31 March 1945 (Saturday)

Dearest Kitten:

Here it is the day before Easter and I am perspiring just as though it were a warm summer day back home. Oh! well maybe next year at this time I will be worrying about a new suit for Easter or sump’m.

As I sit writing this letter I have a slug of your letters in front of me. Sixteen to be exact. If I manage to answer them all, this letter will be a pip. I received a letter from Mother today also.

Enclosed are two pictures that I took quite some time ago. The picture of the large bridge is nothing more than a close up of the small model bridge that we made for training purposes. The Cpl. is my clerk. The beer kegs in the truck are the remains from a beer party. Looking at them makes me thirsty.

So Bobby can’t take it huh? He may change as he gets older I hope. I certainly miss all of you. There are times that I feel so all alone that I feel very funny. It is no fun to be lonesome and I can appreciate how you feel.

Don’t worry about your husband becoming a hero. If he does, it will be through no fault of his. The one thing that I do best is to take care of the man that you love.

You are going to be a sorry gal if you get everything that the youngsters happen to want. It is nice to get them the things that they want but if you are not careful, you will spoil them.

It certainly is great to get mail from home Sweetheart and I am glad that you are so kind to me that you write as often as you do. I really appreciate it Darling.

Lt. Brownson bought the shoes for me. I have had them about four months now. I must have thought that I had told you about it in one of my letters. He got them through the Quarter Masters for me.

Thanks for the article on Leo Gagnon. He certainly has been around. I was happy to read that Fred is still alive and although he is a prisoner of war it is better that way. At least he is still alive.

Speaking of beans, I could go for a plate of them right now. We never get any over here and I sure miss them. Back in the states we used to have them at least once a week.

I got a boot out of what Bobby wrote. So his horse is broken and he still loves me. For a youngster he does very well in keeping his Daddy informed.

Thanks for telling me about Connie’s birthday. Sgt. Nicholson was very happy to find out about it and plans to write to her right away about it. Do not tell her that I told him and she will wonder how he found out about it.

I do not appreciate the way you refer to our separation as years of separation. As you hope that it may only be about eighteen months, I hope that it will only be for that length of time also.

You got the wrong idea about my being at the beach all the time. I deserved that little rest believe me. You know what a relief it is when you finally get the youngsters to bed and get the house in order, well I felt the same way.

Wish that I could be home to help you with the youngsters. It isn’t fun when they get sick, but you must expect a little sickness when they are that young.

Can you imagine my surprise when I opened letter #238 and saw a hazy reproduction of my beautiful wife’s face in the middle of the page. Says I to myself, I’ve had it, this is it, I have gone completely nuts. When I start seeing my wife’s picture on a sheet of paper and it stays there longer than thirty seconds, something is wrong. After assuring myself that I was not dreaming and that I was not nuts, I read your letters, all five of them, #238 to 242. Very nice stationery I must say, and I like it. Must be rather expensive too.

It is O.K. about my shoes. I do not mind but do not put me in a position where I will be without any clothes at home.

At last, Mother’s birthday is settled. Now I will proceed to promptly forget it.

SatuYou closed your last letter by telling me to be your loving husband. What else can I be, when I love you so much that it burns deep down inside of me. Gosh but I miss you Sweetheart. Occasionally when I go to the movies and see some guy on the screen making love to a gal, I get jealous as hell. Now why couldn’t that be my wife and I instead of a couple of actors who perhaps do not even like each other. Such is life. It gets slightly messed up with complications at times.

Well Kitten I must close. You have my love, my heart, and my all. I love you.

Regards to everyone & kiss the babies for me, even if Bobby doesn’t love me when he gets mad. I love you,

Your Loving Devoted & Faithful Husband,

Bob

P.S. Received Easter cards from Rita F. Aunty & Uncle C. Larock and letter from John Carr.

27 March 1945 (Tuesday)

Dearest Kitten:

I was pretty hot when I wrote to you yesterday. Your mean husband got real nasty, but with good reason. My mind hasn’t changed about it either.

Enclosed you will find some pictures that were taken at Coolangatta. They all came out very good don’t you think?

Last Saturday Sergeant Nicholson and I went down for the weekend. The Red Cross has bus service from Brisbane to Coolangatta and back. We left Brisbane at 3:30 P.M. Saturday and returned Sunday night. It is only recently that we have been allowed out on Saturday night so we took advantage of the privilege to get a chance to sleep in a good bed and have some wonderful food.

We enjoyed ourselves very much and got a little more tan. Saturday evening we had supper and after supper we sat out in front of the hotel and watched the people go by. Later in the evening the Red Cross put on a dance across the road in an open air dance hall. We went over there and watch the jitter bugs. Why is it that women are so afraid to show their slips except on a dance floor? If it had not been for their slips, some of the gals would have shown everything that they owned clean up to their belly buttons.

At eleven o’clock we went to the recreation hall where they serve coffee & cakes. We read listened to the eleven o’clock news broadcast, and sipped coffee. Good coffee too for a change.

After Mass the next morning we went down to the beach and went swimming. After dinner we did the same.

We arrived home all tired out but in much better humor. It was a rough trip but it was worth it.

You perhaps think that I am bald from my pictures. Well my hair line is receding and with a G.I. haircut, it looks worse.

What are you expecting from me miracles? The youngsters will have to be kept in hand until I get home if you expect me to straighten the children out. I realize of course that your job is not easy and I know that you are doing a fine job of it. Just do not let down on it.

What is Barbara trying to do? Become a glamour gal already? Powder, rouge, and lipstick helps, but isn’t she a bit young for that? I bet that you felt like swearing when you saw the mess she had made.

Did you get your numbers mixed on the letters? You wrote letter #225 on Tuesday and the last two I received were #230 & 31 which were written on Thursday. Did you write four letters between Tuesday morning & Thursday evening?

You should have the youngster from upstairs down to play with Barbara more often. They will keep each other amused and out of too much mischief.

I miss you very much and love you from the bottom of my heart. There isn’t anything that I would not do for you if it were in my power. But, you had better behave or I will beat the hell out of you when I get home.

Give everyone my regards & kiss the babies for me. I love you,

Your Loving Devoted & Faithful Husband,

Bob

26 March 1945 (Monday)

Dearest Irene:

There is a little matter that I must take up with you. Letter #231 reached me today and I was displeased to say the least.

You admitted that you knew that I would not approve your going to work for Mr. Girard, still you went. You claim that it is only for a few days, but workers being as hard as they are to get you know as well as I that he will want to keep you on.

               What is troubling you?

               Getting fed up on house-keeping?

               Don’t you get enough to live on?

               Exactly what-n-hell is wrong with you?

               How do you think this makes me feel, knowing that my wife is working in a joint?

If you like to work in a place where every other guy will make a play for you, you certainly picked the right place.

Your Husband,

Bob

22 March 1945 (Thursday)

Dearest Kitten:

Here it is Thursday and I had been planning to write to you Monday. Such is life in the Army. One can never be certain of anything at any time.

Do you know that I love you from the bottom of my heart? Well I do, despite the fact that I neglect you so horribly. There is only one girl in the world for me, and that is you. How I wish I could tell you so personally. On top of loving you so much, I am terribly lonesome for you. How long will it be before I will be allowed to live the way that I want to?

Your poor Dad, he certainly has the toughest luck of anyone I have ever seen. I hope that he is much better by the time this letter arrives home.

By the time that you receive this letter you will know that Sunday I managed to write to all the folks except you. By the time I got through Sunday night I just could not write anymore so I planned to write to you Monday night.

Enclosed you will find some pictures. Now do not go into a panic when you see me & my Australian wife. She is only a Red Cross girl from the states, is married and very much in love with her husband who happens to be an Air Force Officer & Pilot. At the time the picture was taken, we were waiting for a truck to pick up the empty case of Coke, blankets & umbrellas. She is not very good looking but has a wonderful personality. The small pictures were all taken at Coolongatta.

The two large pictures were taken a long time ago by one of the cooks and he sent the pictures home and had his wife make up a couple of prints so that Sgt. Troise & myself could get a set. Directly behind us is the kitchen & dining room. The walls & roof are made of Fibrolite the same as our barracks.

Robert Brousseau has my sympathy. He may not realize the job that it is going to be for him to get his wife to the states. I hope that he is lucky enough to get his wife over without too much trouble.

I can imagine Julie telling you about her honeymoon experiences. She is a natural comic anyhow and when you add a speck of sex to it, you have a burlesque.

You guess very close - I did go to Coolangatta but that was only recently and after my period of not writing.

I can believe that Arthur had a good time in Paris on his furlough.

So Norman finally wound up in France. I hope that he does well because Auntie & Uncle depend on him a great deal. It would be a terrible blow to them if anything happened to him.

Just keep having the feeling that I am on my way home to you Sweetheart, because it is true. With each passing day I am just that much closer to home. Of course it may be a few months before I do reach home, but keep your courage up, I will eventually make it.

My new allotment to the bank is made out and the bank will start receiving the check for $35.00 the first of May.

I am sorry that you were so worried because you did not receive any mail for so long, but it is something that you must expect from a man in the Army. See, you had all your worrying for nothing and I am still in Brisbane.

Sorry, I do not know or neither remember a Mr. McGrath at So. Lowell. I might recognize him if I saw him but the name does not strike me as familiar.

Yes, Sgt. Nicholson received Connie’s letter and he finally answered it on Sunday or so he claims.

Your mother should take it easy but she never will as long as she has some of her children around to take care of. It is a shame that your sisters do not do more for her. They are too selfish to realize that your mother should not have to do any of the work at home. They may be salting a lot of money away but they are taking it out on your mother. She is not young and her health being what it is, they should be taking care of her.

It is about time that they changed the pipes. It must be funny to have a lot of water pressure for a change. It must have been quite a mess the plumber made.

Never mind Beautiful, I hope that as soon as I return I will be able to buy you a real nice fur coat. There are so many things that I want to get for you and the children that I only hope that I may be able to get them for you.

Yes you have grown up a lot since we first got married. I think that our separation has taught you a lot too. You will be a better wife for it I hope. Not that I ever had any reason to kink in any way. You always were and always will be a good wife, in fact the best.

You wanted to know if I call out in my sleep to you. The answer is yes. Quite often in fact. I crave to be able to see you, touch you, and smell you. Your letters have a nice smell that makes me feel very lonesome for you. Golly what I would give to have one of our quiet evenings at home. The radio playing softly and you sitting on the hassock at my feet. The only light is from the pilot light on the radio, soft music and you.

I only wish I knew the answer to your question as to when I will return to my Kitten. Maybe it is just as well that I don’t.

So you enjoyed Sigmund Romberg. It makes me happy to know that you get out and enjoy yourself. We will have to go to more performances like that.

You always did stand me on my head Sweetheart. And as for glamour, you always were and always will be tops with me.

Well Sweetheart, as much as I hate to leave you, I must. If at times I appear to be neglectful of you, please forgive me. Fortunately or unfortunately, I am saddled with a big job which at times almost gets me down. There is a good deal of humour in this serious business of fighting. Thank God for that, because it is the main thing that keeps me going.

I must say goodnight Sweetheart. I love you.

Give everyone my regards & kiss the babies for me. I love you,

Your Loving Devoted & Faithful Husband,

Bob

Thursday 16 March 1945

Dearest Kitten:

Your negligent husband is taking time out to write you a few lines and to tell you that he still loves you very much. I miss you so much that it is not funny. What i wouldn’t give to be able to see you and touch you. I am envious of Andre but am also very happy for him.

He no doubt has earned the chance to be at home. Give him my regards and well wishes.

I can appreciate how you feel about my trying to get home due to physical or mental disability, but it is not worth it. I am sorry to say that I doubt if anything like that will happen to me. You see I am enjoying good health and my mental make up is such that there is not quite enough insanity for me to get a section eight out of the Army.

We will just have to be patient until the Army decides that they have had enough of me. Personally I am glad in a way that I am still capable of doing the job that the Army has given me to do. At times I wish that I were not so conscientious about everything.

Enclosed you will find the pictures that you sent for me to see. They are very nice and Roger looks god in his uniform.

Thanks for the box of canned goods. I am saving them, that is all except the mushroom soup, for a special occasion of some sort. Night before last I had the night fireman heat it up for me. He did not want any, so like the pig that I am, I ate the whole of it. Boy did I relish it.

Just can’t get away with anything, can I. Yes I am afraid that last year I did forget our anniversary and tried to make up for it later. I make a very poor liar and that is the reason I very seldom do. I can only be convincing with the truth.

You cannot imagine what I went through before we finally landed on the boat and for two days thereafter. At 11:00 P.M. on the eve of our anniversary I was walking up the gang plank and the boat took off the following morning.

I received letters #211 + 216. In 211 you tell me that Andre is home in a hospital - 212-13-14 + 15 are undelivered as yet. In 216 you say he is home on a convalescent furlough. It must have been quite a surprise to everyone. The letter he sent me, he told me that he was worse than he had let you people know about and told me to keep it to myself as he did not want to worry the folks.

Poor Bobby, he probably could not understand why Andre was home and I wasn’t. Tell him for me that his Daddy still has a lot to do and until it is done and he is lucky, he will be home again.

That is not fair of Andre telling you all the secrets of a 1st/Sgt. You are apt to get the wrong idea about my work. Of course a lot depends on the outfit and the man holding down the job.

Whenever you tell the children that you will get something for them or do something for them, always do it. If you have to disappoint them, make sure that they understand the reason.

Tell Tess that as soon as I return and she is willing that I would gladly help her make a new addition to the family. Tell her that I think there must be something wrong with Charlie because they waste so much time between children.

Let us hope and pray that the day is not too far away when Ray, Arthur and I will all be home again. It seems such a long time ago that I was home, and yet the time has passed rapidly for me. Mainly, I suppose, because so much has happened to me.

Our youngsters must play hard to be able to break a rocker on a chair. I pity your mother when she gets the whole family together with the children.

I went to the races only once and bet on every race. I could not afford to bet much, eighty cents, and at the end of seven races I was ahead one dollar & twenty cents.

The guy by the name of Bisson in my company, I am happy to say, is not related to you, thank God. He is a special species of the jerk family. Have had considerable trouble with him, but he has quieted down lately.

Yes I received Cle’s letter and she was telling me about all her troubles. It is too bad that she ever had a child. She is too high strung to be a very good parent. Ray isn’t much better either. I pity Ronnie as he is not receiving the proper treatment.

Yes, I am glad that you are seeing more of my side of the family, but, do not get too friendly. With relatives it is best to keep in touch with them but do not get too friendly or you will get hurt.

The home nursing course that you plan to take up is a very good idea. It will always be handy to know and it will give you something to take your mind off of your troubles and those troubles are all me. Bothersome aren’t I? I guess that it is because I love you so much Sweetheart and you in turn love me.

I hate to do this but I must leave you and climb into bed and dream of you.

Give my regards to all the folks and kiss the babies for me. I love you so much that when I think of you, I get tense all over. Even my toes curl up.

Your Loving Devoted & Faithful Husband,

Bob

Saturday 10 March 1945

Dearest Kitten:

Here it is the beginning of another week and I feel like going to the beach tomorrow but I can’t. You see my C.O. is down to the beach this weekend. He needs a little rest once in awhile also. So I have to stick around and keep things together more or less.

It has been very hot the past few days and at the present time I am as hot as a pistol. Despite the heat, I have not lost weight. I still weigh around 170 lbs.

Enclosed you will find some pictures taken some time ago. The small ones were taken about six months ago and have been laying around my desk. The others were taken a  little over six weeks ago.

By the way did I ever tell you how much that I love you? I do you know. As a matter of fact I love you very very much. Almost more than I love myself. So how much do I love you?

Oh, Sweetheart! I am melting from the heat. No not that kind of heat. The kind that makes the weather thermometer go up

I can appreciate how you feel about my being away from you for so long Beautiful as I feel the same way lots of times. You and I will have to be patient and make the best of it until the day that I return.

Mother should have had her insurance put in your name a long time ago. After all she is living at our house and we have more or less taken care of her this long we may as well continue from now on.

Have you heard about the Air Corp Officer that had a change to fly home on an unauthorized flight? It seems that he flew back to the States and landed in his home town in the evening. No one that he knew  saw him except his wife and he left the next morning and flew back. His wife became pregnant and wow did her neighbors do a job on her. You see she could not tell that her husband had been home and neither could he. Being an unauthorized flight put them in a spot where neither could say a word. When the baby was born it was presumably two years since she has seen her husband. Rough what!

Are you certain that our daughter isn’t picking up some of the things that she does from her mother? By the way how often does the milkman call?

Blue snow must look funny. I can just imagine Mrs. Girard when she found out that it was her bluing.

Thanks for the special Valentine kiss. You know what gets me Sweetheart? It is the smell of you in the letters that I receive from you. My other girl friends smell nice also but each of them like yourself has a distinctive odor of its own. I can tell by smell test who a letter is from now. You, the blonde in Florida, or the red head in California each have a peculiarly nice odor all your own. Of course, over here I have a platinum blonde, but she does not write to me.

The ex-sergeant Ryan told me that he is so much more relieved now that he does not have the responsibility that he had. He would have been a T/Sgt. two years in about a month more if he had not blown his lid.

There is something I must straighten you out on right now. We will not have twin beds. Period. I was only kidding. I never dreamed that you would take me serious. Another thing, if you think I am going to wait until I get so old they, the children, will call me grandpa before having more children, you as sadly mistaken.

I am glad that you like the Koala bear. They are very cute and are very soft to the touch. It makes a nice souvenir of my time in Brisbane. One more month and we will be able to vote here.

Sorry but I must leave you. I love you Sweetheart. Regards to all & kiss the babies for me.

Your Loving Devoted & Faithful Husband,

Bob

Thursday 8 March 1945

Dearest Kitten:

This is your wayward husband who has just returned from three days at the beach. I went to Coolangatta with three of my sergeants and we had a very good time. Forgive me for not writing but being lazy and what with the other sergeants not giving me a chance to be by myself to write I failed to carry out my duties as your loving husband.

It was wonderful to feel so free from the usual grind of the Army that they insisted that no one would write. All we did was rest, eat, sleep, swim and sun ourselves on the beach.

There was Sgt. Nicholson, McMurray, the ex Sgt. Ryan, Sgt. James and myself. We had a good time and had a lot of fun. We spent most of the daylight hours on the beach swimming, sunning, and singing. We sang a lot and got so we could harmonize quite well together. Of course I am not sure that anyone nearby enjoyed it but we had fun.

There was a little drinking, we hit pub call only at supper time and the most that we would have was four glasses. Just enough for an appetizer. We also had two qts. of American whiskey that we rationed at two shots apiece in the evening, one before going to the show and one before returning.

In the evening we would go to a show and after the show we would drop into the recreation hall for a few hands of Casino, at 11:00 P.M. They served coffee and cakes and we would stay up for the coffee.

We got in quite solid with a couple of Red Cross girls that worked there and we could get practically anything that we wanted. They are both married and we used to get together and talk about married life, show pictures and crack jokes. They told us all about their husbands and we about our wives and children. The only single man was Sgt. Nicholson and he used to just enjoy listening to us.

After the past couple of months, it was wonderful to be able to relax and enjoy being lazy with nothing to worry about. You were always with me though and I kept wishing that you could have been with me.

Thank God that the other sergeants were with me because everytime that they noticed me getting dreamy and lonesome for home they would pipe up with something and we would be off again singing and raising cane.

I must tell you about Sgt. Nicholson. He is my one real friend. We are very much alike in our tastes and everything. Seeing that he is not a line N.C.O. I can get a bit more friendlier with him than the rest of my N.C.O.s. We usually go out on Sunday evening to a show together. First we stop at the Red Cross in town for supper then go to a show. We are both moody and it is not necessary for us to have a continued conversation going.

There are times when we both are very busy with our own thoughts and times when only one of us is that way. We appreciate each other’s silence and know that it is not necessary to always make a reply to some remark that either of us make. We respect one another’s privacy in our own thoughts. Can you understand what I am trying to explain?

We can enjoy an evening together without saying ten words to one another. Then there are times when we do not shut up.

Sgt. Nicholson is only 21 but we get a great deal of enjoyment going around together.

Now to answer a few of your letters that piled up on me.

Yes there are a lot of married men who have steady girlfriends over here, and I suppose that, as you say, there are a lot of wives who are two-timing their husbands who are overseas.

How can I ever forget the last time that I saw you. There was a lump as big as an apple in my throat. I had to leave you the way I did or I would have started crying for certain. Do you remember the last time that I called you up? I was crying then. The tears were dropping off the end of my chin and I had to wipe my face before leaving the booth. Walking out of the building I felt as though everyone was looking at me and could tell that I had been bawling. I felt so small, like a little boy who just broke his favorite toy.

That is some position that Lorraine W. has. Tell her for me not to overwork herself.

You are going to be the most Beautiful gal in the Easter parade with your new suit. I like the material very well.

It certainly has been a rough winter back home. I am glad that you have been able to get along as well as you have.

Sorry Sweetheart but I must close no matter how much I love you.

I love you with all of me and am only waiting for the day when I return to take you in my arms again. Be careful because I am apt to eat you up the first time that I see you.

Good night Darling. I love you. Regards to everyone and kiss the babies for me.

Your Loving Devoted & Faithful Husband,

Bob

1 March 1945 (Thursday)

Dearest Kitten:

It has been so long since I have written to you that it seems like a year. Believe me, I wished that I could have been able to write but it was not possible. Despite all my troubles & woes, you and home are constantly in my thoughts, & heart. Due to military security, I cannot tell you anything about what we have been doing. This is one of the reasons that I have such a hard job, at times, to write to you. A man’s main thoughts and topic of his conversation is his job. When a man cannot speak of his job he becomes tongue tied.

Your letters 188 to 203 gave me quite a bit of reading material. I will try to answer as many as I can tonight and finish them tomorrow night, I hope.

Enclosed you will find a money order for $35.00. I hope that this will help you out.

The class E allotment for the bank has not gone through yet. It is fortunate as I have found a use for the money that I have been paid. There is always something that I am buying for the company. Small stuff to be sure but it mounts up in the course of a month. I will be glad when I will not be able to send into town for this, that or the other.

Enclosed are some pictures taken the first of last month that I finally received. Except for the two taken in camp, the others were taken the last Sunday of January before Sgt. Donohoe left for O.C.S.

What do you think of shorty McMurray?

He is taking Sgt. Ryan’s place as one of my platoon sergeants. We get along very well and he is doing a fine job of his new responsibility.

The pictures of Bobby & Barby in the snow make me homesick for a little cold weather.

If our son looks just like his father, our daughter looks like her mother and I am not kidding. The two pictures of her in the doorway are a miniature picture of you.

The new linoleum has a nice pattern for a kitchen. Mothers picture looks as if she has been putting on a little weight.

Bobby looks like a regular roughneck and I certainly recognized that scarf around his neck. The d--- thing was always too short for me anyhow and you may as well make use of it as to let it sit around and get moth eaten.

Sgt. Nicholson was happily surprised to get a letter from Connie, but you must tell her that he is worse than I am about writing and he does not make the time to write that I do sometimes.

What do you mean, that you turned out to be a pretty good wife? You always were as far as I am concerned. As a matter of fact, the bestest of the best.

You asked for a kiss in about two years from now. Will you please be a wee bit more optimistic. Cut it down to about a year please.

I am just as happy that Norman is not coming this way. From the best information that I can get, the beautiful tropical isle is highly over rated. Most of them are stink holes.

I wish that I could make all your dreams come true right away, but I am afraid that you will have to be patient. The Army has given me a job to do and it is by no means an easy one. Little did I think when I first came in that I would be given the responsibility that is now mine. At times I am not sure that I am capable enough and at others I am proud of the responsibility. It is hard to explain how I feel about it. There are times when my humane feelings get all mixed up with my sense of duty, it is then that I realize, or rather, feel my incompetence.

S/Sgt. Stephen C. Nicholson 32727294 - Unmarried. Girl friend - Yes, but not serious. Character - Excellent, most of the time - Satisfied? - Nope, haven’t been for some time.

Being as good hearted as you with money, I should give you hell for spending so much but I cannot say a word as the past three months I have been spending my money like a drunken sailor. Whenever I get out, it always seems that I do all the shelling out. It is mainly because I can not accept anything from anyone and I do not want to feel obligated toward anyone.

Enclosed is a slip for Lorraine Smith. I know that you will get the joke, I hope. So do not give it to her.

We used to have a lot of fun together huh? It was fun just to stay home and shoot the breeze. They were nice talks, I wish we could have one now.

I enjoyed the cartoons. but is that a hint I smell? They were both with the mail men in them.

This has to be all for this time Sweetheart.

Do you realize how much I love you, Beautiful? With all of me, how else can I say it, for every bit of me is yearning for you. More & more with each passing day it is getting deeper and stronger. I love you Sweetheart.

Give my regards to everyone & kiss the babies for me. I love you.

Your Loving Devoted & Faithful Husband,

Bob