Category: Letters

Pvt. W.D. Johnson Jr. 34945847
G. Co. 26th. Inf.
Apo # 1 c/o Postmaster
New York, N.Y.

Feb 17, 1945
Germany

Dearest Mother & Dad:

Mom, I received two letters from you today addressed to my first provisional address and one addressed to the hospital. I’m hoping that all the other letters you sent to the hospital will start catching up to me now. Your letters today were dated Dec 7th, 10th and Jan 20th so you can see that before long you can figure that most of your letters will have caught up with me.

I’m wearing my new sox today and they are grand. They are so much more comfortable than most of the G.I. sox and are really good on my feet.

In several of your letters you have asked me to request something for you to send me. Honey, there are very few things that I can really use in the way of personal articles. We have to carry about everything we own with us and considering our pack, rifle, ammunition and other gear it just isn’t possible to carry much else. Too, the Army gives us everything we need, including cigarettes which we get without charge. Every week or so we get a “candy ration” which is usually a few Hershey bars. We get hard candy out of our C rations and we have a ration which we call a D ration and which is a large chocolate bar; hard, concentrated vitamins. Despite this, we get little enough sweets to satisfy the average yen for sweets. That boils my needs down to soft candies & cake and those hardly stand shipment. So you see, it just about eliminates everything. Louise said she sent me a box of Mary Ball candy. Now that is a gift, if it gets here. It is of the variety I could enjoy so I would like that.

How about getting a box of that Mary Ball candy that they put up to mail to service men and send it to me? Louise can tell you how to go about getting it from B’ham. It surely would be appreciated. I still can’t get over being pleased at receiving my Christmas box. I had given up hope that any boxes would reach me so you can imagine what a pleasant surprise it was.

Mom, I surely enjoy your accounts of Julie’s sayings. That observation about the Lord talking to somebody else when you lost your purse was pretty keen. I surely do miss the little rascal.

Dad, I’m glad you are getting some good out of my clothes. I’ve trimmed so, as you saw when I was home, that I hope it’ll be a few years before I’m fat enuf again to wear them. I wear a 32 waist now.

Be sure and write me the news of Macey as soon as you find out what they’re going to do to him.

Mom, you asked about my volunteering. In one sense of the word, I did, but you ask Louise about it and she can tell you the whole story. I presume you have reference to my original entrance into the Army. I’ve tried to write as much as possible these last few days because it probably won’t be long before I’ll hit another period when I can’t write for a week or two. As I’ve said before, when you hit a dry spell on letters, don’t worry as those times will occur frequently as we move around. But don’t let that stop the letters from home. They are wonderful, and there’s just nothing to equal a letter from home.

Please remember me to Dixie and Grandma and thank them again for the nice hnkfs. They were mighty sweet to think of me.

Dad I hope all is well with you and your business and I hope the hay fever doesn’t bother you this spring. Don’t work too hard.
Louise says “hope” is an overworked word in her vocabulary and I realize I use it a lot too. But its a fine thing and is what keeps us going so I don’t mind. Take care of yourselves and pray for the end of the war and everything will work out ok. Love always David Jr.

Pvt. W.D. Johnson 34945847
G Co. 26th Inf.
APO # 1, c/o Postmaster
New York, N.Y.
Feb 20, 1945

Miss Dixie E. Macey
104 Cloverdale Rd.
Montgomery 6, Alabama
USA

Dearest Dixie and Grandma,

I’ve been so busy chasing these kraut eating heathens and dodging their bullets (a few of which I zigged when I should have zagged, as you know) that I do pretty well to keep Mom & Louise fairly well posted on how to live the life beautiful in foreign lands. So maybe you all have heard a few of the dulcet stories sung in my epistles to them: how the murmuring pines of Hurtgen Forest remind one of Evangeline; and how 18 inches of snow over a foxhole recalls (to the more imaginative) the cozy warmth of Whittier’s “Snowbound” and, of course, the log fire and the bouncing red-cheeked babes.

Grandma, I talk somethin’ terrible now. You’ll have to put wax in your ears, and as soon as peace is declared, you’d better start leaving your doors unlocked because I’ve learned a bad habit of blowing up locked doors with hand grenades and I might blow yours off ‘fore I thought!

I hope you all are well and had a good winter. Spring is here now and we’re all hoping for all sorts of good to come out of it. And thanks again for my swell hdkfs. They are all I own.

Lots of love,
David

Pvt. W.D Johnson Jr 34945847
G Co 26th Inf.
APO # 1 c/o Postmaster
New York, N.Y

Feb 22, 1945
Germany

Dearest Mom & Dad:

Mom, just received your letter of Feb 5th and yesterday your letter of Jan 30th. Also today I received a letter dated Nov 5 written to my first salt water address. In it you told about a ride with Paul and Alma and about Rip meeting up with his old friend Al Cowart in England. That tickled me what he said about the perfume. Did he ever send it? I enjoyed the letter even tho it was almost 4 months old.

The weather froze up again last nite but it was a lovely day today.

I’ve been getting mail like a top lately. The V-Mail doesn’t seem to come quite as fast as the air mail. For instance my last air mail from Louise was post marked Feb 14 and it got to me Feb 21st – seven days. Your most recent letter of Feb 5 (V-Mail) came Feb 21st – 16 days.

Folks, I’ve been wanting to send home one of my first division shoulder patches. I’ve been trying to think to put one in a letter to Louise, but always forget. I wrote her tonite and enclosed some clippings so in order not to make her letter too fat I’m enclosing this one for you to give her to keep for me. It’s been in all the action with me and has lost its shiny look which is why I want to keep this particular one as a souvenir. So please give it to Louise to keep for me.

I’m supposed to do a little writing as a sideline for the Co. now and then. I told Louise all about it so to avoid writing the tale twice in one night, you all remember to ask her how I came to be nicknamed “Ernie”. Of course, its right down my alley and I’d do the Army much more good as a publicity writer or something of the sort as a regular thing. But the Army, like a woman, is wonderfully and fearfully made and it would be too rank a violation of rigid precedent to put a G.I. to doing that to which he was suited. My only regret is that while I was being mis-fitted, I couldn’t wind up in some branch like cooking or blacksmithing or welding so that I would have an extra trade in my quiver should the need ever arise. As it is now I will hardly be able to leave the Army with the feeling that my time wasn’t pretty well wasted and that I learned little that will ever be of much future benefit. This is not a gripe, tho, as there are millions of other doggies who are getting the same break, and I’m a thousand times more fortunate than the youngsters who have neither a trade nor an education and are wasting the impressionable, formative years of their lives here acquiring habits and ideas that might easily be most detrimental to their future development. If there’s any good that can come out of war, I’ll be standing around eagerly for someone to point it out to me!

Fortunately I am able to avoid thinking seriously most of the time and have developed the necessary apathy toward the better things of life to enable me not to expect them or be disappointed in not finding them here. The unhappy soldiers are the one’s who cling desperately to that which they know and understand. Consequently they find the things here (which they don’t understand) too terrifying. I read something which (modestly) I quote as being something of my attitude: “To live is to meet Life eager and unafraid – to refuse none of it’s challenges and to evade none of it’s responsibilities; but to go forth daily with an adventurous heart to encounter its risks, overcome its difficulties, and seize its opportunities with both hands”. I found that quotation from John Oldham in a little booklet Eliz. sent me. I think I told you about it and how much it has meant to me. Anyhow, I get a lot of fun out of this from time to time and we have some wonderful guys in our outfit.

I’d better get to bed as my guard hitch comes up again about 1 or 2 am so I gotta get some sleep. I’m feeling fine so don’t worry about me. Just keep on praying and have faith and everything will surely work out okay. And, Dad, how about another letter from you?

I wrote Macey the minute I got his address from you. I hope the war ends before he has to hit the line. But if it doesn’t I feel sure he’ll make out okay. He’s got the stuff and the proper mental balance to make a good, sane soldier. He’ll probably get wounded a time or two also but don’t think too much about that as its all a part of the infantry. You get good medical attention and those clean sheets sure look good when you get back there!

So don’t worry too much, honies, and take care of yourselves. I think your chillun all value their parents and their home as they never did before so you all keep the home fires burning and we’ll all come sailing home before long. Here’s lots of love to you both and, as Tiny Tim said “May God bless us every one!”.

Love always, David

Pvt. W.D. Johnson Jr 34945847
G Co. 26th Inf.
APO # 1 c/o Postmaster
New York N.Y.

March 12, 1945
Germany

Dearest Mother & Dad:

Have had numerous letters from you all lately, the most recent being today when I got one from Mom and one from Dad both dated Feb 27th. I surely was happy to get them. Also enjoyed your Air Mail of Feb 26th Mom. It came 4 or 5 days ago. Air Mail always beats Vmail anywhere from 4 days to a week. Sometimes V-Mail is stuck together from being folded while wet and I can’t read all the letter. I’d rather have a short Air Mail (of the same length) than a V-Mail. It’s more personal. Also I’ve gotten 10 or 15 old letters from you all lately written in Dec and Jan so I guess mail has pretty well caught me now. But no more boxes.

Mom, I’m sure I mentioned my scarf in a letter. I wear it all the time and wrap it around my head when I sleep.

I got a swell box from Rip the other day and a swell letter. He sent 3 cartons of cigs, candy and gum hdkfs, tooth paste, soap etc. It was most welcome and I surely thought it sweet of him. From his letters he sounded like he’s ok.

I had a letter from Macey the other day. He was put back in ack ack and is down in Luxumbourg. I breathed a sigh of relief that he wasn’t put in the infantry as I’d been worrying ever since he’d started over here. One of us in this branch of the Army is enuf. The ack ack boys get in some danger now and then but its not too bad and they play a very vital part right on. So I’m thrilled at his assignment and I can’t help but think that once again our prayers have been answered. I certainly prayed hard enuf that he would get some kind of break when he got over here. Macey’s address is Hq. Btry, 489th aaa AW Bn., APO 403, c/o PM. N.Y. N.Y.

I think the pictures are swell and I’m so proud of them. I think they are grand of you and Dad and Mr & Mrs Mac but not too good of Louise and Julie. But I was happy to get them all and I treasure them all.

I’m still fine despite the fact that I’m a part of a very fast moving war and the resultant loss of sleep and rest. We do a lot of work at nite, it keeps casualties down and keeps us from losing men in the open approaches to a town. But entering a town and fighting from house to house in the dark is a pretty rugged assignment. You can imagine how little the Jerries like it too so the advantage is usually with us despite what you might at first think.

Our outfit has done a good job of feeding us since we’ve been moving so fast. Lots of time we’ll take a town and before all the smoke has died down and while the Jerries are still shelling it (they usually don’t shell but use pinpointed mortar fire on us while we’re taking it, then shell the town as soon as we take it) our jeep will roll in from the rear bringing hot chow. Sometimes its just too hot for them to get to us and then we have to eat C and D rations which we carry in our combat pack, but most of the time we eat. After a hard day & nite of fighting there’s nothing that can put you back together quicker than hot food and hot coffee. The cooks have big Thermos cans which keep the food hot while it is being transported. If they could just figure some way to stop the war about every 36 hours & let you get a nite’s rest, it wouldn’t be such a bad war. Tough hikes with heavy combat eqpt., weapons and ammunition and loss of sleep are the items that I find the roughest. I used to think I toted a lot in basic training but I find now it waren’t nawthin! One of our guys pointed to a picture in a german home of the man who was head arms & shoulders man and the rest horse (It wasn’t Pegasus was it – wasn’t Pegasus the winged horse?) Anyhow he said that scientists ought to figure out some way to cross breed and produce an infantry soldier built like that. I think he’s got something.

Well, folks, you all keep on writing and keeping the home fires burning and maybe the war will end soon. I think of you constantly and it’s good to know you all are doing well and that I have you all as well as Louise and Julie to come back to. Roots! They mean a lot when all you see from day are people, families, cities which have been uprooted. Theres really no describing the full havoc of artillery and bombs. And the Germans are really getting a dose. Such destruction is worse than shameful and I’ll be happy when it all ends.

Take care of yourselves and don’t forget I’m loving you always.

David Jr.

Pvt. W.D. Johnson Jr. 34945847
G Co. 26th. Inf
AP.O. # 1 c/o Postmaster
New York N.Y.

March 16, 1945
Germany

Dearest Mom & Dad:

Last time we “paused” and I had time to write one letter, I wrote Louise, so I want to drop you all a note this time and if I don’t have time to write Louise today, tell her you heard from me and I still love and I’ll write her next time.

Well I had a nice surprise this A.M. Mail was brought up to us today including a box from Rip containing 2 pipes, tobacco and several cans of sardines and tuna. No letters from home, but day before yesterday I got 22 letters from you all and Louise mostly and addressed to me at the hospital and are just now catching me. Also in the batch was a couple from Rip one of which contained some fine pictures which I was happy to get. Ole Rip has surely been sweet. He wrote in one of his letters that he was really “sweating me out” in the inf. I wrote him back not to worry about me, as things have been going swell as far as I am concerned.

I sent Louise a box of souvenirs the other day. There were a number of foreign coins and money – all of which is worthless except as souvenirs, a pair of military binoculars captured from the Jerries and some German insignia. There’s no telling when, if ever, the box will arrive but if it ever does you all will be interested in seeing the Jerry junk. I intend to write Louise to let Julie have first pick of the souvenirs any or all of which she can have with exception of the binoculars which I want saved for me.

I just got one of your old letters telling about the party for Sol Bunsfield. Sounds like he’s at last going “over the hill and far away” like some of the rest of us.

Have written Macey two or 3 times but only heard from him once. He’s in a good outfit.

Things are looking pretty good over here so maybe the war will end fore too long. I hope all is well with you all. It sure is great to get mail from you too even tho I don’t get a chance to answer each item you write about. I get great comfort out of your letters Mom and I’m sure your prayers are heard. God bless you both.

Love always,
David Jr.

Very often I can’t buy air mail stamps over here. Please remind Louise she’s neglecting to send them. She kept me in stamps for a while but has overlooked it lately.