16 Sep Dance party, March 3 & 6, 1945
Dad got a raise – $16 a week! and in his first letter he describes a dance club down the street where about 20 girls get together and invite small units of soldiers for a mass date! chaperoned by their mothers – hmmm? But he as one of the “old men” went to the movies instead. His second letter is probably one of the most playful I’ve read since he’s been in the war – describing the joys of using a German-made typewriter. I’ve posted this one for you to read, as I wasn’t able to recreate many of the symbols on my Apple keyboard!
3 MARCH 1945 V-MAIL
HOLLAND
GOOD EVENING, BABY. ON THE LETTERHEAD YOU WILL NOTICE THAT I HAVE GONE UP ONE NOTCH, ANYWAY. NOT TOO PROUD OF IT, BUT IT’S SIXTEEN BUCKS A MONTH MORE MONEY. I’LL BE SENDING YOU A MONEY ORDER IN A FEW DAYS AND WHEN I DO I’LL ENCLOSE A COPY OF THE SPECIAL ORDERS. I’VE ALSO JUST GOT OFF A LETTER TO YANK MAGAZINE IN N.Y.C. SENDING YOU A YEARS SUBSCRIPTION TO SAME. THEN YOU’LL SEE WHAT I MEAN ABOUT “SAD SACK”. OH YES, I’LL BE SENDING YOU SOME CARTOONS I’VE BEEN CLIPPING FOR YOU TOO. YOUR FEB 15TH LETTER ARRIVED TODAY AND YOU SEEM TO BE GETTING BUSIER ALL THE TIME INSTEAD OF TAKING IT EASIER. LAST NIGHT THE EM OF THE OUTFIT HAD A PARTY AT A LITTLE TAP-ROOM UP THE STREET AND HAD ABOUT TWENTY FAIRLY NICE GIRLS. SEEMS THE GIRLS HAVE A DANCING CLUB AND ACCEPT MASS DATES FROM SMALL OUTFITS SUCH AS OURS FOR DANCING PARTIES. OF COURSE, THEY WERE CHAPERONED BY A FEW OF THEIR MOTHERS. FIVE US US “OLD MEN” WENT TO THE WORLD PREMIER OF “MY REPUTATION” WITH BARBARA STANWYCK AND FATTISH GEO. BRENT. IT WAS A PRETTY GOOD SHOW, AND AFTERWARDS WE DROPPED INTO THE PARTY FOR A FEW BEERS AND HOME ABOUT TEN. THE BOYS, NATURALLY, CAME DRAGGING IN UNTIL ABOUT TWO, WAKING EVERYBODY UP EACH TIME TO TELL WHAT A PARTY!! A LOT OF GOOD IT DID ME TO HIT THE SACK EARLY. THIS HAS BEEN A FREAKY WEATHER DAY. BEAUTIFUL SUNRISE THIS MORNING *** CLEAR, WITH THE MOON LIKE A SILVER DOLLAR. AND INTERMITTENTLY THROUGH THE DAY, IT RAINED, HAILED AND SNOWED! AND ENDED UP WITH BRIGHT SKIES AGAIN, AND THE FIGHTER PLANES OUT ZOOMING AROUND — ALMOST AS FAST AS MY LOVE GOES SWOOPING OVER TO YOU & MISS K
PAPPY
6 MAR 1945 V-MAIL
HOLLAND
GOOD EVENING? SWEETIE, (PARM THE TYPOGRAPHICAL ERROR? SUCH AS I’VE JUST MADE, TWICE, — I MEAN THE QUESTION MARKS AFER “EVENING” AND “ERRORS”. THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN COMMAS, AND THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN COMMAS ON AN AMERICAN MACHINE, BUT THIS — MY MSG CEN TYPEWRITER NOW — IS A GERMAN MACHINE, HENCE, THE DIFFERENCES) NICE TYPE? 6 (DAMN IT, I’M ALL CONFUSED’ 4 & # SH? WELL) HERE’S AN IDEA OF WHAT I’M UP AGAINST. IF I PUNCH UP HERE WHERE THE “Y” IS SUPPOSED TO BE? I GET “Z”.— AND VICE VERSA. FOR THE FIGURE ONE (1), I GOT ONE, UP TOP LEFT (AND VERZ NICE IT IS? DON’T ZOU THINK, (ONE OF THESE DAYS I’M GOING TO GET THAT DAMN COMMA, WITH THE QUESTION MARK ON TOP WHEN YOU’RE WRITING IN CAPS AS I AM) STRAIGHT!!!) ALL OF THE OTHER KEYS ARE THE SAME, BUT THE EXTRA LITTLE SIGNS THAT WE USE ARE FOULED UP. ABOVE THE “3” I GOT A VERZ FANCZ 6 – I MEAN (HAVING JUST A BIT OF TROUBLE WITH THE “Y”? AIN’T I< HEH? HEH, //) & THAT’S A “M”, BUT WHY? THEN I GOT NO FANCY LITTLE GADGET TO MEAN “NUMBER”, SO I USE THIS TRICK THING ABOVE THE 9, TO WIT (a symbol not on my (MA’s) keyboard) TOP TWO KEYS ON RIGHT ARE NICE, ON LOWER CASE WE GOT “B” AND IN UPPER CASE “:”. HERE ARE SOME OTHER THINGS SCATTERED OVER HERE ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE. (keys not on my keyboard) THEM IS UMLATS. YZOU KNOW WHAT AN UMLAT IS? SOMETHING YOU HAVE FOR BREAKFAST, AND WHEN SOMEONE ASKS ME “DO ZOU LOVE ZOUR WIFE?” AND I SAY “UMLATS!!!!” 1 + = ‘how’m I doing, ? = OH, THE HELL WITH IT. NO WONDER THE GERMANS DO THE THINGS THEY DO! THEIR TYPEWRITER DROVE ‘EM CRAYZ!!!! BUT I LOVE ZOU ON ANY AND EVERY MACHINE
PAPPY
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