‘It Is Almost Impossible for Me to Find Anyone in the Same Army’

March 26, 2012 Leave a Comment

Dated Feb. 19, 1943, but it’s obviously misdated; it’s in an envelope postmarked Feb. 26, 1944. He was officially inducted into the army on Feb. 19, 1943, and wrote his first card home nine days later.

Dear Mom and Pop,

I received three letters from you all dated Jan. 22, Jan. 22 and Jan. 27 and I was happy to hear from you. I received the three clippings you sent, but the third one is definitely not about me.

If you will only think of what an army is composed of, you will see that it it is almost impossible for me to find anyone in the same army as I am in. When you speak of my outfit, you mean the same regiment that I am in.

I sure was happy to read that clipping about Vince and I hope he stays there for the duration.

I was also happy to hear that the two Joes are here in Italy and I sure do wish I could meet up with them. If they write to me and tell me what they are doing, I’d know right way where they were. Especially Joe Acquista. If he wrote to me, I might have a chance to visit him. Read more of this post

Filed under 1944 Letters Tagged with , , , ,

Pictures, Please: ‘We Are Dying to See What You Look Like Now’

March 13, 2012 Leave a Comment

Artie Shaw

Dated Jan. 12, 1944; postmarked Jan. 15.

Dear Folks,

I am well, happy and safe and I hope you all are the same.

I received Mr. Morgan’s second letter and I wrote him a couple of letters yesterday.

Why do you always evade my questions as to when you are going to send me some pictures? If you try hard enough, I am sure you will be able to find some film. We are all just dying to see what you look like now.

Billy the Beaner and myself were talking of the old times we used to have when we were kids. When I think of the times I used to go swimming in the Crooked Path across the railroad tracks, I wish I could find even a mudhole like that to go swimming in over here. The last time I went swimming was in this river in Italy. Then, the current was so swift that it was impossible to do anything but try to stand in the water and buck the current. Read more of this post

Filed under 1944 Letters Tagged with , , , , , , ,

‘All That Was Left of the Place Was a Huge Pile of Stone and Debris’

February 26, 2012 Leave a Comment

Location of Eboli, Italy

Dated Nov. 24, 1943; apparently combined with another letter in an envelope postmarked Dec. 31.

Dear Folks,

I am well, happy and safe and I hope you all are the same.

I received four letters today, two from you all and one from Vince and one from Gene.

In one of your letters you said my cousins lived in Eboli. I rode all through that town about a month and a half ago. All that was left of the place was a huge pile of stone and debris, but the people were living there anyway. If I had known then that they lived there, I undoubtedly would have seen them. However, I might drop down that way in the future sometime and see them.

Send some air mail envelopes with the paper I asked for previously.

Love & Kisses,

Babe

PDF: ‘All that was left of the place was a huge pile of stone and debris’

Filed under 1943 Letters Tagged with , , ,

A Soldier’s Pay: ‘You Won’t Get Gyped; the Gov’t Won’t Get Gyped’

December 18, 2011 Leave a Comment

A "word cloud" of the words on this blog since it started. The relative size of the words indicates the relative frequency of that word's appearance in blog posts.

Letter Dated Friday, April 2, 1943; Postmarked April 10, 1943, from Camp Wheeler

Dear Everybody,

I got your letter today and I have twenty minutes to answer it.

It is now 1:00 and we fall out at 1:20. I won’t have time to write tonight because we have to scrub down the barracks and clean our rifles for Saturday inspection.

I didn’t get any letter from Luena, but I guess if she wrote, it should get here soon. Read more of this post

Filed under 1943 Letters Tagged with , , , , , ,

To His Aunt, Uncle and Cousins; and He’s Sick

December 16, 2011 Leave a Comment

Babe's cousin Gevena LePre, left, and my grandmother Florence Mauro. This was probably around 1978.

Babe's cousin Gevena LePre, left, and my grandmother Florence Mauro. This was probably around 1978.

No date or postmark. This letter did not have an envelope, and I’m guessing where in the sequence it falls. It is clearly written to his aunt, uncle and cousins.

Pv.t. Frank Mauro
Co. B-4th Trn. Bat
Camp Wheeler, Georgia
First Platoon

Dear Uncle Dave, Aunt Mary and Gevena and Genaro,

I hope you are all feeling well because I’m not. Everybody here has a cold and half of them are in the hospital.

Well, I wouldn’t exactly say our morale was low here because it’s CENSORED and everybody here is singing and having a good time. We have quite a quartet here.

Life in general here is pretty good –

I had to break off here, so I forgot what I was going to say. Now I will have to start all over. Read more of this post

Filed under 1943 Letters Tagged with , , , ,