Letter #31. July 5, 1945, Munich, Germany. “How to Spell I Love You”

For the story behind these letters, CLICK HERE.

Dear S.,

Received a letter dated 22nd June from you today. Also one from the folks. I guess they are having quite a time with (lady’s) job. I think mother is right in not wanting her to work nights but some places you have to take a night shift once in a while. I know with my work about half of it is at night. I don’t care now but if I was in the states they would hear from me about it. I am well and getting along just fine.

I was wrong in my letter yesterday. It doesn’t rain every day in Munich. The sun has been out and it has been a real summer day today. Sorry that you didn’t get the house but maybe one will come along yet. (Friends) sent me the poem about the husband coming home from overseas also. Maybe that will take place at your house before too long. I hope and pray that it won’t be too long. I know if I get to come home right away that I will have to help fight Japan. Therefore I guess it is best to stay here for awhile.

I got another box packed up today. Hope to get it mailed tonight. There are 2 flags, 2 or 3 knifes, and some radio parts in it. I would send more things home but as we don’t know where we are going to live we would just have an extra truck load to haul around. I still haven’t got the pictures back from the last film I send in.

S., I love you with all my heart. I wish I knew another way to put it in writing, but any way you write it spells I love you more than anyone in the world. It will soon be a year since we kissed goodbye but it has been 10 years to me. It is going to be harder to stay away from you now that the fighting is over. I have a lot more time to think about you and home. You will always be the only one for me. And I will always be just yours. Goodnight to the dearest little wife in the world.

Yours, J.

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“Any way you write it spells I love you” – that’s pretty fantastic. That’s just begging to be song lyrics if you ask me.

It’s funny that he’s talking about it raining in Munich. I was there in May for a few days. I believe it rained every one of them.

Letter #30. May 9, 1945, Germany. “The King’s Speeches”

For the story behind these letters, CLICK HERE.

Dear S.,

Well hon here I am again I am well and getting along just fine. The BBC in England sure is playing up the peace over here. Talks by the King and just about everyone else in England I think. To me it was just another day because I know we have still got a long way to go before we can all be home again. If Japan would only give up now everything would be O.K. What did I have in the letter you had to pay six cents on?

S, did I leave my smoked glasses with you? I don’t know if I had them with me or not. If I did I guess I have lost them as I can’t find them anywhere. Hon you do just as you like about the school next year. You are the one who is going to do the teaching. Fred should get to come home before long now I think. S, I love you so very much and miss you more each day. I pray we can be together again soon. Goodnight with all my love,

J.

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Smoked glasses…what? What are smoked glasses?

Letter #29 May 7, 1945, Germany “German Surrender!”

For the story behind these letters, CLICK HERE.

Dear S.,

Well hon, by the radio I guess this is the day we have been working and hoping for for so long. If only Japan would give up but I know that is too much to hope for. I am well and getting along just fine. I don’t need anything now. Received a letter and two v-mails from you yesterday. One is about as fast as the other now. I am going to try and see Fred again soon. I have a very good place to stay now. Lights running water and a good bed. Hon do whatever you like about your school next year. I don’t think it would be so hard on you to teach in town but you know more about that than I do. I love you so very much. Miss you all the time.

Goodnight,

J.

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According to Wikipedia, at 02:41 on the morning of May 7, General Alfred Jodl, signed the unconditional surrender documents for all German forces to the Allies. It included the phrase “All forces under German control to cease active operations at 2301 hours Central European Time on May 8, 1945.”

What a party that must have been for the Allied soldiers.

Letter #28 May 5, 1945, Germany. “Free wine and cigarettes”

For the story behind these letters, CLICK HERE.

Dear S.,

Here it is time for a letter and no new to write about. I am well and getting along just fine. I have got to see 3 or 4 picture shows in the last two weeks. Most of them have been pretty good or maybe it is because I don’t see many any more. I guess this part of Germany didn’t go in for wine much or they hid it from us. We haven’t been finding any the last week or so. I don’t care because I don’t like it much anyway.

Looks as if you have cigarette problem taken care of. The folks sent me three packs but I wrote for them not to send anymore. I get more than I can use now. If I could I would send you some but can’t do it because of the tax and also because they are free cigarettes put out by the army.

Hon I sent a money order last week so let me know when you get it. Also let me know the date of the letter it is in. One I sent to the folks was about three months getting there so I want to keep up with the rest of them if I can. The news sure sounds good if Japan would just give up but I know that is too much to hope for. I hope and pray that we can be together again after VE day but guess we will have to wait and see how things work out.

Am sending some more post cards your book should be getting full. S, I love you so very much and think of you all the time. If I could just put into words how much I miss you. You will always be the only one for me and I pray we will be together soon. Goodnight with all my love. Yours Always,

J.

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It’s so crazy to hear about the war in his letters and to already know the outcome of things. And the army gave free cigarettes? My how things have changed.

He talks of sending a money order and it taking three months to get there. I can’t even imagine. I sent an email this morning and am getting a bit antsy because I haven’t heard back yet. I’m such a spoiled girl.

Letter #27 May 2, 1945, Germany “You need a pen. No really.”

For the story behind these letters, CLICK HERE.

Dear S.,

Well hon at last I have got around to writing. Everytime I start to write something else comes up and then I wrote you a letter last night and got it mixed up with some paper I was going to burn and into the stove it went. Will try to do better with this one. I am well and getting along just fine. Hon I don’t know what I wrote about the German flag that made you think that you didn’t want me to send it. The only reason I haven’t mailed them, I have two now, is that I haven’t got around to it yet. Just keep putting it off from day to day. I will get them mailed one of these days or better still bring them home with me. Soon I hope.

I received 5 air mails and a v-mail from and 3 letters from the folks also 3 from (friends). So you see I hit the jackpot on this mail call. I received a box of candy from the folks yesterday so I have enough to last for awhile now. Hon don’t worry about getting me another pen  now. The old one is working pretty good and I have a new German one.

I have “Tim’s” address and will try to write him soon. I have moved away from “Fred” again so don’t know if I will get to see him any more or not. By the time you get this letter I guess your school will be just about out. I has been a long nine months for me and i know it has for you also. I hope and pray we can be together again before it is time to start teaching again.

If you can get any olives don’t worry about it. I will get along just as well without them. I don’t need anything now. Did I send you a front page from the stars and stripes? I had one and can’t find it now. I am sending a money order in this letter. The money is no good to me here. There is not anything I can buy. I will try to do better about writing  but if you don’t get a letter every 2 or 3 days don’t worry. I will be thinking of you all the time.

S., I love you will all of my heart and miss you so much. You will always be the only one for me. I pray we can be together again soon. Tell your mother hello for me. I know I should write her but you know how hard it is for me to write. Goodnight with all my love. Yours always,

J.

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So I was reading this about him apologizing for not writing. And telling her to not worry if she didn’t get a letter. And then it talks about her asking if he needs a pen. And I wonder….at the back of my mind….if that’s an innocent question from her. If she’s thinking, “Ooh I wonder if he needs a pen.” Or if she’s really thinking, “Sheesh, he should write more. Does he need a pen? Surely that’s it. Maybe if I just give him a hint…”

Nah, it’s probably just an innocent question…..

But just in case, we should probably tell her that that strategy doesn’t work.

Letter #26: April 25, 1945, Germany “J., me, and my internal editor”

For the story behind these letters, CLICK HERE.

Dear S.,

Here I is again. I am well and getting along just fine. Received a letter dated April 10th from you today. I am going to try to see “Fred” again while we are near each other. I don’t know if I will get to or not. I will try to write a few lines to (other brother…let’s call him…Tim?) but you know me when it comes to writing.

I have been to the city of Luxemburg 2 or 3 times. Maybe Tim and I were near each other there. I don’t think I will run across Uncle ___’s grandson now. Maybe I could have at the river if I had knew about it.

I could use a air mattress sometimes. That is one of the things I haven’t got yet. About half of the time I get a bed to sleep in but things may not always be like they have been.

At last I got a letter from (friend). It looked as if he wasn’t going to write me anymore. I am sending a piece of Germany money one mark ten cents U.S. You can keep it with the rest. I didn’t have much trouble finding Fred after I found out what division he was in. I saw one of there peeps(?) so I stopped him and asked if he knew a “Fred” and where his G.P. (or CP?) was. He told me to follow him and when we got to the G.P. he found Fred for me. It just being the right place at the right time.

I don’t need anything now. Hon write Tim what division I am with and I think he can find me the. I miss you so much and think of you all the time. If only we could be together. I pray we can soon. I love you with all of my heart. You will always be the only one for me.

Goodnight with all my love. Yours,

J.

 

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Please tell me he’s being ironic with the “here I is again.” That is all.

I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be picky or critical. Geez, the guy is writing a love letter after all. But I’m curious, would it bother any of you if the person you were with had really really bad grammar? Or do I just notice things like that more because I have to edit so much?

 

Letter #25, April 24?, 1945, Germany “A Letter from Fred!”

For the story behind these letters, CLICK HERE.

I couldn’t believe it when I opened this letter…

Dear Folks,

Have caught my breath at last and am going to try and say hello, decently, instead of a scrawled note as the last you have received.  Guess who rolled up to our message center day before yesterday? None other than your old man and our new brother in law!  Don’t know what he thought about my appearance. We had just unloaded from a long, dusty move and besides needing my general appearance was “crummy” as was that of all of us in the kitchen. After all, he didn’t marry me so maybe he can see me blitzed up the next time we meet. His outfit was pulling out for, goodness knows what part of Germany so it isn’t likely that we shall meet again for some time. I was very favorably impressed by him and think you picked a winner. Congrats!

We are rather comfortably set up in a small German village and have a combined kitchen and dining room upstairs in an old community hall. I sleep on the stage and there is a new, grand piano in the mess hall where I am writing this. Am on shift (cooking) and we have kidney stew, corn, jam, white bread (have been eating “boucoups” crackers), pudding and coffee cream and sugar. The new medical officer was just in inspecting and was satisfied with the cleanliness, etc.

(Lady friend) wrote also (Male friend). He bragged for about three pages. There is something about that family that gives me pain in the area in which I was operated in Camp McCoy! In (her) letter she put in a “My Deah!” – you would think she had been tuk some place!

Your letter came today mentioning the Happy Easter egg letter and the package. Haven’t received the pkg as yet but we are miles ahead of our rear echelon. They are catching up fast now, though.

“Brother” hasn’t written lately but am sure he has been busy as I. Don’t guess we will see each other as “J.” said he also had been looking for him in both the 1st and 3rd armies. Hope and trust he is allright.

(Friend) wrote from Livingston saying he was OK and a little BC news which I had previously gotten from Aunt. Must write her.

Am sending some Kraut army pictures home. They were used to make the people army conscious. It will be a long time before they will need them again, if ever.

Mom’s letters are coming through OK. Won’t be able to send her a Mom’s day gift so will you please give her one dozen baby chicks and some chick feed for me. She would like that, I think,

All my love,

“Fred”

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I can’t believe I missed this letter. All of them are addressed the same, and I didn’t notice the handwriting was different.  Sooo….it looks like “Fred” is her brother? Wow – two brothers overseas…and a husband?  What’s really cool is that I *think* one of the pictures (from the negatives I developed) might be from this meeting! It’s definitely a picture of two soldiers standing side by side.  This is so crazy – meeting for the first time in Germany.

This brother definitely has a different way of talking – different slang. And his handwriting is very, very different from his brother. Rebekah says I should take them to handwriting analysis experts to see what they say. Ha.

This letter just made my day. I feel like Nancy Drew in the middle of figuring out a mystery. And you want to know the cool part? The name they had been calling him this entire time was a nickname. I can’t wait to tell you his real name….

Letter # 24, April 21, 1945, Germany “A Meet up with Fred Overseas”

For the story behind these letters, CLICK HERE.

Dear S,

Received a letter from you dated 4th April with (friend’s) pictures in it. They are both good I wrote on the back of the one I think is the best. I don’t have any place to keep them so will send them back to you. I am well and getting along just fine.

Hon I guess the best news I have is that at last I got to see “Fred”. I spent about an hour with him yesterday. He looks in good shape. I guess I could have found him before because we had been very near each other for some time but there are two units over here with the same number and I thought he was in the other one. Maybe I will get to see him again before one of us moves too far.  Most of our talk was about you.

Glad the money order got there alright. I have only had trouble with one. One I sent mother before Xmas didn’t get there for about three months. I will send you another one after we get payed. I don’t need any money here because they give us everything we need and you can’t talk to the German people to buy anything from them. Guess it was just luck that it got there in an unsealed letter.

Well hon there is not any news to write about now so I will try to do better next time. I miss you so very much and pray we can be together soon for always. I love you with all my heart. Goodnight with all my love,

J.

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Wow – hey that’s pretty cool. He got to meet up with “Fred” – speaking of which, who the heck is Fred anyway? They’ve been trying hard enough to track him down. Must be a close friend or relative.

This is so strange to me reading about Germany and how they couldn’t speak with the German people. When I went through Munich, it just seemed like a wonderful different culture to visit – kind of like visiting somewhere across the US (only with an awkward language barrier on my part). It’s hard to imagine that a generation ago things were so fragmented. That such tension and hostility was going on.  Honestly, I was hiking across the countryside thinking about the scenery. I did almost get to see the concentration camp near Munich (but was stopped by the weather). But other than that, I didn’t really think about troops that had marched in some of those areas. I wonder if – a generation from now – we’ll be able to travel across areas in the Middle East and wonder with dismay that any conflict had occurred there. What a thought.

Letter #23 April 9, 1945 Germany. “Sending clues to where I am”

For the story behind these letters, CLICK HERE.

Dear S,

Here I am again with not much to write about. I am well and getting along O.K. Hon I received your letter about you going to summer school. It will be better if you can be with your mother. As you say you can go to school next year if you still want to teach. You are wrong about where I am. Look on the clippings I sent you. It don’t look as if “Fred” and I are going to get together over here. We got near each other and then one of us moved the other way. S, I love you more than anyone. you will always be the only one for me. I miss you so much. I pray that this will be over soon and we can be together. Love,

J.

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Okay, this is a bit confusing. The letters are sorted in order of postmark – but some of them took much longer to get there. So this is actually an earlier letter. But this sheds some light on the schooling…sort of. She needs to go to summer school to teach? I need to go back and read the previous letters to figure it out.

Also, this does clear it up about the “army that he is in.” As one of you mentioned in a previous comment, she’s trying to guess where he’s stationed – and he’s telling her, “No, that’s not right. I’m in a different troop. Look at the clippings.” Which…of course…were probably censored out of the letters he sent

Letter #22 April 18, 1945 “That’s an alright robe there”

For the stories behind these letters, CLICK HERE.

Dear S,

I received two letters from you today. One dated March 8th and the other one April first. I am well and getting along just fine. I don’t need anything now so don’t worry about sending anything. Two rolls of film I took last week didn’t come out. I don’t know if the other ones will or not. I bet the robe is alright. I sure would like to take a look. Sure glad that (two friends) got to seeing things God’s way. Mother didn’t say anything about it in any of the letters so far. I got to go to church today. I don’t get to go every Sunday so sometimes they have it during the week. Sunday is just about like any other day here.

Germany sure is a pretty country. I don’t see why they didn’t stay in it in the first place. Hon I don’t know for sure but I think I am near “Fred” now. I don’t know if I can try and look him up or not. I sure would like to see him. I am living in a very good house now. Lights and running water in fact just about everything like home. You know what it needs to make it like home. I am sending two picture postcards of supermen for you to put in your book. I haven’t been able to find postcards of town and cities here like I did in France and the other places.

Hon I am not in the army you think I am. I am in the same one that “Fred” is. S, I love you more than anyone on earth. I miss you so very very much and pray that we can be together again soon and for always. Well it is my bedtime and I don’t have any news to write about. Goodnight with all my heart to you,

J.

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Oooh she’s been keeping a scrapbook! What I wouldn’t give to get my hands on that. And I wonder who this “Fred” is that they mention all the time? A relative, friend?

I love his little subtle flirtatious comments – they’re so cute

And what do you think he means by “I’m not in the army you think I am”?