Nebraska Soldiers & Letters Home

August 4, 1944

Italy

August 4, 1944

My Dear Karla & Edna;

I certainly choose an unusual spot to celebrate my 6th Wedding Anniversary – in the Hospital! Don’t be alarmed, it’s nothing serious. I expect to be out in a day or so and feel swell even now. An upset- and I mean upset stomach was the cause. The fault of it’s being upset was not mine. As you know this is the 1st time since my birth that I’ve been a patient in a hospital. I always thought it would take a broken leg or something like that to put me back in hospital sheets.

Bill Sally, the Units first Sgt. + John Heistand another cameraman came to visit me last evening and brought along your letter of the 26th- the first addressed directly to the Unit. Bill + John promised, as they left, to celebrate my

Anniversary appropriately back at head-quarters. And I suppose they did because when I left there hurriedly on the 2nd I noticed a full quart of cherry brandy on the shelf.

As in your care the payment of the 4.00 by Murray did much to restore my confidence in my fellow mans honesty. I had Georges address and for the past 3 months I’ve been planning a little speech I intended to deliver when I dropped into visit him un-expectedly after the war. Now I shall have to write him a note of thanks, instead.

In all fairness I must tell you that the bulk of Mike’s mail is made up of V. Mail. His wife writes him 2 or 3 a day. He read one to me and I concluded that she might just as well have saved paper for all that she said. Rest assured I’d much rather have one of your letters per day than 6 of the type Mike’s receiving.

Karla’s interest in dogs, even stray ones is just one more reason for me to love my wee daughter. Perhaps between the two of us we can overcome Mom’s prejudice against a pup. If Punchen the dog I’m thinking about he’s a springer spaniel- a swell bread for duck & pheasant hunting.

Guess it wouldn’t take much persuasion to have you move to Denver now that you know the people out there sleep under 2 blankets when you roast back in the middle west.

Send me a report on Karla’s struggle with the double header.

Funny that dress for here hasn’t arrived. I sent it 1st class. Certainly anxious to know how the 2 of you like it the same goes for the baby shoes.

Here’s hoping we start off our 8th year better than we did our 7th, honey.

Love

Karl

September 13, 1944

Sept 13, 1944

France

My Dear Edna;

As you will note I have moved on to a new, and what promises to be, greener pasture. We stayed in a Tiny village in the heart of the French alps our first night and doubtless will reside in a different Town each night from now on. If the reception we had in the first Town is any criterion of what’s to come, oh boy!

For 30 cent we secured rooms in a clean but unpretentious hotel. Had a hard time going to sleep I enjoyed the sheer comfort of a mattress, pillow and clean sheets so much. The pillows by the way are round not flat. The view from my window was such that had the tiled-roofed houses in the foreground been painted out, I easily could have imagined myself in the heart of the Rockies somewhere in Northern Montana.

We had dinner and breakfast at a café across the village square. Dinner came in about 5 courses each of which was proof that there can’t be too

Great a shortage of food in France. The red vermouth served with the meal was the first wine I’ve had since leaving home that was sweet enough for my taste.

Hardly had we arrived in town than our jeep and two carry-alls were being investigated by enemy miner in the province- this was especially True of the jeep. It helped had to move it about 50 yards and he found it easier to drive off with 14 kids wedged around him than to shoo them off.

Then we’d barely settled ourselves at some side walk tables than a member of the FFI shot himself through the hand and blood spattered around our feet. He was trying to show us how his gun worked when he had the little accident.

Following this every young lady in town began to strool by our tables. I suggested a promonde [sic] (about the only French word I know) with a petite little thing about 5’1’’. And I was taken up. It soon developed that she couldn’t speak a word of English and I knew only 4 words in French. Finally we came to a lane leading back to a home and she kept trying to tell me something

That seemed important. So, I took her by the arm and steered here back to the café where I found a couple of Unit members who could just barely carry on a conversation. It developed that she had tried to tell that we were standing at the entrance to a relatives home which whom she was staying temporarily and tha ti t was time for her to go in and eat. Furthermore, she wanted me to wait for here until she had finished so that we could continue our stroll! If I made such a favorable impression without being able to speak French, think what I might have been able to do had I been able to speak that tongue fluently!

Seems like months since I’ve had any news from you. I’m still waiting for additional information about my son other than that contained in Jeanettes brief cable. I rather suspect that get some mail forwarded from Headquarters in about a week.

Love to all of you

Karl

P.S. thought you & Karla might like to see the enclosed cards.

 May 3, 1945

My Dear Edna;

Well, I always said this war wouldn’t last long once I was inducted. Took ’em just exactly 2 years to the day since I “jined–up” to announce complete victory here in Italy! Though the battle is temporarily over for most of the Forces on Italian soil it still seems to be going pretty strong elsewhere especially in the Pacific. And ’tis an almost foregone conclusion that some of us will be sent to help in the battle for rice paddy 16. So no one has worked–up a great deal of enthusiasm about the German surrender in Italy with a fate like that hanging over our heads.

Spent a good part of yesterday making sound movies of what Pvt. Joe Doaks thought about hte situation now that the Italian campaign was ended. Most of the boys could think of only one thing –I WANT TO GO HOME.

Rated another letter from you yesterday–the one dated April 18th in which you thank me for the 75 dollar m.o. At the rate of thanks I got for that one I should get a whole reamful of end aring words from you for then one I just mailed you day before yesterday. Wish I could collcted thos thanks in person ’cause I think they’d be delivered in a more practical form than words! You know it’s a funny thing but I’ll bet I get more enjoyment out of sending that money home than you derive from receiving it. When I joined this Army I little thought that I’d ever be in a postiion to send dough home to you–I thought I’d be writing home for you to help me out!

Jack and I went out otdinner last night at our farmer friends. Had rabbit, fresh green salad and past–shute–a noodle–like form of spaghetti. When we came home I found a lady sleeping in my bed! A big black and white hound dog had crawled–up under my mosquito bar and stretched out on my bedroll. She certainly looked funny under the net. There was an order posted not long ago making it cumpulsory for us to sleep under these bars and it seemed as if the dog had read it and was simply trying to obey. This area, incidentally, was perhaps the worst maleria territory in all of Italy at one time. Fact is they have a very famous but sad folk song which tells how the peasants found it necessary ot live in the hills and come into this valley only during harvest time beacuse of this scourge. And then when they came to reap the crops from the fertile soil many of the young men died. But Musso changed that and right now the USA is doing it’s damdest to keep it free of maleria by all sorts of control measures

Love to all of you from Karl

 May 8, 1945

Italy 

VE Day, 1945

My Dear Edna;

And so at last Europe can start binding up her wounds. But I doubt that they shall heal. Sooner or later the issue of Communism versus Democracy must be settled for good. Sooner or later it must be decided wheter the people are responsible to their government or whether the government is the servant of the people. And that I’m confident shall not be accomplished without bloodshed. And the decision must be in favor of the people. The whole trend in Europe right now seems to be toward communism. Here in Italyit is very apparent that the people have simply switched from one form of Dictatorship to another. Last night the civilians parading through the streets bore no American flags or placards boosting Democracy –their banners, signs and praises were all for the Soviet form of government. Well, that’s the way they want it and I can’t think of any way to stop them.

One the whole the American soldiers took Victory quite soberly. Course there was some drinking and there was some wild shooting with flare pistols but no one seemed delerious with joy. Perhaps it was the article in Stars and Stripes which sobered them. The piece explained that the Army estimated it would need almost 7 million men to finish off the Japs. In other words only one out of every 6 of us could hope for a discharge. Perhaps, they like I were still thinking about the good guys we’d known who’d been killed fighting for peace.

This is a sort of hilday for all soldiers but having done so little work during the past week it doesn’t feel any different to me. I don’t know just how Ishall spend the day or rather I should say the afternoon cause it’s now past lunchtime. We worked a bit this morning making sound film of a memorial service. I’d just as soon the filmwould be lost in transit. The Service was OK, I guess, but the footage I got was terrible. The speaker insited on playing ring around the rosie with me, using a couple of flages as pole around which to play.

Have to finish this off by hand since we made an unexcepted + hurried trip back to Hqs. Looks as though I’ll be able to get your blouse for you but I’ll make it the slip if I can get enough material. Slept late this morning so I’m off to a snack here for some coffee and toast. Lets hope that this war settled something. Something other than just establishing May 8th as another Bankers Holiday in the future

Love to all of you

Karl

 September 1, 1945

Pomigliano, Italy

Sept 1st, 1945

My Dear Edna;

Don’t know what’s happened to all those boats U.S. shipbuilders constructed the past 4 years. We’re still waiting to find room on one in Naples. We were supposed to go to our final staging area on the 6th which meant embarking before the 10th but word came yesterday canceling those arrangements. Suppose our sailing might now be delayed for as much as a week. That means I’ll get home too late for the squirrel hunting season, damn it.

Visited Pompei yesterday and spent 3 hours peering at ruins. From all I could see just about every other house in that ancient city was once occupied by a prostitute. The walls are decorated with pictures of every conceivable position and some that are not! Vendors try to sell photographs of this ancient phornographic art at every corner.

Also looked around Naples a bit. Hadn’t seen it for 9 months. It hasn’t changed–it’s still a dirty, smelly city wholly unlike the hill towns of the north.

Four of your letters were forwarded to me yesterday. Two were written from Kinney. I’m entirely sorry that Peter’s made life so miserable for you on down on the farm. I had high hopes that you’d get a real vacation during those 10 days and be all nice and rested for my homecoming and your lecture tour. I do hope you last four days weren’t the ordeal you were expecting. If they were, perhaps the mail from me that will be waiting for you will help restore your spirits.

I’m certainly anxious to get the $500.00 dollars I have here paid on our home. I thought about sending it but it’s too much trouble. Besides I’d like to stalk into the bank myself and say “gimme my mortgage, here’s your dough!”

Woody and George B. also sent me letters. George said the fishing had been pretty good. Woody’s waiting anxiously for my return. Call him and tell him I should be home about the first of October. And keep reminding yourself of the same, honey –I do and it makes me feel wonderful–Love to all

Karl

 September 12, 1945

Pomigliano, Italy

Sept. 12th, 1945

My Dear Butchie;

Still no news as to when we leave for home. Of all the stupidity I’ve seen in the Army, the handling of our Unit on its way home takes the grand prize with 2 oak leaf clusters. Every order that has been published speeding us home has been rescinded except 2. Thos are that the Unit WILL go home and that the Unit WILL be at this staging area as of 2 weeks ago yesterday. Those pertaining to the date of our depature, type of equipment we’re to take and the personnel to go along with many other instructions haveall been changed some at least twice. But I’m still hopeful that I’ll get to the States by Oct. 1st. The thing that burns me up no end is that we have some men in the outfit who are to go home on compassionate leave —some tradgedy in the immedeate family has moved the Army to grant them an emergency leave. And here those poor devils are sweating it out with us. The Army could easily get them on board a ship or plane the day their leave is OK’d by higher command. It’s criminal neglect to make them wait.

Just about all of our equipment which we packed so carefully has now been unpacked and tagged ready to be turned into a depot in Naples. In fact we took atruckload of stuff in yesterday and the balance should be ready by tomorrow morning.

We’ve had some awful weather the past three days. Heavy rain and winds during the night made tent life pretty uncomfortable. Fortunately we manged to get a wooden floor in our tent day before yesterday so we wern’t flooded out. The rains ceased just as the water began to lap at the floorboards. Previous to the rain we had a terrific wind which just about stifled us with dust.

Try as you might I’m positive you’d never guess how I spent last evening –I attended a performance of La Traviata at the San Carlo Opera House in Napoli. The Major, our 2 other officers and I had a second balcony box which cost us one dollar each. the gal who sang Violetta fumbled a couple of times in the first act —at least those who know Music said so, personally I couldn’t tell a flat note from a double octave –but made a beautiful recovery and was still taking curtain calls when we filed out at the end of the last act. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing for two reasons. One, some of the music was as pleasing to my ears as any I’ve heard. Secondly, they don’t go for jewels and evening dresses the way American audiences do. The civilians just look respectable, not like a spectable. The action of the orchestra intrigued me too. So did their attire. Neither men nor women musicians wore foramal clothes. All of the men except the director were in shirsleeves with suspenders very much in eidence. During those periods when thye were not playing the individuals would read newspapers, knit or chat. It was possible to here the buzz of conversation about the singing at times. Perhaps I’ll attend another performance alter this week if were still here.

All my love to all of you.

Karl

 September 20, 1945

The Crater Italy

Sept 21st, 1945

My Dear Edna;

This will be the last letter you’ll have from me written from Italy. Our boat, a Liberty ship, the John Clark, is scheduled to leave from Hampton Roads Tomorrow, Sept 22nd! Average time for a Liberty ship on this run is 18 days so along about Oct. 10th you can start waiting for a phone call from me.

What happens after we land is unknown over here. I’m scheduled to go to Indian Town Gap, Penn and there I’ll either get an immediate furlough. If the latter I’ll have to report back some-where for my discharge at the end of the furlough. Personally, I think it will all be changed by time I get to the States and I’ll be sent directly to camp authority. Whater happens I hope it’s fast and painless –I’d like to be home by Oct. 15th.

Anxiously awaiting that day when I can give all of you all of my love I remain you loving husband

Karl