Sat. Dec 4, 1943

Dearest Kitten:

My love for you is the only thing that inspires me and keeps me going. It is the most beautiful thing in the world. There is no thrill in the world to compare with how I feel when I take you in my arms and kiss you. It defies description, so how can I explain my feelings?

Since being in the Army, my main ambition is to be with you always, so I may be able to take you in my arms and show you how much that I love you.

Your letters of Wednesday & Thursday came after supper tonight. The two pictures of you are swell. I am keeping the pictures of the babies even if they are not so good. I can always get a general idea of them anyhow.

Barbara sure is a funny youngster. She can be half dead and she will not cry, but if her Mommy tries to walk away from her she will cry like hell. I hope her finger will be alright. If only she lost her nail, it should not bother her too much.

This is going to be a short letter as I would like to go to a movie tonight. We have been so darn busy all week long that I need a little relaxation. Tomorrow I will write a nice long letter with everything in it.

There is nothing new about a cadre to Edwards. In fact it looks rather bad for that to come true.

Sgt. St Jean is hollering for me so I will have to cut this short. We are going to have a couple of beers and then go to the show. I hope that it is not something that I have seen.

Things are getting tougher & tougher around here. We scarcely have time to breathe. The new Company Commander is cracking down on everybody, and it is no fun. The NonComs have to be riding the men all the time. Monday night we have our last class, thank God. They are nothing more than something that we already know about.

Well, Beautiful, until tomorrow.

I love you with the whole of my being and every moment away from you is a moment of impatience, impatience to take you in my arms once more for good. Keep praying that the day is not too far distant.

Regards to everyone & kiss the babies for me.

Your Loving, Devoted, & Faithful Husband

Bob

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

(xx)

Some day I will personally collect all that I ever put in my letters.

Thursday Dec 2, 1943

Dearest Kitten:

I love you with all of my heart & soul. The desire to be with you all the time is ever in my mind. Nothing could please me so much as to be on my way home, to you for good, right now.

Your letters of Monday & Tuesday came today and it was great to hear from you. It made me feel better to hear that Estelle & Andrew were feeling better. Let me know Andrew's address as soon as you get it. The way things are around here, I do not know when I will ever be able to write to him though. It is getting tougher & tougher.

Last night I was busy until 11:30, checking clothing. That is why I could not write to you. You were in my thoughts though.

Tonight I wanted to go to the show for a little relaxation but it is too late and I just had to write to you.

We just got through our little Non-com school, and I had to clean my rifle. As soon as I get finished writing I have to go over and shave & shower. To keep clean, I have to take a shower every other night.

We had a retreat parade this afternoon and I was one of the color guard. It is supposed to be an honor, but it was just another headache to me.

Enclosed you will find five pictures taken at Washburn just before we left. I have put the name of the men  in back of each picture. After this is all over, it will be fun to look them over.

Also enclosed is a $20 bill. I am sending it in the event that you should need it. If you receive your allotment, I want you to buy yourself a set of prayer beads. I had hopes of buying them myself for you in Tallahassee, but all they had were glass ones, so buy yourself a set of gold or silver ones and wrap them up nicely and put a card on them for you from me. It is not what I had planned, but under the circumstances, it will have to do.

Mother's letter came today also. Tell her that I will write the first chance that I get.

It is getting late and I have a lot to take care of, so I will close.

I love you so much Sweetheart that I am jealous of every hour that is spent in separation from you.

Beautiful, give my regards to all and kiss the babies for me.

Your Loving, Devoted, & Faithful Husband

Bob

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

(xx)

Tuesday Nov. 30, 1943

Dearest Kitten:

I have been back for only a day and I am lonesome of you already. How I wished that this mess was all over and I was on my way home to my Darling wife.

Your letter of Sunday came tonight and I was relieved to hear that everything was O.K. It worried me a bit, your going home alone. The happiest day of my life will be when I hit Boston on my way home for good. Which, may God grant, be very soon.

I arrived in Tallahassee, Monday morning at 6:30 and did not get a bus out to camp before 2:30 in the afternoon.

This letter was started at 6:00 P.M. and here it is 8:30 already. Since supper I have been paid and just got through a Non Com meeting. We are having a Non Com meeting every night for the next week, so expect short letters for the next week.

Never forget though that I love you with all my heart and soul. Of all the desires that I have, the greatest is to be with you for always & always.

On my way back I had an hour & 1/2 stopover in Washington. While there I took a wash and a shit.

After leaving Washington I went to the club car and had a rum & coke. While there a second Lt. started talking to me and he eventually bought me a drink. I arrived in Jacksonville at 12:30 - half past midnight, Monday morning. There was a bus at 1:30 for Tallahassee and I reached Tallahassee at 6:30.

While waiting in the bus terminal there was a young mother with her child & husband. The baby got hungry and the gal quite unconcernedly grabbed a tit out and let the baby get all "meat & no potatoe". She was around 22 or 23 years old.

Sweetheart, I have to leave you now as I have to sew some G.I. O.D. stripes on my OD's. We are wearing them down here now and the stripes I have on are suntan ones.So-o-o I have to get them on before tomorrow night at retreat or get gigged.

Keep praying for me.

I love you, Beautiful wife. Kiss the babies for me and regards to all.

Your Loving, Devoted, & Faithful Husband

Bob

P.S. I was dead on my feet last night and too busy to write. Forgive me. I got mothers nuts.

Telegram sent from Bob to Irene on Nov 29, 1943.

After the letter from Bob to Irene on Nov. 17, there was an abrupt stop to correspondence until this telegram of Nov. 29. The reason for this was a horrible tragedy that brought Bob home. The year old son of Andre and Estelle Bisson, Andre Jr, was scalded when he knocked a pot of boiling liquid onto himself, and died. This meant a sudden furlough for Bob Lemire, Andre Bisson who was at that time at boot camp, and Patrick Foley, brother and brother-in-law, respectively, of Irene Bisson Lemire.

Wednesday, Nov. 17, 1943

Dearest Wife:

This letter is going to be a short one because it is 10:00 already. This has been a very busy evening for me.

We have a new Company commander and he has changed things around considerably. All the first three graders have been put into a barracks of our own. There are twenty two of us. He has given us more privileges, such as no more C.Q., no extra details unless we have been gigged. But, there is always a catch, we have to be a lot more on the ball, we also have to do a lot more studying. I hope to be able to continue to write as regular as ever. Tomorrow night we are going on a problem, so I will not be able to write.

There was no letter from you today, so I can not answer anything you may want to know.

Today we were out in the woods all day long. I was in charge of the defenders and we were attacked by three different groups.

It seems that I have not stopped all day long. Right up until now. We are allowed to keep our lights on as long as we want. Another privilege.

By the way, I have not told you how much I loved you as yet. I do you know. I love you so much that it starts with my heart and works both ways, to the tips of my toes, to the top of my head.

Furloughs start the end of this week. When my is due is still a mystery and even when I do find out, I will not tell you.

Thanksgiving morning your husband will be out in a boat. Our brigade problem is slated to come off at 7:00 A.M. Thanksgiving morning. I will probably have K rations for dinner. My new job makes it imperative that I must be on the problem. Oh well! It will be a new way of celebrating.

I love you Beautiful Kitten, but I must close.

Regards to all & kiss the babies for me.

Your Loving, Devoted, & Faithful Husband

Bob

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

(xx)

Tuesday, Nov. 16, 1943

Dearest Beautiful Wife:

I love you. You should know it by now if you are ever going to.

Your letter of Saturday came today and I am going to try to answer it before I go to a meeting. Our problem was called off and I will be able to continue to write for awhile anyhow.

Stop worrying about me, I hope that by this time I am old enough to take care of myself. When I go home on my furlough, I will take my warm clothes with me. I know how the weather is up there now.

So Barbara is jealous of Bobby. We will have to get her out of that. It will be tough if they start getting jealous of each other. I bet Bobby looks cute in his boyish haircut.

I was glad to hear that your father is feeling better. He sure has been having tough luck lately.

Andrew sure is lucky. I am happy for him in that he can get out for a few hours.

I sure hope that you are right in feeling that I may be home soon. I am dying to get home again. It will be the happiest days of my life.

What's the idea of getting drunk in public? I know that you didn't but be careful when you go out. Walter Hicks is that soldier's name that you could not remember.

So you expect to get laid off. Well do not worry with the new allotment, you should be able to get along. You should be home with your children anyway.

I love you Sweetheart. It is time for me to close unfortunately.

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

Your Loving, Devoted, & Faithful Husband

Bob

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

(xx)