Thursday, Jan. 13, 1944

[typewritten letter]

Dearest Kitten:

I love you with all the affection that is in my heart and soul. How I wish that I could talk to you personally. In that way I could tell you and also show you just how much that I really love you.

Your letter of Friday came to-day. I got a big kick out of Bobby sitting on Barbara. What was he trying to do? Wrestle with his little sister?

They sure will be a couple of tough babies when they eventually grow up. Oh! Well babies will be babies. I would rather see them that way than moping around sick and puny.

Things have been hopping around here these days. I sure would appreciate a night off some time. It seems as though I am living in the orderly room day and night. Everything that comes up "I" have to take care of. Oh!me, Oh!my.

How do you like my typing?

Yes, I know, lousy.

I am practicing so that in the event that I have to type up a report of my own some day, I will be able to do so.

The way things are moving along lately it will not be very long before we will be on the move. Do not take this too seriously as it will be quite some time yet before anything does happen along that line.

Did I ever tell you how much that I loved you? Did I ever tell you how beautiful you are?

Well, the fact remains that I love you with all my heart. And, to me you are the essence of beauty itsel. You are my evening star that shines in the night, my guide and sign post on the road of life. Without you I would be as lost as a mariner without a compass. A blind man in new territory would be no more lost than myself without you. Do I make myself clear? Or must I draw pictures?

Beautiful, it is getting late and I must get some sleep.

So, until next time, I love you with every ounce of my being.

Regards to everybody and kiss the babies for me.

Your Loving, Faithful, and Devoted Husband

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(easy aint it)

Tuesday, Jan. 11, 1944

Dearest Kitten:

I love you with all my heart and soul. Each night I pray for the day when the ache in my heart will stop and the wish that goes with me, each and every day, will come true. Nights, I dream of you and I hate to waken in the morning to the reality of the fact that you are not with me.

Tonight is an extremely quiet night and I am making use of the time to write to you. Things have been pretty much in an uproar and I have been as busy as a one armed paper hanger with crabs.

Tonight I am very lonely for you and am wishing I could be at home with you and my little family. You know that song, "Be it Ever So Humble There's No Place Like Home," how true it is. Home to me is where your waiting arms are. Do! I have a beautiful, nice, and cozy and warm home? Uh!Huh!

Last night I made up the balance of the furlough rosters. Did it make me homesick. Just thinking about them did that to me. It made me envious. We did have some fun together on my last furlough.

I received a box of candy from the sister of one of my men. He returned from his furlough today and gave me the box of candy. On Xmas day I had to tell him that one of his sisters had died and that as soon as he was ready he could leave on an Emergency furlough. I had to really move to get it for him and I also arranged for a jeep to take him in to Tallahassee.

He is a little guy of about 35 years of age and he told his sister about how well I treated him and she gave him a box of candy for me.

Had you guessing for a minute, huh? No Sweetheart I do not know her or anything. She is almost old enough to be my mother.

Am I different from most men Sweetheart?

I see these married men go out on pass just to see if they can pick up some babe to have a good time with. When they do, they brag about it and think it is great. I just can not see it. I like to talk to some gals but it is usually about you or my family, like the time on my way home from furlough. I started talking with the Wave.

Gosh! What I wouldn't give, just to be able to talk to you. I certainly am lonely tonight. I guess that it is my job that is getting me down. A First Sergeant can not have any real friends. If I should get real friendly with someone in the Company, I would only be making it look as if he was a pet of mine and the men would turn against hm. Anyone I really like I have to stay away from just for that reason.

I received a letter from Andrew and you will find it enclosed. It is darn nice of him to be so regular.

Your letter of Thursday came today and I sure wish I could take advantage of your new pajamas. You needed something warm to go to bed in. When I get home again, you will not need them of course.

No I did not mention anything to Andrew about how you have been feeling lately. I notice that you did though.

Stop being so childish. The next chance that I get, I plan to write to Pat. Although I have not received a letter from him but nevertheless I will write just the same.

Going to get tough with the Landlady huh? You sure are walking around with a chip on your shoulder these days. Wow! What would you do to me if I were home and did something that you did not like? I hate to even think about it.

Ask Roland Lemire about the letter that I am going to send him with a package. I described how he could recognize a first sergeant. I did not realize how close I was to coming to it until tonight when I went to have a shit. There were three men asking me about or for something while I was shitting. No privacy even in a man's toilet. How do you like that.

Well Kitten, it is after 10:00 P.M. and I must get to bed. Pleasant dreams.

I love you Sweetheart.

Regards to everyone and kiss the babies for me.

Your Loving, Faithful, and Devoted Husband

Bob

Sunday, Jan. 9, 1944

Dearest Kitten:

I love you so much that it hurts to be kept away from you. Each night as I climb into bed I say my prayers, and as I say them, I can not help but wish that I were saying them in the manner that I am or was accustomed to saying them. That is with you beside me and the both of us kneeling by our bed. I find it hard to concentrate on my prayers when you are always intruding on my thoughts.

You are so much a part of me, Sweetheart, that if anything should happen to you, I do not know what would become of me. I would do the same thing that you would do, continue on for the sake of our two beautiful children.

Before me, I have your letter of Monday. It came yesterday. How you write, Beautiful. Uh!Huh! What are you, getting mad at the world?

Cut it out or you will be a regular sour puss. If I return home and find that you have, it will be too bad for you. Spank, spank, right on the bare behind!

You wanted to know if I remembered when we went to the Ice Follies, of course I do. How can I ever forget the good times that we had together?

There will be more good times just like them Sweetheart as soon as this mess is over. I have high hopes for us after my return.

You said that you took the tree down with the help(?) of Bobby. I can imagine how much help he was.

How about taking care of that foot of yours. You had better see a doctor about it. Supposing you do have to spend a little money for it. It is better to do that than to be laid up on account of it.

"You'll Never Know" It is getting so that every time that I hear that song tears come to my eyes. I'm a big baby, Huh?

Tell Bobby that Daddy wants Mummy, Bobby, and Barbara too. Tell him to hang on for just a little while longer and his Daddy will be home with him, that his Daddy is just as anxious to get home to him as he is for his Daddy to get home.

Your new allotment should start next month and your first check will be considerably more. The new allotment is retroactive to November. As soon as I get my promotion to 1st Sgt. I will make out a class E allotment so that I will not have to bother about sending the money home to you. Will $150.00 take care of everything? It should. I plan on making a $50.00 Class E allotment to you and send home whatever I have left over from month to month.

You wanted to know what made me sick, it was from eating too fast. That night I was so d--- busy that when I went to eat I rushed too much and I had indigestion. The following morning I as O.K.

You wanted to know if I worried, well, I do a bit. Sometimes I worry too much.

For the third time, Yes I did receive the boxes and thanks again.

So you have a rat in the house? Stop being a big baby and get rid of it or ignore it. I am surprised at you, afraid of a little rat.

It is about time you begin to show some real authority toward the children. Of course do not overdo it, but do not let them get away with anything.

Ii want to be a regular pal to our children as they grow up. There is no reason why we should not be.

Well, Beautiful I have to get going again. Today I have been so busy that I could not even get to Mass. Forgive me.

I love you my most adorable Wife.

Regards to all & kiss the babies for me.

Your Loving, Devoted, & Faithful Husband

Bob       

Thursday, Jan. 6, 1944

Dearest Kitten:

I love you with all of my heart and soul. Your letter of the second came and it made me realize something. You gave me hell and I rightfully deserved it.

First I must tell you that I received your package of candy and Mother's two packages. Thank her for me and tell her that I hope to write to her Sunday. Thank Rita and Roland for their money order.

Roland should thank his lucky starts that he does not have to go as yet. Tell him to stay out as long as possible. Of course they may get him yet. If they do, he will be used to clean up over there. That will not be any pleasant job either.

What the matter with you? Are you getting to be an old sour puss?

You were squawking because somebody was giving a farewell party. Remember that you have a husband in the Army too. Supposing it did keep you awake. I feel bad for you. For gosh sakes, will you snap out of it. Even your own family gets on your nerves. Just because they do not act the way you hope that they will, you have been spoilt by too much attention from me.

They have certain ways about them that you have to overlook. You have certain ways that gripes them. Of course I will admit that they let you know about it. One fault that they have is that they think they know it all.

Are you going to let our marriage bother you? If you do, it will make an old sour puss of you.

Gosh! But I love you Sweetheart. How do I know? Well there is a certain urge inside of me that keeps driving me to plan and hope for the time when we will be together again. Just the thoughts of you fill me up so much that tears come to my eyes and I am forced to blink to keep them from dribbling down my cheeks.

You know, the more I think things over the more I think that we have about enough children. When I return from home for good I want us to be able to go on picnics and have fun and enjoy our two children together. A nice place in the country just outside of a city where everything is quiet and peaceful. A place where a father can come home, take his wife and children into the back yard and fool around until dark. Then after the babies are to bed, settle down in a comfortable chair and read the paper, where you can catch up on some odds and ends. After completing the paper I would grab my wife (you) and tease you a little, perhaps make you a little mad. Then very gently and tenderly, I would make up to you and give you a real loving.

Woe is me. I always knew that I was lucky in getting a gal like you for a wife. Now I can appreciate you a great deal more.

I am curious to learn the dope on Charlotte. I can just imagine. She struck me as the type that once away from home, Whoa! Wild horses could not hold her. Anyhow I will just have to wait until I get home again and learn all the dirt. You know me though. It goes in one ear and out the other. There are very few people in this world who can throw rocks.

Enclosed you will find a letter I received from Andrew. That is the way he wanted it so here it is. Your brother Andrew is a swell egg and I hope he makes out well. The first chance that I get I will write to him. Maybe I may even try to get up to see him.

Take care of our children Beautiful. I know that you will and are very capable of doing a good job of it. Nevertheless it worries me not to be able to be home and see that you and the children are well. A worry wart, aren't I?

Did [I] tell you about our retreat parade a week ago? It seems that the Colonel wanted to try an experiment. He wanted to show the officers in the regiment how a retreat parade should be run off. So we stood a retreat parade without officers. All the officers were with the Colonel at the reviewing stand. I was the Company Commander and the platoon sergeants were acting officers. Company C walked off with the honors and I heard that the Colonel gave the officers hell for letting the NonComs show them up. He claimed that it was run off the best that he has seen it. Of course it was laying it on a little thick.

Tonight we had one with the officers and did they snap today. It would have been too bad for the Officer who did get f----d up.

Well Beautiful I must get to bed. Good night.

Regards to everyone & kiss the babies for me.

Your Loving, Devoted, & Faithful Husband

Bob       

(xx)

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Tuesday, Jan. 4, 1944

Dearest Kitten:

My heart is so full of love for you that there is never a spare minute that I have that my thoughts are not of you. How I yearn to be able to hold your loveliness in my arms. To pet you and tell you of my love for you. The day is not too far distant when I will be able to do just that.

God is just and ever forgiving. With all the prayers that are being said, for this mess to end, he will not turn a deaf ear to our pleas.

Tonight I am lonely for the comfort of home. To be able to nestle on your bosom and feel the warmth of your body would be the closest thing to heaven that I can imagine that there is in this world.

After taking care of a family of almost four hundred, taking care of my own little family will seem like a very easy job. Perhaps it is the responsibility that I am feeling tonight that makes me feel the way that I do.

Pray for me that I do not change too much. This job is making me change to a certain extent. Just pray that, when this is all over and I can forget the Army, I will not have changed too much.

Yesterday I received your letter of Thursday and also a letter from Mother.

We have been extremely lucky about finances since I came into the Army. Six dollars a week will be a big help to you. By the time that you collect all of them, I should receive my promotion. Then I can send you quite a bit from my pay. I plan to take out a Class "E" allotment for you as soon as I get straightened around. By Class "E" I mean, additional money taken out of my pay and sent to you with your regular allotment. Next month I will be able to send quite a bit as these last two pays were only partial payments. The Army owes me about $25 for the past two months and I should receive it in next month's pay.

I am happy to see that Rita is happy again. You know, her case reminds me a great [deal] about Mother. Hank was figuring that his mother would pass the news on to Rita. Just like I figure that you pass the news on to my mother. How's about filling in the blank spaces when I do not write to Mother? A few minutes chat with Mother will keep her satisfied until I can get around to writing to her.

Stop letting your family worry you, will you? The big trouble is the fact that you got used to my waiting on you and you are noticing that your family never puts themselves out physically for anybody. They would gladly help anyone out financially, but if it costs physical exertion, that is where they draw the line.

Well beautiful, it is 11:00 P.M. and taps are playing. I must get to bed as I arise a half hour earlier than the rest of the Company. The end of another wearisome day.

I love you Sweetheart, much more than I will ever be able to show you. You are with me always, but recently I have not had the time to think of you as much as I like to.

Regards to all & kiss the babies for me.

Your Loving, Devoted, Affectionate, and Faithful Husband

Bob       

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(xx)