Co. C. 735th Ry. Opn. Bn.

A.P.O. #5942 C% P.M. New York, N.Y.

11:30 am Oct 25th 1944

Somewhere in France

My Darling Pheety,

            Oh Darling I’m so homesick for you today that I’m restless & don’t know what to do with myself.  I notice it more today than I ever have & if it gets any worse I’m going to be very miserable.  Last night we got our second mail since we’ve been here, I got your letter written Sept. 29, & wasn’t postmarked until Oct. 2nd.  I bet you forgot to mail it for two days as you are always leaving your letters lying around.  I only got just your one letter this time but I got a V-mail from mother dated Oct 2nd, one from Mary M. Oct. 3rd, and one from Grandma Winter Oct. 3rd, dated.  But Darling what else do you think I got, THE LITTLE PACKAGE FROM MY PHEETY, Oh was I thrilled when I got that.  That package sure went through a lot of A.P.O offices in New York.  It was sent from St. Paul Sept. 21st & was Sept. 28th when it went through U.S. Army Postal Service, & Oct. 4th through another A.P.O. & the final A.P.O. was dated Oct. 8th & I got it Oct. 24th, 17 days from New York. 

Darling I opened it down to the Christmas wrapping & I want to say it is the most neat & beautiful wrapped Christmas package I’ve seen, did you do that Pheety?  I laid it up on my shelf in my closet & kept wondering what was in it.  I’d take it down every ten minutes & shake it.  I could hear it rattle & thought maybe it was a fountain pen because the box is long & narrow.  Now please Pheety here’s where I hope you won’t-

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 -get angry with me, because if you were in my shoes over here you’d feel the same as I did.  But that little package bothered me so that I just had to unwrap it, I kept asking some of the boys if they’d open a package for Christmas right there & they all said they couldn’t wait either.  Pheety, as I opened it I felt guilty because you told me not to open it & it even said, “DO NOT OPEN TIL CHRISTMAS.”  Boy was I all tickled when I found a bracelet & Darling when I read the engraving on the back I just had to cry, “ALL MY LOVE PHEETY”  Those were the sweetest words & just what I wanted on it, if I were to get one.  Oh you’re so thoughtful & sweet Darling, I sure wish you were here so I could kiss you now.  I’d let you know just how happy I am over your present.  I’m so sorry Pheety that I couldn’t wait until Christmas, but I knew if it was something I could carry which was from my Pheety, I wanted to have it on me while I’m working.  And too I thought it might be a fountain pen as I always have to borrow one & if it was one, I could be using it now.  Just think, as many times as we’ve looked & talked about bracelets, it never came to my mind when I got the package.  I’m really satisfied Darling & it’s just the kind & color I wanted.  Thanks a million Pheety & here’s all my love & kisses to just you with all my heart. Wait till you see what I’m getting for you; I went to town yesterday & had them lay your present back. I’m going in to get it today.  I want you to save & take good care of the little present cause when we celebrate when I get back, I want you to wear them.  Boy are they classy!  Bet you can’t guess what they are.  I’m giving 260 Francs for them which is $5.20 in our money, so they must be doggone good ones.  I’m waiting-

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-til payday to buy your best present, as I will need more money than I have now.  We ought to get paid in about a week now.  I just love to go shopping for you Darling & if I’d had more money when I was working, I would have bought more things for you.  I have an awful time getting these French women clerks in the stores to understand, but when I get out my French & English book I don’t have too much trouble.  Remember I told you in one of my letters that France was so torn up that I thought there wouldn’t be anything we could buy.  Well when I first went to town I got a surprise from the lovely gifts I saw, which probably all came from Paris.  Most gifts say Paris on them, so I’m sure you’ll like anything I send from France.  Isn’t it nice to get something from France from your Pheety?  I won’t have to worry about a cigarette lighter anymore; they have loads of them over here, so if you ever see a nice lighter you can buy it for yourself.  Would you like me to send you one Darling?  I bought a lovely silver lighter, I gave 135 Francs for it which is $2.70 in American money.  One Franc is worth 2 Cents in our money, so if I ever mention a certain amount of Francs, you can double it & that is what you’ll have in American money.  Like one of your presents will be 260 Francs & twice that much is 520= $5.20 in American money.  I’ve been to town four times already, three times in a row this week just looking around for things to buy you for Christmas.  I’m hoping Pheety you get them by Christmas but I rather doubt it as mail is more slow getting out of here than your mail is coming in.  A lot of our mail is lying around France somewhere & they’re trying to track it down.  I have a lot of your September mail yet to receive & it must be out there somewhere, because I’ve been-

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-getting mail dated in October.  They say our mail is at a certain place over here & they are going after the rest of it.  I can’t mention that particular place though.  Boy I’ll sure get a kick out of telling you some funny things when I get back.  For instance, the people over here are crazy for chewing gum, soap, cigarettes & chocolate candy.  These items they haven’t had for four years during the time the Nazis were here.  The young women will sell themselves (if you know what I mean) for chocolate, cigarettes, soap or anything like that.  All you have to say to a pretty girl is, “Bonsoir Mademoiselle, du chocolat, zig zig.”  Meaning, “Good evening Miss, some chocolate for a piece.”  Zig Zig means to take one.  Do you want to zig zig Pheety?  Haha.  Now I bet I got my Pheety really worried, you shouldn’t be Darling, because you know you can trust me.  Now I suppose you wonder how I know about these women.  Well I’ve heard enough talk about it & have actually seen it work right on the street in town.  One of the boys tried that chocolate deal one night & the girl came running over saying, “Venez avec moi”, meaning, “Come with me.”  Well that don’t bother me a bit Darling cause it isn’t any different than in the States, there are just as many nice women here as there are bad & the fellas have taken too much for granted.  The chocolate trick works only on the type of girl we call an old bag back home.  I wouldn’t touch one of these women or any other woman for two big reasons.  First- I love you Darling & to be true & faithful to you I think is the most wonderful thing I can do for you while I’m away from you & while I’m with you.-

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-You’ve been too true & good to me Margaret & you deserve to be treated faithfully also.  When I think of you Darling I just can’t bear another woman & I know if I were to be untrue to you, I’d never forget it, it would be on my mind constantly.  My second reason is these women are known to be carrying a terrible disease (Gonhorrea) & I want to come back that healthy Pheety you once knew.  I don’t want to give my Baby a disease.  And again no one knows how many Nazis they’ve been with when they occupied this country for four long years.  A woman who will sell herself is the lowest creature on earth & I’m not that low to stoop to them.  I’ve too much pride Margaret to give myself to another woman when I’m yours & belong to only you.  You my Darling, only, have that privilege as long as I live.  Don’t ever let it be a doubt to you.  I wouldn’t try to make you believe what I said & then turn around & betray you,  I’ve got to be honest with you Darling & I don’t believe there’s a thing that can happen that I could keep away from you, my conscience would confess.  Because when I do something wrong I feel so guilty I want to tell everybody, hoping I can square myself.  Some of the boys said to open my package & not let you know about it, but I just had to tell you Pheety.  My Pheety’s honest with me & it’s my duty to be the same & that’s the way I want it and I love it.  I always want to say I can be as true as my wife is to me & it would be a shocking surprise if I were to ever hear of you being untrue to me, it just isn’t like you & I can imagine the terrible feeling you’d have if you saw yourself falling into a temptation.  As I’ve always said Margaret, you’re-

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 -just as true & innocent as you look & I certainly do mean it.  As for me, I look like I was as devilish as they come; my actions & all have always given people the wrong impression of me.  Watch out for the guy that flirts behind his wife’s back & one who never mentions the good-looking blonde he saw on the street.  Me, I come right out don’t I Pheety, when you’re along.  You wouldn’t know me when I’m by myself though, I really don’t notice the girls, really I don’t.  I’m always contented when I’m with you Darling, I guess that’s why I flirt, I’m contented & so sure of your love.  I do it for just plain devilishness & to me they don’t mean a thing.  I believe it’s mostly to watch a girl’s reaction & make you jealous.  I really can’t give a good explanation for my behavior sometimes, as I don’t know myself just what makes me that way.  Darling I’m sorry I haven’t written you for the past 2 or 3 days but we’re operating now & I will be busy.  I’ve been rather busy shopping in the evenings for your Christmas too.  Glad to hear you got your permanent Pheety & about the folks wanting you to come home.  I wrote a letter the other day about all that.  You’ll be getting it soon.  And if you can’t work the puzzle & don’t want it I don’t care if you give it to Larry.  I want you to know Darling how proud I am of my bracelet & I wouldn’t part with it for the world because it’s from my Pheety.  Please forgive me Pheety for unwrapping it.  I love you Margaret more everyday with all my lonesome heart & if I could have you in my arms now, I couldn’t ask for more.  I can really feel the homesickness for you coming on more each day.  You can open your Christmas present before Christmas too Pheety if you wish. 

 

All my love & kisses,

 

Your Dumplin.