Letter 278- February 18, 1946

Giessen, Germany (Hesse)
18 February 1946

Dear Mudder and Dad,

I guess that you’ll be pleased to hear that you’ve precipitated a mighty upheaval throughout the entire European theatre. Is seems that a certain Mr. W.W. Taylor sent a letter to the Chief of the Postal System European Theatre. To everyone’s great surprise and rapture it seems that the Chief of the postal system took Mr. Taylor’s letter very much to heart and now all hell is being raised from one end of the continent to the other. The lieutenant came in the office this afternoon with a broad grin on his face and sez to me he sez, “Taylor, you ain’t ever goin’ to get no mo mail.” Of course, I wondered what in hell was going on. It seems that yesterday a general directive came down to the APO here with a mimeographed copy of your letter and a real beef from a big shot in Frankfurt saying that they were a bunch of no good loafers who will be making little rocks out of big rocks if they don’t get on the ball and off their fat fannies. Very enjoyable, VERY enjoyable-. I hope that ten generals inspect them every five minutes for the next six months. They’ve had this coming for a long time.

Otherwise there is not a great deal to write you about. We’ve been sitting around again waiting for something to happen. They tell us to sit tight until they make up their minds to evacuate the company and we have no idea when that will be. If it takes them as long to do that as it takes them to do everything else we’ll probably leave sometime in the spring of 1967. The lack of efficiency around here is appalling. It’s really hard to believe that some of these guys were part of the army that smashed the mighty Wehrmacht. If you cut off all their fingers they wouldn’t be able to count above two. Anyway we wait and wonder just what comes next. It’s getting like the old days when I was afraid to send out my washing for fear I wouldn’t be there when the washing came back. To tell you the truth I don’t mind staying here a little longer just so I move fast once I do get going. From all reports that I’ve heard these redeployment camps that they’ve set up in Bremen and LeHavre are the very craps and I hate to be in the position of some of the fellows there who’ve had to wait and freeze in those tents for four or five weeks before they could get on board a ship. To tell you the truth I don’t mind staying here a little longer just so I move fast once I do get going. From all reports that I’ve heard these redeployment camps that they’ve set up in Bremen and LeHavre are the very craps and I hate to be in the position of some of the fellows there who’ve has to wait and freeze in those tents for four or five weeks before they could get on board a ship. To tell you the truth there are a lot of guys who are actually volunteering to stay over here until summertime just so the weather will be better during the crossing. Some of them I don’t blame. They got so seasick coming over that it’s a wonder they don’t settle here just so they won’t have to sail back. Some guys I guess would get sick in a bathtub.

My truck is more or less on the fritz still. Actually there isn’t anything wrong with it but we’re rationed on gas now and the damn thing sops up gas like a sponge so we use the smaller vehicles for almost everything we do. That leaves me without anything to do except sit around and act like a Non-com. That’s easy enough. Anymore, however, I am too nervous to just sit around and I get the blues if I don’t have any work to keep me occupied.

I’m trying to get along with my German still but as yet I understand a great deal more than I can speak. That’s the way it’s been for a long time now. Is sure wish I could get it down a little better before I leave Germany.

Well, that’s about all for tonight. I’ll write again as soon as anything comes up or even if it doesn’t.

Best Love,
Bill