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

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

January 2, 1944

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

V-mail

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