France, December 14, 1944

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In this letter we learn that Paul is quite a heavy smoker.  I can not imagine the stress that war brings. However, later in life he did pay for being a smoker.

France, December 1, 1944

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V-Mail

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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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!

October 20, 1944

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V-Mail

October 11, 1944

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V-Mail

October 1, 1944

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To learn more about Operation Market Garden click the wikipedia link below:

Operation Market Garden

To learn more about WWII in Europe 1944 click the link below:

Surrender in Europe 1944

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V-Mail

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

August 27, 1944

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V-Mail

August 3, 1944

I don't know the reason why Paul was in the hospital. From earlier letters, he had injured his ankle in a practice jump. Unfortunately, none of the snap shots mentioned in this letter were in the envelop. This letter was written the day before Paul's 22nd birthday.

July 6, 1944 - France

Since photographic paper was in such short supply, any snap shots were shared via the mail. Unfortunately, they were not returned to this letter. I don't have the letter where Paul describes his 'close call'. I have no idea of what happened. I just can not imagine what Joe and Paul were thinking and feeling, knowing that today could very well be their last. I was fortunate, that all of my immediate relatives survived WWII.

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

April 8, 1944

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Text of the letter due to the difficulty in reading(even the original):

Dear Joe,

Your V written Mar 15th arrived a few days ago but the first paragraph was the only one legible. The rest of the letter is blurred due to some error in developing or printing. I can, however, make out the last sentence saying you received my letter acknowledging the receipt of your package.

I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of your airmail letter. I'll assure you Joe, any film service you get is better than ours. My roll has been gone for a month now. It'll eventually get here though and that is the best means of getting them developed since you can't send any home that aren't censored here.

Things here are pretty much the same. All routine stuff and I feel o.k. except for a bad tooth the dentist can't decide what is wrong with.

I sent Justine a letter asking her to buy mom something for Mother's Day. The P.X. took orders but prices didn't fit my cash on hand. So long and good luck.

Paul

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

V-Mail

March 25, 1944

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This scrap of paper with an address was in the envelop with the V-Mail. There is no mention of it in the letter.

Text of the letter due to the difficulty in reading(even the original):

Dear Joe,

Your V written the 4th arrived several days ago and I was glad to hear from you once again. Your mail seems to make almost as good time getting here as some from home.

I've written you several letters since I've received your package, but I'd like to thank you again, Joe. The pen is a real honey and I've been offered small fortune for it because of the scarcity of pens here, but won't ever sell it. I didn't think it'd get here either after being on the way for so long, but there was a hell of a lot of  packages going through the States about the time yours went through.

Steve isn't around any more and I don't think I'll see him for the duration. He was transferred, but I don't know just where. I didn't see him very often, possibly three or four times since we've been here in England. He said his mother wrote all that stuff I mentioned. Where she picked up stuff like that beats me, but you know how it is.

I didn't stop in to see Sheppards while on furlough because I had my choice of either taking a local that stopped in Newcastle or a through that went straight to Edinburgh, so I went straight through. I don't imagine Jack would have been around anymore anyway.

We have movies here at camp twice a week. Some of them are quite recent, others not so new. There are several large theaters within walking distance of camp thought so we do get to see pictures before they are too old.  Then about once a month we have a Red Cross leg show. They're not bad at all. Most of the talent being American.

The weather here is about the same as we'd have at home in late April or May. Its really swell, warm and sort of lazy. The people here tell us that  it never gets too hot in mid summer. Probably about 80 degrees. I don't know if we'll be here that long, but it sure would be a change from the lst summer I spent in N.C. and Tenn.

Yes, I am salting away a little of the little I make. I have 12.50 deducted every month for bonds and also have a ten buck class E allotment. I don't think that tend buck allotment will save me much though cause I sent home for more that I have saved. I expect to make out another allotment soon.

I don't think our G2 gets too much film for development because of the shortage of film both here and at home. It's impossible to get film her and a lot of boys that sent home for it never got it. My film is being developed right now and I'll send you a few snaps as soon as I get them.

It's getting pretty late now so I'd better be signing off. Good luck, Joe, and write again soon.

Paul



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V-Mail

March 11, 1944

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Unfortunately, no photographs were found in this letter.

February 28, 1944

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V-Mail

February 16, 1944

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

V-Mail

February 8, 1944

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V-Mail

February 7, 1944

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A valentine from my father, Joseph Forrai to his brother-in-law, Al Paskowicz. I am not sure whether the illustration was done by my father, or if he had one of his buddies draw it. I am also surprised that my father ended up with something he sent to Uncle Al. My father and Al were very close, and they shared the love of photography. I do have photographs that my Uncle Al took. My thoughts, are after the war, Al returned some items to my father.

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

V-Mail