Egling, Germany
June 28, 1945
Dear Mother, Dad, &
Girls:
I have been pretty busy this morning doing little odds
and ends amounting to not much of anything. Right after breakfast, another kid
and I went to another little town about two and a half miles away to get a
hair-cut. We have a lady barber here but she doesn’t cut hair, she mows it. Her
husband used to cut hair but went to the army and never came back so she took
up the trade and from the looks of her work she is just learning (on us). When
we came back, I decided to wash out a set of clothes so I would have something
clean for tomorrow. I get the little girl here to iron them and do any sewing
that I Have to do for some candy or gum. Tomorrow I am going on another little
sightseeing tour. This time it is going to be way up in the elps mountains to a
big summer resort and they say that it is just beautiful up there. There will
most likely be snow up there too cause we have had stormy weather the last four
or five days and a lot of rain here. I have one roll of film left and I am
going to take some pictures up there. I was lucky in getting to go up there.
They are only taking about eighteen men out of the whole works. On these other
passes that we used to get, the reason that I never did get to go on any of
those was because I just wasn’t one of the lucky guys. A very small percentage
of the whole outfit gets to go on these passes. About five or six men out of
the whole hundred and sixty men we have in the battery, it all depended on where
the pass was to. Well the names of all the men would be put in a hat and then
drawn from. Money isn’t anything over here. I have fifty dollars on hand now.
Even if a man didn’t have any money when he happened to get a pass, any man in
the battery would loan him whatever they had and be glad to do it. Last month I
loaned two boys eighty dollars to help them out on pass - - - they were both
going back into France. That’s the way it goes in the army Mama. It doesn’t
make any difference who has the money you can always get it.
The last two days I have got packages from you. The first
one had the olives in and the one yesterday had the cookies in. I’m telling you
they really hit the spot, especially the cookies last night. We had just had
sour-crout and some damn spam and I don’t know what all, but the cookies came
just at the right time. We all nearly foundered on them and I am still eating
some of the cookies this morning. Several of the boys got packages last night
so we all really feasted off them. Thanks a lot for them Mama they were really
good. Day before yesterday, I had a letter from you and two from Rosalie. Yes,
and one from Mrs. Whitaker and I have got to answer them all today. Rosalie has
sure been good about writing to me since I have been gone. She has been true
blue. Sometimes letters were a little far between but that was just because
mail was hard to get to us or we were moving so much. She is still working in
the county agents office there and running it pretty much by herself. The
letter I had from Mrs. Whitaker was ten pages long and on big sheets too so she
must be feeling pretty good.
Here is a picture that one of the boys snapped of me down
in Czech and I didn’t know that it was taken. I am standing in front of our
kitchen and it looks like I have a bundle of clothes or something. The pictures
that I have just taken lately of the concentration camp and some other things
came out alright. I’ll have some prints made in a few days and send them to
you. Here is another picture that Bill Bagley, he used to be my radio assistant
a while back, drew. It is just exactly like the half-track and trailer that I
ride in. The areal of my radio is sticking up in the back. March order is the
order to move. We have got up and moved in the middle of the night and other
nights all night long lots of times while coming through Germany and France.
Sometimes we moved as many as two or three times in the same night when the big
push was on.
It is time for dinner now so I will stop for this time. I
will write and tell you all about my little trip up into the mountains when I
get back. We will only be gone for one day.
Say Dad, are you planning on putting the bathroom in now
while you are fixing up the house? That will be pretty nice if you do.
Love to all,Your son,
Max
P.S. – Thanks for the stationary too Mama
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