Transcript Ila,Well here it is time to leave, so I thought I would write while I had the chance. I’m not leaving with Duane. I’m going two days later. What rotten luck. Here I thought we would be together. What I really want to tell you, is that Duane had some clothes to send home so we sent ours together to my house. They wouldn’t let us send them home in our traveling bags. The reason for that, I would like to know myself. This Army does some of the strangest things. I sent a letter to my...

Transcript Hi Ila, Now are you and the rest of your family feeling these fine spring days? I don’t feel to bad but I sure wish I was at home, and I think Bud feels the same. All we have been doing is work and more work. Boy I’ve just about had my fill of the Army too. I don’t know how any man can stay in the Army for twenty years. I think I would go crazy if I had to stay in over two years. The only thing that is messing up our getting out of the Army sooner is the Korean war. If that was...

Transcript Monday 9th, July 1951 U.S.N.S. General R.E. CallanHi Ila, How is my best girlfriend feeling today? I hope you feel alright. We are having a pretty rough time. For the last two days now, we’ve been in the center of one heck of a storm. The ship is shaking just like a leaf that lands on a puddle of water. A lot of guys strap themselves in at night so they won’t fall out of their bunks. We ran out of straps down where we are, so I got a piece of chain holding me in. I’ll...

Transcript 22nd August, 1951 Mannhiem , GermanyHi Ila, Well I thought it was about time I sent you all a letter. Well it’s finally happened Duane and I are going to be split up after being together so long. Duane is going to stay here with A company and we are going to move out, I will be anywhere from 65 to 100 miles from him for the rest of my stay in the Army. But if I never do get the chance I’ll see him when I get out. That is if you don’t care if I come out to your place....

Transcript Sunday September 2nd, 1951 Bad Krueznack , GermanyPersonal LetterHi Ila Baby How do you feel today? Okay I hope. Well Dwayne and I are split up again, for how long I don’t know. He is down in Mannhiem yet while I’m up here at Bad Krueznach . Maybe we’ll get together when we get a three day pass. We are living in Barracks now, they are really beautiful, the rooms are painted two tone light green half way up the wall, the ceilings are white and so are...

Transcript Friday September 21, 1951 Bad Krueznach , GermanyHi Honey, Just recieved your letter the other day and I was really glad to hear from you. My mail has really fallen off lately. No kidding I didn’t recieve any mail for 14 days straight. Then all of a sudden I got two letters one from my Dad and one from You. Please Honey keep on writting, it really makes me feel good to get a letter from you. Duane always told me he had a sister when we were in Basic Training but I...

Transcript Tuesday 9th October, 1951 Bad Krueznach , GermanyDearest Ila, How are you today? Alright I hope. I would have wrote sooner, but I was pretty busy. Tonight is the first night, I’ve had off for five days. It seems nice just to be able to lay around, doing nothing. I suppose it is pretty cold down there now, huh honey? It won’t be too long before it snows, then the long dreary winter begins. I hate to see it come over here, because it’s always way below zero around here,...

Transcript Saturday 13th October, 1951 Bad Krueznach , GermanyDear Ila, Guess what happened? Duane and I are together again. All the guys that were out of the company were called back. Gee it seems swell to have him back again. Crowell came back too, even though he doesn’t hang around with us too much. Gee whiz but it is getting cold out. Frost every night. I probably told you about the weather. So I’ll not talk about it again. Those pictures didn’t turn out that I had taken. So...

Transcript Friday October 26th, 1951 Bad Krueznach , GermanyHi Honey, How are you today? As good as usual I bet. The rumors are really flying around here today. About what I can’t say, but I hope they aren’t true. How are things, Sweetheart? also how are you coming along with your cooking lessons? I’ll have to sample your cooking in order to make comment on how good a cook you are. But I know that if you make anything, it is bound to be good. The only thing I would like to make...

Transcript Sunday 11th November, 1951Dear Ila, Just got back from my three day pass. Had a lot of fun, but would much rather have been home. There where three of us that went. Your brother Duane, a kid named Pfeffer and myself. We met some people over here, I don’t remember if they were related to Pfeffer or not, but he got the address from home. So after a lot of running around we found were one man lived, but it seemed that he left for work. So we looked up the other people,...

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Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

Transcript Monday Dec. 24th, 1951 Bad Kreuznach, GermanyDearest Love, By the time you get this letter Christmas will probably be forgotten already. Gee whiz how the time really flies by. Just think January and I’ll be starting on my last year in the Army. Getting all that much closer to getting home to my family and to the one person I love the most. Oh how I would love to be holding you in my arms right now. To feel your soft lips under mine. Just to hold your hand would make...

Transcript Friday December 29th, 1951 Bad Kreuznach, GermanyHi Sweetheart, Received two letters from you today, one was datted the 17th and the other the 24th of December. Gee whiz I’ve been writting right along, but the Army Post Office were plowed under with mail, and a lot of letters were probably lost. They should have all of our mail delivered by the end of January. That’s how the mail situation really is. Guess where I’m going the first of January? To Lucerne Switzerland....

Transcript Sunday February 3rd, 1952Hi Sweetheart, I recieved your letters the other day and also your pictures. Honey you look simply beautiful. And also look a hang of a lot older then you really are. No kidding I mean it. Duane and I went over to the Snack Bar and had a couple of hamburgs and a few banana splits. Just think I’m going to be real fat when I get home, if I keep eatting like I’m doing. You won’t want to go out with me then. I barely drunk at all anymore, I can’t...

Transcript Tuesday 26th February, 1952 Bad Krueznach , GermanyHi Honey: How are you today? Good as usual I bet. I feel pretty good, but still wish to high heaven that I were at home. This has been an awful slow day today. Time just seemed to drag by for me. It seems like years before my time will be up and here I have but 9 ½ months more to go. DO you think you can wait that long for me Sweetheart? You know that is an awful long time. I don’t want any one to be monkeyed up, by...

Transcript Thursday April 3rd, 1952 Bad Kreuznach, GermanyHi Sweetheart, How is everything today, Honey? Aso how do you feel. Boy I feel like hang, I still haven’t sent you pictures of myself. But I promise I’ll have some taken. All I can do is look at the pictures you sent to me and dream about you. Boy what dreams I have, it’s lucky the Army doesn’t Censor dreams. (If they could) I would go A.W.O.L. What a figure. I still say I can’t wait for our first kiss. (Oh Boy.) I’ll...

Transcript Tuesday May 6th 1952 Bad Kreuznach, GermanyHi Sweetheart, How are you today? I hope you feel as good as I do. It must be the warm weather we are having. I have barely wrote any letters at all in the last two weeks because I’ve been doing an awful lot of fishing. So now I’ll try to catch up. I hope you will forgive me Honey, I’m sorry and will try to keep on the ball. Am I forgiven? I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but I am in high hopes that you will. I’m...

Transcript Tuesday May 18th, 1952 Bobligan , GermanyHi Sweetheart, Well here I am, over here at a different outfit, for how long I don’t know. It took over six hours to get here. I’m to be a parts expiditor. I won’t get any mail while I am here. So keep writting to my other address. All I have to do is, give the right Stack number and nomenclature for parts, and see if they all came in good shape. The name of the outfit is 78th Heavy Ordnance Battalion. We draw a hang of a lot...

Transcript Hi Honey, Please excuse the delay in my answering your letter. I’ll try to make it up to you Honey. Well how do you feel today? Okay? I hope so anyway. I feel pretty good. I just came back from the show and was laying on my bed daydreaming, and I thought of you. No kidding Honey. The time is really drawing close now just six more months to go. I hope you haven’t changed your mind about me Honey, because I still love you with all my heart. I’m day dreaming about your terrific...

Transcript Sunday June 1st, 1952Hi Sweetheart, Hey Baby, that was really a nice letter you wrote to me. I hope you mean it Dear? I read it over and over for about a dozen times. And it became more interesting the more I read it. Don’t worry about me not wanting you Honey, nothing could keep me from you. I still dream of those soft lips and your beautiful figure. Oh man, Sweetheart I really love your build. I want you to stay that way too. A nice little armful. Do I take too much...

Transcript Sunday 8th June 1952Dearest, Sweetheart, How is my dream girl today Honey? I hope you feel fine? I always do, that is, every time I think of you. I can’t wait till the day I’ll be able to hold you in my arms. When I get you Sweetheart, no one will ever be able to take you from me. “I Love you so very much.” It hurts me even to tell you about it Darling, because I’ve never so much as kissed you. I’ve never felt so much Love for anyone as I do for you. I’ll probably be...

Transcript Sunday June 8th, 1952 Letter number IIHi Honey, This is just another letter I thought I would send to you. I just finished writing one letter to you not over fine minutes ago. I guess it’s a bad case of Love, don’t you? Just think they are playing my favorite song on the radio, the name of it is “How Soon Will I be seeing You? It’s really a beautiful song, and one I have on my mind all the time. Its really something a guy never can know until the blissful moment it...

Transcript Wednesday June 11th, 1952Hi Sweetheart, How is pretty little Doll today? I hope you feel half as good as I do. It was a nice warm day today, I usually feel loggy and never like to do anything. So today had to be exceptional in order to make me feel this way. Maybe it’s because I think of you so much Honey. Do you believe me now when I say that I Love You? Gee whiz, do you know that this makes the third letter that I have written to you this week? So by now Honey, You...

Transcript Monday June 16th, 1952Hi Sweetheart, Recieved your very interesting letter this morning Baby, so I thought I would write it right away. Sweetheart you need never worry about me changing my mind because it will never happen I Love you much to much, for anything to ever change my mind. Honey, the first time I ever saw you is the time that I fell in Love and that is the first time in my life. You really want to know what it will seem like when we meet and I’m able to...