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This letter was written September 13, 1945, from Tokyo Harbor, less than 2 weeks after the formal surrender of Japan, by a sailor who was serving aboard the USS Bristol DD-857. Some excerpts from the letter…………

Dearest Mother and Dad,

Here we are in the Japanese home waters. There are a million and one U.S. Navy fighting ships and fleet auxiliaries here: many battleships (BB’s), quite a few large carriers (CV’s), lots of cruisers (CA’s + CL’s), destroyers (DD’s) and patrol craft (PC’s), escort carriers (CVE’s), oilers (AO’s), cargo vessels (AK’s), transports (AP’s), LST’s, LCI’s,LSM’s, mine sweepers (YMS’s), and all kinds of other specialized ships. This is an immense harbor-Frisco is a pee-wee compared to this one………I can see many acres of burned and demolished buildings, factories, houses, pagodas, radio stations, and other structures along the Yokohama and Tokyo waterfronts. Mass destruction by the B-29’s and the American fleet…….The Iowa, Indiana, Alabama, Missouri, Wilkes-Barre, Essex, South Dakota, North Carolina, Hawkins, Higbee, and Bristol ar all new ships. The Japs’ ships are at the bottom of the ocean: the greatest underseas fleet in the world! Ha, Ha!………..

This letter was written on March 23, 1945, by a soldier who was with the 919th Field Artillery Battalion. He was in Germany at the time he wrote the letter. Some excerpts from the letter……..


Dearest Darling,

Tonight I am of course in Germany, and in a town, and drinking Germany beer which isn’t bad at all. This is about all I can tell you……..Maybe if you listen to the radio or read the

This letter was written by a soldier who was with the 31st Infantry Division, 731st Ordinance Company, during WW2. Some excerpts from the letter……..

Hi Honey,

We just got back from the Dixie Dugout, the Red Cross to you. Lordy me, you should hear the band this Division has, I bet we have the best one in the Army. They’re equal to if not better than a lot of the tap bands, back in the States. The drummer used to play with Jack Teagarden, is he smooth. When they play you just can’t keep your feet still…….you should see the girl that sings with them, she’s one of the Red Cross girls and is she cute…….I wrote Helen tonight and told her to send me a pair of swimming trunks. It’s not a man’s Army anymore, there’s too many W.A.C.’s over here so we have to wear trunks……

      WWII

 Please note: due to software problems, new content will be posted at:                 http://wwiiletters.blogspot.com/

paper about the Third Army, you can find out more. At any rate honey, I am feeling fine, although a little scared once in a while, but I guess I will get use to it. Hundreds of others are plenty scared here too, even more than I. One thing I have seen not long ago, and it might sound like a lie or some crazy story, but it is true. I have seen Germans walking back to our lines and surrendering all by them selves. Sometimes five or six, sometimes one or two. They would walk along the road, with a white flag and head to the nearest town where we had plenty more as prisoners.

This letter was written by an African American soldier, who was with the 466th AAA BN (Anti Aircraft Artillery Battalion). He was in the Southwest Pacific, during WW2, in 1944. He was writing to a female student, at Louisiana Normal College, Grambling, Louisiana. The school is now Grambling State University. Some excerpts.........

I am not writing so that in a converstation with friends I can tell of an aquaintance met thru the U.S. Mail. I am trying to find her, and thru a voluntary description that I gave Joe he instinctively mentioned your name, and being the searcher that I am I could not possibly let such an opportunity pass by, for Joe never says things just for conversation........I do not, if she even exists, know if I'll ever meet her but I believe that I can make her happy moments gayer, her sentimental moments more frequent, and even tho it is no reccomendation I would very probably make her sad moments unbearable, but I believe, in the end she would not have missed knowing me for all the world........   

WWI

Written by a soldier in Okinawa, during WW2, in June 1945. He was in Battery B 49th Field artillery. From the letter…….I will answer some of your questions. The grass here looks like swamp grass only it isn’t so tall or course. Looks as it would be good pasture. There are horses goats and hogs here but I have seen no cattle.
There is lots of pine trees, they do not grow tall. And others I don’t know. Some of the places here on the mountains are as bare as the road, you have seen places like it in France where all the vegetation, even the grass has been blown away by artillery. You read in the papers where this was the greatest artillery battle in the Pacific, and it has been just that. Pretty rough at times.
I am well and getting along as good as can be. Since the war department announced the point system, makes everyone feel better. I have more than the required 85 points so I should get out sometime. Hope I can be home for quail hunting this year.
How has the surrender of Germany effected the rationing and production of civilian goods. Can you see any change?
From you letters I take it this will be a good crop year if you get a rain before too long. I hope you have had the rain. It is time for a good crop year.

I hope you are all well. I expect to hear from you again soon........

Written by a soldier who was in Morfolden ? Germany, during WW2, in May 1945. He was with the 33rd Armored Regiment, and was with the 3rd Spearhead Division. From the letter…….Honey are they saying anything in the states about the men from over here getting out or anything of that sort? I sure hope I don’t have to go to the Pacific. I would just as well stay over here instead of going over there. But I would love to go to the states. Well Dear there isn’t much I can say. I am not sure if we can write of some of the places we have been. We were able to visit Nordhausen when they found that camp. I know the people in the states know about it as you wrote and told me about it. That is where General Rose got killed at. Honey that is one place I never will forget. You can’t tell people about it as they wouldn’t believe it. I guess you have saw some of the pictures that they took didn’t you? Well nearly all camps over here just like that was the same. The was we treat the prisoners in the states is really too good. I wondered a lot of times since I have been over here if they leave them go around just like they did at Knox……...Well if Bob is in the 1st maybe sometime soon we may meet. Well they couldn’t shell around him any more than they did me. I know we had a plenty. I don’t know about the nervous wreck but if I have to go any where else I sure will be……. I got my first bath for almost 4 weeks……..Closing with all the love, kisses and hugs I can send to the best wife, girl friend and sweet heart I ever want to know........

Written by a soldier in Germany, who was with the 3rd Armored Spearhead Division, 33rd Armored Regiment, during WW2, in July 1945. From the letter……….Saturday morning we got up at 2:45 and had to go till we got through. We had to screen, that is what they called it. In other words, we had 5 towns we had to go from house to house to search. We had to go from the roof down. We also had to check everything in the barns plus the passes. Everybody here has to have a pass. Boy don’t think my head didn’t hurt when we got through yesterday. In the morning we had to go to their court yard. We waited till the women slipped on a dress then went to work. We had to look for guns and knives. I had 3 other guys working with me. At first we thought it would run up to this Sunday noon, but we finally got through at 6 o’clock last night. They told us after we got through that the beer was on the house. We had to go and clean up for chow then after chow I went down and got a couple of beers. I got back at the house at 9 o’clock and sat down on the bed and that is where I stayed till 10:30 this morning. That is the reason I never wrote to you the last couple of days…….As I told you, you can’t trust nobody and that is what I mean. It is the same in Belgium and France. It is starting to be in Germany, here a woman comes up to a G.I. and asks him to have a baby by her daughter. That is the part that Russia has. Some of the boys from the 6th that came to the 3rd told us all about it……I wrote and told you they took out the guys with 85 points and more. They put guys with less points in their place. I guess we are safer over here than Japan. But I still want to get home…….. As for wine, it costs 50 cents a bottle, and I can’t afford that…….

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