July 11, 1945

Egling, Germany

July 11, 1945

Dear Mother, Dad, & Girls:

             A year ago last night, we landed on France. I never will forget that evening when we came ashore on the beach. We drove about six or eight miles in and camped in an apple orchard. The front was about eleven miles in at that time. It was dark when we got to the orchard and we couldn’t see much but we just rolled out our beds anywhere. We could see the flashes of the big guns and hear them a little in the distance and we were all about scared to death, I think. The funniest thing happened the next morning. Our big fat Mess Sergeant had rolled his bed out under a apple tree by himself. Early the next morning we heard him yell and ran to see what was wrong with him. We thought that a sniper might be after him. When we got there, he was pointing at something hanging up in the apple tree and about scared to death. Just over his head was a man’s arm that had been shot off and hung in the tree. We stayed in that orchard for seven days before we moved up. It is raining here today. With all the rain that we are having, it is a lot like France only here we have houses here to live in and it was pup tents and holes in France. We really cussed when water would run in our holes and thought what was happening to us shouldn’t happened to a dog. Ha. But when we look back on it now it seems like it was all fun, cause we did have a lot of fun.

            I wish you had of been here last night Dad. I slipped out and went deer hunting by myself. I got the prettiest little six point buck that you ever saw and he had about half-inch of tallow on him. Boy you talking about something being good, that sure hit the spot here last night late. A six point buck over here is just about the size of a spike buck there at home. There biggest deer only weigh around a hundred pounds. I have got to six point bucks this week and they have both dressed about seventy-five pounds. The last few deer that I have got, I have got them with one shot, so I am going to be all ready to hunt deer when I get home. When you get one of these army rifles shooting like you want it, you can’t miss.

            Yesterday I mailed you a sword, a German bayonet, a good hunting knife, and a cartridge belt. The belt is for a pistol like the one Norman wore when he was there hunting last season. You can hand your lunch of water or whatever you like on it though. When I come home I am going to try to bring a regular rifle cartridge belt, a good rifle and some clips for it. It is against the law to hunt with an automatic gun but I can’t help that. On this sword that I sent Dad, I had to cut off the handle of it because it was too long to mail. I took the handle apart and cut off the little iron prong that the handle fits on. You can take it and have it welded and it won’t ever show after you put the handle back on. I don’t know what the hell you will ever do with a sword. You can always tell some big story when you have company and tell them what you had to go through getting it in the last war. Ha. Are there anything else that you would like to have from Germany or over here anywhere? If there is Dad, just say so and I will try to get it for you. You better speak up now cause I don’t think any of us will ever be over here again.

            Mama, I want you to send me some after-shave lotion and some hair oil. That last bottle of hair oil was swell and I would still have some, but when I got the oil it so happened that everybody else was out except me so we had to use mine. Ha. Well I hope you are all well at home and that everything is under control. What are you doing for milk now? I just wondered. I get a hankering for a big bowl of cornbread and milk and I don’t mind admitting to you Dad that I would also like to be out behind the old gray horse cussing em’ up and down. Well I am going to write to Rosalie now so will stop for this time.

Love to all,
Your son,
Max

P.S. – Here is a picture of the Brenner Pass where I was about ten days ago. There are mountains on both sides of the little town.