November 1, 1944

Belgium

My Dearest Darling Sweetest Dolly:

I don’t doubt, but you are raising the [devil] for not getting a letter for so long. It has been so darn long since I heard from you honey, and they told me today that they were going to start taking mail again, so here I am writing to the most lovable precious wife there ever was. I’ll love you always, honey. It seems like I am getting further away from home all the time, but it can’t be much longer and I’ll be home for good. Then watch me tell you over and over again how much I love you. I wish I could see you.

We saw Paris but I couldn’t buy you anything. I really believe that was the only reason I wanted to go to Paris, is just to get you something. It is a beautiful place though, so darn much nicer than London. There isn’t any comparison. It is almost as nice [as] Los Angeles. But the country that is nice is Belgium and the people are more friendly than the French. I wish you could see it over here, nice hills and all [the] bends of trees on them, and the leaves a million different colors; and you would see farmers coming along a field using oxen to plow with or pull wagons and it looked so darn peaceful you would never know a war was on. It seemed like coming into a different world from France to Belgium, everything is almost like home. I mean the houses and all. I saw a lot of sugar beet fields too. It made me wish we were going hunting.

There’s a little kid comes up here every day and he brings beer up to trade for cigarettes. I tasted some of it, and it tastes like syrup and then some farmer gave me a drink of something and it tasted like straight alcohol. This kid that comes up, you say back to him, and he pretends like he is slitting a throat; he must be about seven or eight years old. I tried to talk him into bringing me some bread, but I guess he couldn’t get any.

I’ll be glad when I gets some letters from you honey, to see what you did on your vacation, how Junior enjoyed his furlough, and what Mom had to say when she come home, and to get the boxes you sent. I was thinking of something I wanted you to send me the other day, but I can’t think of it now, unless you can wrap yourself up; But I don’t think you would fit so good in a shoe box, even though you aren’t so darn big.

I didn’t get to go to church today for one thing I didn’t know what date it was until almost noon, and there’s a church about a few blocks from here. I heard the bells ringing this morning and I though they rang them every morning. I suppose right now, you are just coming out of church going to work. How long do you suppose it will be before we can go to church together again?

How is Pete and the rest of the family? I suppose Mary A is real big girl by now. So Bayne still working the long hours? I suppose Pete hasn’t written to me, and I have to wait for his letter too.

Well honey this isn’t a very long letter and I’ll write more later, but all the love and kisses imaginable goes in this letter. I’ll love you more every second. A lot of big kisses and a lot of big hugs.

Your Ever Loving,

Miles