Capt John A. Holbrook

France 1945-2-5

France 2-5-45

Dear Will & Family

Your fine package and notes arrived safe and sound some time last week. I found it waiting for me at this station. You may be sure that the contents were very welcome and much appreciated God how I’d like to walk into the shop and have one with you and will do it yet when we finish off this damn Hitler but he’s a tough customer and has a tough bunch of boys with him we are very busy all the time and I got the most hellish jobs you ever saw I don’t mind the disagreeable ones. Mud and filth but this week am lecturing to the Air Corps on care of certain kinds of people can you imagine that (Professor John) by the way just for fun quite some time ago I built a shock pump, light pump, cold pump, font pump. men hall for a group of thieves in our Regt when I returned I found a sign on the door (Holbrook Hall Where the Elite meet to Eat, Honest John Prop.) and on the other end where the men eat this one (Here the Scum get their Slum) well I didn’t like it very well but can’t do much about it. when we first came to France we lived in fox holes and dug outs and because my gang was tough, and they were, we found one morning a bunch of signs on our holes similar in nature, I have gathered together the most complete set of tools in France and always have somebody coming in to borrow or get help? To fit lighters, watches, gums, bells- typewriters, flash lights, (Radios, which I don’t know a damned thing about) etc oh yes Colman lamps don’t ever have anything to do with them if you have to use red gas, oh yeah! I forgot we accumulated an awful collection of bomb shells, guns, knives, plastic and some beautiful Plane fittings like gauges, radios and fittings it doesn’t pay though because every few days I move and then have to give them all away and start all over again. never mind (hope springs eternal) I have a fine outfit now again, and we are getting along fine but Ye Gods I had one some time ago that was a world better if they had left us alone we would have won this war all alone, but my junior officer reverted to his civilian occupation of stealing cars and at one time we had more cars than Gen Ske, but we had a job one day and he provoked a fight with half of De Gaulles Army well it was a fight we won but the casualties here heavy and we had to get a new unit I don’t know where the Jr Lt is now, but the next in rank is in bad shape in the hospital, oh me, it was a fight. Ill never fight. Well Bill my new outfit consists of Yours Truly, known as M.G.O. my Deputy MGO is a 1^st Lt Lawyer from Calif. My Jr officer is a Lawyer from Buffalo N.Y. both good fellows the Col says I need them to first to keep me out of trouble or next to prove to somebody that I am right or better yet to get to arguing with each other and leave me alone. times up friends must quit take things easy and keep the old town running. we will finish this war somehow remember me to all my old friends Yours John.

Postmark: 1945-3-6