World War II in the Words of My Uncle: Jan 3, 1945 "A New Year and the Battle Rages On" (Post #91)

A New Year but the Battle of the Bulge Continues

First Letter Since the Battle of the Bulge Began

January 3, 1945

Dear Mother,

It has been a long time since the last time I wrote but from the news you may gain more than I could put on paper.

Remember I have always said. I would write you first even though the others had to wait, so will start out but hardly know where to begin.

I am well, in good health and you may be sure wondering how things are at home.

Here I am in a fox hole or slit trench and pretty comfortable. To-day I made it a little larger, put on a top with a trap door, covered it with dirt and made a stove from a large coffee can with some small cans for a stovepipe. With an old gallon tomato can I melted some snow, washed up, had a shave, changed clothes and here I am. I can hear a little wind around the door but not much. Things seem pretty quiet for a change.

We had one good snow storm some time ago and you should have seen us just before dark trying to pitch a tent. The wind was blowing, snow drifting and down went the tent a dozen times. There were drifts waist deep the next morning but most of it went away. Then a cold snap which has lasted for over a week with clear skies and a full moon. No mud now for the ground has frozen several inches thick and you may be sure it's hard digging all day and up to now it has been snowing or a fine sleet rain which makes it bad outside. I hope it doesn't turn to rain.
I am sure getting mail now, some even from October. About ten to twelve Xmas packages have arrived but things have been so mixed up I can hardly remember who they were from. Guess all from home have come but maybe not Eugene. One from Colebrook, New Hampshire, gee, what a surprise with a nice fruit cake. I sure have a lot of writing to catch up with. Oh yes, one from Cora and family, also Mr. Stevens.
Your letters talking about the money orders and Uncle Roy just came, also the one stating the things you had bought for Christmas etc. You may be sure everything sounded okay because I know you did your very best with me always in mind. Glad you have that picture you always wanted. If that's what Dad wanted with his, that's what I intended for him to do.
About my shoes, you never should have done that but to tell the truth I'm glad you did as winter is sure here. As for the sleeping bags, combat jackets etc., I once wrote you about well ----- up to now we haven't got them. They'll write about them in papers and magazines, tell how good they are but where in ? are they? You know the mail is coming so much quicker now; they may soon be here as one fellow had a request package the last of November and he has already received it.
Now guess I'll take a quick run through your fifteen or twenty letters I have here and see if there are any questions I can answer. (Just counted them, nineteen letters and three cards - cards came to-day.)
Now one thing about Warren and how I feel. Yes, he should know, anything like that I want to know about it the first thing. I'm fighting to someday come home, come home to all the things I left behind and if anything is to be missing I want to know it and not to expect to find it when I get there. Now don't forget the way I feel, for to me it would hurt more finding it out later or then at the time. I've seen it work in my own outfit when a fellow found out a long time after. I want to know the truth. Yes, Rev. Beal could do a good thing in the right way. (I can hear a rowboat going over sounds like Dad's old Model T before taking up the bearings.)
Oh oh, easy on those jokes but you may be sure the army is full of them.
Right now I don't need any writing paper as I did well for Christmas. I'll let you know when I run low.
If you can find out the story, let me know about Big Larrivee as I think he was in a tank outfit.
Yes, I guess the time we were there I did have a pretty good hole or dugout. I just kept puttering around in my spare time until I had it pretty nice.
Yes, Mother, Richard is okay, we talk quite a bit together in our spare time or when things are a little quiet.
Gee, Eugene sure got a good deal on his old tractor. All I can say is, leave it up to him. Remember the junk he would carry when small and how he would dicker?
Oh yes, about the war bonds. All the bonds will be ten dollar ones now as they cut out letting you take out part of a bond each month. You see I was taking twelve fifty a month or one fifty dollar bond every three months. Now you have to take a whole bond a month which would start with eighteen seventy-five except for this small ten dollar bond for service men only. This is why I could send home a little for Christmas.
When in heck are the people across the street going to move? It will be a good thing when they do, that's all I can say.
That's okay about the car fan. Guess I'll be easy to please if only I can get home once more.
Look in the top draw in my room and you'll find that book or I think that's the place. I did change them around about three times before I decided to put them there.
Pauline was right but guess she'll change her mind now. Guess you know how it is, or I hope you do now.
You know I had some Christmas cards for my sisters and a few more but they all got wet. I should have sent them when I did yours but slow me, now I'm too late and can't get any others.
Wish that Hitt boy's wife and a few others that want to scrap so much would come over here as they could get all the fighting they could handle with these ---- Square Heads, no good Krauts, Heinie rats have gone hog wild. This damn Boche aren't as good as a dog not even a snake after some of the things they did to our boys over here. Then when they're helpless they cry for mercy. I saw something happen Christmas but won't say anything. If someone else hadn't done it, I was ready. Damn the German. ("Heinies", from a shorter form of the common German male proper name Heinrich. Also a common German informal term with a slightly derogatory meaning similar to "moron" or "idiot."
"Boche" originated from a French word that came to be used for Germans as being big headed, blockheads or imbeciles.)
No, I haven't seen the Rick fellow for a long time and can't tell you a thing, the way things have been but will see what what I can do. Haven't seen Zip for a month and a half.
Pauline wrote she had been with the Y.W.C.A. or some of the girls to several service dances at Fort Williams and I guess the group also bowled a few social strings one evening while waiting for her girlfriend or time to meet her girlfriend in Portland to have lunch then go to a show. When it came time to leave she excused herself, the sailors thanked her for letting them use the alley with her, she paid for her games then went on her way. ha ha I'm only about ten years old or a little more so I swallow it all ---- (maybe). Here's what I am coming at, why should you worry who comes up to see you? It's not your fault who comes in and little makes me worry. Oh yes, I'll admit you'd feel funny as you couldn't help it.
Yes, it pays to get a good pen as you see this one I have is good and writes swell. After all the hard pounding it gets. One thing, don't let anyone use your pen if you have a good one as no two people write the same.
I bet it looks nice since you put that thing Flavilla gave you in the kitchen. I could tell by reading your letter.
Maybe your flowers were alright but I wanted roses that's why I put down Portland as the nearest large place to home. I ordered them in September. Waneta can tell you all about it as I wrote her a letter. They could of sent into Portland after them but guess that was too much work -- some of the things I do are too much work but how I pity some of the poor civilians. Wish I had written direct to Wyer flower shop. Oh well, if you like them it's alright.
Guess I'll slip off my shoes and turn in. Best Wishes for 1945. This seems to be quite a long letter after all. Love to All
Charles

Well, Uncle Charlie had a lot to say in this letter. After reading so many of his letters, I feel I can read his mind sometimes. I sensed a few things coming from him through his writing. They included exhaustion, loneliness, anger, a don't care attitude at times, and longing just to be home again.
His exhaustion is revealed as he writes how he can't remember all his Christmas gifts he received. They begin to come to his mind as he writes. The explaining of the weather shows both the frustration about how the bad weather is impacting the war while at the same time he says the skies are clear and there is a full moon. He appears confused at times as he starts saying it has been snowing all the time.
He definitely is tired of the war, missing home, and lonely. He doesn't care what he might find when he gets home one minute but then he shares there better be nothing missing the next minute. He is very anxious that no one is to keep the truth from him.
I believe some, if not most, of the above feelings he is expressing is due to anger and possibly even hatred. He and the other soldiers have been fighting hard the past several weeks. He has seen or heard about the atrocities the Germans are doing. His blood is boiling and he has little or no mercy left for those Krauts.
Some of you reading this letter know better than I do the deep anger he is feeling. It has been cold, the US has been bragging about the great winter clothes available for the soldiers but he hasn't seen them. The Germans are fighting like wild dogs with no principals that even soldiers feel should be abided by even in war. War is hell but you don't need to act as if you are the very devil of hell. Hitler has gone completely mad. Even his own commanders know it.
All I can say, "I thank God for the praying mothers, fathers, family and friends that are shaking the Gates of Heaven for their boys and for the world. That is what brings the war finally to an end and our boys back to their homes if they haven't given the complete sacrifice of war. Even German soldiers are beginning to see the futility of the war."