Bill continues at Van Dorn, he uses a weekend pass and travels the 100 miles south to New Orleans. It’s summer in Eaton. The kids tend the garden, pick berries and play baseball.
On the Home Front:
- Rioting breaks out in Harlem, the mostly African-American neighborhood in New York City, after a white NYPD officer, James Collins, shoots Private Robert Bandy, a black soldier, in the shoulder during a scuffle.
- The U.S. state of Georgia lowers the legal voting age from 21 to 18, becoming the first state in the union to grant 18 year olds the right to vote.
- As part of its defense of the eastern United States, the United States Army bans the taking of photos and even painting or sketching beach scenes at all beach resorts on the Atlantic Ocean.
- Construction is completed on the 1,811 mile-long Big Inch pipeline. It supplies petroleum directly from the oil fields of East Texas to the ports of New York City and Philadelphia. The project was started on August 3, 1942.
- An unprecedented $800 million worth of United States War Bonds are sold. This is equivalent to $10.7 billion in 2013.
On the War Front:
- Auschwitz is liquidated and 2,897 Romani are gassed.
- John F. Kennedy’s PT-109 is rammed in two and sunk off the Solomon Islands.
- Both “George S. Patton slapping incidents” take place within his Sicilian camps.
- German troops take over Italy’s defenses.
August 5, 1943 — Camp Van Dorn, MS
Dear Mom:
Just a line to ans. your many letters and to say I’ve enjoyed them very much. I should be kicked for not having written sooner but honestly mom I can’t write letters until after 9:00 o’clock at night. I started three different letters to Ardis the other day and I sweat so much that I ruined them all. So I didn’t get one wrote to her until tonight either. Right now I’m sweating so much that I don’t dare lay my arm down on the paper because it will ruin my scribbling and its bad enough now. Ok I’ve got several letters or rather cards from May and one from Velma. And I’ve got a couple of letters from Eve. It’s ten o’clock now and I’m going to write til about 2 o’clock. That should leave me almost 3 hours to sleep, I hope.
Say, did I have a swell time in New Orleans. 3 days. That’s the last time I’ll get a pass from camp or so the Division Order says. I’ll tell you all about my trip when I get more time to write. By the way how does Dick like his new job. And what’s he doing. Say why don’t you get yourself an oil stove. It would sure come in handy. Even in the winter. Mom you were saying that you might start putting some money away for me. I sure wish you would. If you can spare it because I’ll probably need a little later on. Right now I’ve got to borrow some money to pay for my ring. If I hadn’t been such a damn fool and spent all my pay in the Big Town I wouldn’t have to go in the hole. But it was worth it. So I’m not sorry. Oh! I’ll send you some cards I got down there. Listen you tell the old man that if he wants to work, that all he has to do is get busy on that farm and raise me some good pork, beef, and a Devil of a big crop of garden. And here’s something else! Tell him he can make me a quart of wine like he used to make and bury it somewhere. I’ll be around to dig it up.
Well I’m getting awfully tired mom and I still have a ways to go. So will you excuse me till Saturday or Sunday and I’ll write more then. Tell all the kids I said Hello. And I’ll be seeing you all.
Lots of Love
Bill
August 21, 1943 — Maneuvers Camp
Dear Mom:
I just received your letter last evening and was I ever glad to hear from you. I sure enjoyed your letter a lot. It seemed as though it had been ages since I had heard from you. But you know I like your letters a lot better when they don’t come so often, but have all the news. Still they’re always a blessing. And please tell Fan that her letter was most welcome. I enjoyed it very much and by the way you might offer her my apologies for having unanswered her other letters (I mean not having ans. them).
Well is has cooled off a little at night here but, it is still as hot during the day time. I haven’t slept on anything but the ground for over a week now. And we don’t even use blankets here. I sure wish we were. Oh yes. I did get a chance to go swimming today and lordy but it was a relief to get some of the dirt off. I’d have liked to have been there for a summer with the kids. Say the next time you go on a picnic just drop me an invitation and you can bet your sweet life I’ll be there. Believe me a change of chow would really go swell. This chow is ok only we don’t always get all our meals. As small as they are. Today we only had one meal. Just our hard luck. But that still doesn’t ease a man’s appetite. I’ll bet I make up for it when I do get a chance to eat. Ha! Ha! I’ve give you an idea of how our meals are timed in the field. We eat breakfast at 2:00 in the morning. Often ten hours later we eat a dry ration for noon lunch. And ten hours later after that we eat supper usually about 11:00 or 11:30 at night. So you see we have a lot of long hrs to fill in with hard work. But its all in the game.
Gee you know the next time I get home I’m planning on having fried chicken three times a day for a week. No kidding.
Say you know I sort of expected Aunt Cora to get in trouble some day for her temper. But still I feel sorry for her. Say mom when you get a hold of some apples. Bake some and remember me when you eat them.
Gee you sound as though things are a whole lot better on the farm then they are or were in the city. How about it. I sure wish I could be there to help you out. Maybe we will make things hum for a while. I sort of plan to be a farmer in the future. Shucks talking of ripe tomatoes reminds me that I haven’t had a ripe tomato to eat for so long. Say! By the way mom where is Dick these days and what is he doing. When you seem him tell the big boy I said hello and good luck.
Say I’m sure sorry to hear Dads asthma is bothering him again. I hope it doesn’t get bad. If that should, just drop into the Red Cross unit in town and have them notify Camp. And I’ll be able to get there. Here’s hoping to Heaven you never have to do such a thing. Tell him to keep the old flag up and give him my best regards. Say ask him if he’s going to make me that wine. Boy I’d give anything for a drink of good old elderberry wine some day. And I’ve never tasted any like Dad used to make.
You know Mr. Quinn really is a swell guy Mom. I don’t care what other people have said about him, he sure has treated us tops. Boy Oh! Boy! Fresh cows milk sure sound good. The only milk we ever get here is canned. And it tastes like it. Do you ever make you own butter and cottage cheese.
Well its getting dark so I’ll have to hurry. And don’t worry about the sleep I lose mom. It’s worth it to receive the letters. And say mom, you’re a darling if I could reach you I’d kiss you for that last remark about the nest egg. I’m going to need it some day. I need some now to send away some films I’ve been carrying around but, I guess I can get along in fact I’m going to see if I can’t scotch a little more this coming payday and send a ten home to add on to the starter.
Well give my love to all the kids and anyone you see and tell them all hello. And I’ll be seeing you.
Lots of Love to all
Bill
ww2letterproject 
Even from these few letters so far you get such a vivid picture of Bill and his life. We need to go back to more letter writing.
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I am impressed that even though it was late in the day and he was exhausted, hungry and tired, that Bill could find the energy and focus to write such meaningful letters. I expect it was just another way of expressing his love and devotion to his mother.
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Thanks for the next installment! These letters are a fantastic view into Bill’s life. The things of yesterday are really the same things of today–love is a constant.
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I’m really enjoying these – a glimpse into a part of my own life I didn’t know very well
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