Battalion (A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,300 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel. Several battalions are grouped to form a regiment or a brigade.)

The terms 'problem' and 'gliding' refer to field training exercises. I believe the soldiers used these terms so their letters would not be censored. The name of a solider might have been modified slightly to avoid being censored.

August 4, the day my Uncle Paul wrote this, was also his birthday. This was his 21st birthday. What a way to celebrate, being in the middle of a war.

These type written letters to me are very interesting. They usually are not signed. One could think that someone else could type and send them. My father, even after the war, typed letters, and would end the letter with his typed name. Perhaps he picked up this habit while in the military.

July 30, 1943

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A.S.T.P. - Army Specialized Training Program

O.C.S. - Officer Candidate School

The terms 'problem' and 'gliding' refer to field training exercises. I believe the soldiers used these terms so their letters would not be censored. The name of a solider might have been modified slightly to avoid being censored.



Click the link below for the Wikipedia article on the M1 Thompson submachine gun:

Thompson submachine gun

July 22, 1943

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A.S.T.P. - Army Specialized Training Program

O.C.S. - Officer Candidate School

The terms 'problem' and 'gliding' refer to field training exercises. I believe the soldiers used these terms so their letters would not be censored. The name of a solider might have been modified slightly to avoid being censored.

Click the link below for the Wikipedia article:
Glider training

Click the link below for the Wikipedia article:
Army Specialized Training Program

May 31, 1943

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T.O. - Tactical Officer

O.C.S. - Officer Candidate School

The terms 'problem' and 'gliding' refer to field training exercises. I believe the soldiers used these terms so their letters would not be censored. The name of a solider might have been modified slightly to avoid being censored.

Click the link below for the Wikipedia article:

Tactical Glider Training

May 11, 1943

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This is a very interesting letter. The terms 'problem' and 'gliding' refer to field training exercises. I believe the soldiers used these terms so their letters would not be censored. The letter mentions a Steve Hockay, but I believe this is Steve Bockay. I do not know if this was intentional. Again, the name of a solider might have been modified slightly to avoid being censored.

April 28, 1943

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In this letter, you briefly hear Paul comment on Joe not receiving his promotion in rank. My dad relayed the following about his war days. During the war, a soldier would gain rank almost automatically. However, commanding officers were hesitant to do so, as with an increase in rank, the probably of moving to a different company increased. In order to retain his men the commanding officer would withhold the promotion. I will discuss this in more detail in a posting on my blog: Where I'm From Is That What Makes Me at a future date.