April 30, 1945 WWII letters
Dad,
I found that all of your letters were mixed up, and in the wrong envelopes. I found several letters that were written shortly after you went overseas. I'm so glad I found them because they give me a glimpse of you as I knew you as a father.
You are so surprised at what you believe is easy work. You never had easy work at home, you always worked so hard on your father's farm that being an Interpreter seemed like you weren't doing much. You must realize now just how important that is. I wish you and Mom would have taught me the German language. Now that she is gone, too, I will never learn it.
I am saddened, surprised, and yet, pleased that you found being in the Army so "educational". I have your sense of wonder at anything new that comes my way. I can imagine how excited you were to see the country of your origin and to how proud you must have been to be an American and over there to help fight for your country. You always had a wonderful sense of pride in who you were and where you came from, but most of all, I loved your unparalleled sense of justice. I always felt pride and warmth in the fact that, even as an old man, you believed a hand shake was a covenant truth.
Did you ever get the candy you asked for? I bet you did. I wonder what kind of candy Grandma sent you.
Something in your letters, so far, as not been said and that is what happened to the people you interrogated? Your letters mention Saarbrucken, Nurnberg, and Mainz. You didn't say anything about them other than I got the impression they have been bombed or wrecked - that there wasn't much of them left. It must have been bad to see them like that.
Miss you,
Patti
I found that all of your letters were mixed up, and in the wrong envelopes. I found several letters that were written shortly after you went overseas. I'm so glad I found them because they give me a glimpse of you as I knew you as a father.
You are so surprised at what you believe is easy work. You never had easy work at home, you always worked so hard on your father's farm that being an Interpreter seemed like you weren't doing much. You must realize now just how important that is. I wish you and Mom would have taught me the German language. Now that she is gone, too, I will never learn it.
I am saddened, surprised, and yet, pleased that you found being in the Army so "educational". I have your sense of wonder at anything new that comes my way. I can imagine how excited you were to see the country of your origin and to how proud you must have been to be an American and over there to help fight for your country. You always had a wonderful sense of pride in who you were and where you came from, but most of all, I loved your unparalleled sense of justice. I always felt pride and warmth in the fact that, even as an old man, you believed a hand shake was a covenant truth.
Did you ever get the candy you asked for? I bet you did. I wonder what kind of candy Grandma sent you.
Something in your letters, so far, as not been said and that is what happened to the people you interrogated? Your letters mention Saarbrucken, Nurnberg, and Mainz. You didn't say anything about them other than I got the impression they have been bombed or wrecked - that there wasn't much of them left. It must have been bad to see them like that.
Miss you,
Patti
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