By 1944 Dad was stationed in England. Apparently, he didn't enjoy the journey by ship to that country and was a bit seasick. He wanted to meet up with Mom's brother, Ed (Edgar) who was only about 140 miles from where Dad was in London. Every letter and box of goodies was important to Dad as it was to very other soldier far from home. Letters were examined on both sides of the Atlantic, which you may note on the envelope, where the EXAMINER stamp is found. In this letter Dad included a 1944 cartoon of Sad Sack, who was a very popular character among the soldiers.
Feb. 19, 1944
Dear Mom & Dad,
I received your letter today that you mailed on Jan. 25, but as yet I haven’t received that box of candy. I have been sweating it out from day to day.
Well, how are you? I hope you feel better now, Mom. I was sorry to hear you had the flu. I am OK, only homesick, and that’s plenty. Gee, this sure was a nice long letter I got today. I received one from Vi too.
Oh, yes, you asked me if I got sea sick. Hah! All I have to say is “Phooey on the navy.” I guess I am just a natural for keeping both feet on the ground, except, of course, when I step off a curb or something, but still I have one foot on the ground even then.
Say, you know, on the evening of Jan. 24th I smelled something funny, that must have been the evening when Pop was eating that garlic and blowing his breath in your face. Gads, what an odor. Tell him to switch to Limburger, will you?
I’m going to try to send you a cartoon of the “Sad Sack.” I don’t know whether I can or not. If not, they will take it out of the letter.
Mom, your mail coming to me isn’t censored, so don’t be afraid of putting names and things in it. Tell Bonnie that too, will you? You said Ed is here in England. I hope Bonnie send his address. Maybe I can find him. I’ll tell her to send his company APO number. It sure would be swell if I could see him. I think I told you about running into Milford McFarland over here. He sure was glad to seem me, but not as glad as I was to see him. I’ve never liked him, but when I saw him , I could have kissed him, just because he was from home.
Well, I guess I’ll close for now. This is an awful short letter, but I want to write two more tonight. Just always remember, I miss you both an awful lot.
You’ll never need to tell me what “home” means, believe me. I’ll bet I’ve aged 5 years in the last five moths. Well, bye for now. Write soon and tell everyone I said “hello” and I hope they re all right. Tell “Dickie” his Uncle Elwood is proud of him for the grades he is getting school. I’ll write soon. God bless you. Be careful. Good night.
I received your letter today that you mailed on Jan. 25, but as yet I haven’t received that box of candy. I have been sweating it out from day to day.
Well, how are you? I hope you feel better now, Mom. I was sorry to hear you had the flu. I am OK, only homesick, and that’s plenty. Gee, this sure was a nice long letter I got today. I received one from Vi too.
Oh, yes, you asked me if I got sea sick. Hah! All I have to say is “Phooey on the navy.” I guess I am just a natural for keeping both feet on the ground, except, of course, when I step off a curb or something, but still I have one foot on the ground even then.
Say, you know, on the evening of Jan. 24th I smelled something funny, that must have been the evening when Pop was eating that garlic and blowing his breath in your face. Gads, what an odor. Tell him to switch to Limburger, will you?
I’m going to try to send you a cartoon of the “Sad Sack.” I don’t know whether I can or not. If not, they will take it out of the letter.
Mom, your mail coming to me isn’t censored, so don’t be afraid of putting names and things in it. Tell Bonnie that too, will you? You said Ed is here in England. I hope Bonnie send his address. Maybe I can find him. I’ll tell her to send his company APO number. It sure would be swell if I could see him. I think I told you about running into Milford McFarland over here. He sure was glad to seem me, but not as glad as I was to see him. I’ve never liked him, but when I saw him , I could have kissed him, just because he was from home.
Well, I guess I’ll close for now. This is an awful short letter, but I want to write two more tonight. Just always remember, I miss you both an awful lot.
You’ll never need to tell me what “home” means, believe me. I’ll bet I’ve aged 5 years in the last five moths. Well, bye for now. Write soon and tell everyone I said “hello” and I hope they re all right. Tell “Dickie” his Uncle Elwood is proud of him for the grades he is getting school. I’ll write soon. God bless you. Be careful. Good night.
