Letter 255- November 17, 1945

November 17, 1945
Giessen, Germany

Dear Mudder and Dad,

I still haven’t received any mail from you up until today. I know that it’s no fault of yours, but that still doesn’t make me feel any better about the situation. It just seems that the system over here is so well set that it takes a month of Sundays to get any changes made. I sent my change of address card into my old company over a week ago but still I’ve not heard anything about the letters you’ve sent to my old address. Have you received my package yet? I’m beginning to worry about it. There was a great deal of valuable stuff in it so I’d hate like the very devil to have the thing lost.

Things are pretty much the same here except that I’ve learned a few things about this part of Germany that are fairly interesting. Giessen is part of the Medieval Duchy of Hesse, where the famous Hessians of the Revolutionary War days came from. The people here say that in those days the old Dukes use to sell the citizens of those towns around here outright into foreign armies. They say the ones that went into the British army were lucky although few of them ever came back. I can easily see why they never came back even if they were free to do so. These Krauts are all the same though. They seem to think that being a soldier is hot stuff no matter whose army it is.

Above the town here are two ancient castles, one dating from 1240 and the other from 1280. They are built of grey stone and look more like I have always imagined a castle should look like. Somehow a castle built of red sandstone doesn’t look the part.

Going to town from here is no fun. This area is controlled by the Third Infantry Division and their MP’s are undoubtedly the meanest in the world. No matter what you do you’re wrong. I got bawled out for failure to salute an officer who was standing in a dark cubbyhole where I couldn’t even see him, much less his rank.

The work here is going on very much the same as always except that today we received the first shipment of 10 carloads of potatoes that will come in during the next few days. I sure don’t know where in hell they plan to put them. We’ve enough stuff here now to supply three armies for an entire year.

The 100th is having a big party down in Stuttgart this weekend and all former members of the division are invited to come but I’ll be damned is I’ll hitchhike 300 kilometers for any party. Some of the other fellows went, however. The party is in celebration of the third anniversary of the activation of the division into the army. With the outfit headed for home next month the party will really be a double celebration.

Have you received my letter with the authorization for the expert’s badge, etc. in it? After I’ve gone to so much trouble to get the thing I’m going to damn sore if it gets lost anywhere in the darn mail.

Well, that about does it for tonight. As usual this hasn’t been much of a letter but with my now receiving any mail I find it pretty difficult to write anything.


Best Love,
Bill