Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
HQ EBS SOS APO 517
New York, N.Y.
1 February, 1943
: Mildred and Bill
Dear: Louise and Bill
: Marty and Bunch
For the benefit of the newcomers to this family circle, all copies are placed in sealed envelopes and then my beautiful blonde secretary gets up off my knees, unscrambles them- the letters, not the knees- and you get what you get.
Am still having trouble with the language and the way it is used sometimes. Can't understand how these people could have got the language so twisted up since we have been talking it. Went to several spots in London one evening for a few beers and then had to look for one of those spots which are supposed to be the same the world over, went in and found everythng normal and then as I went out I saw this sign which had on it "Please adjust your dress before leaving" and for a minute I wondered if I had made a mistake in the one on the outside.
Several of us went in to one of the hotels there in London and naturally gravitated to the bar. On opening the door, we found a lot of singing going on. We knew right then and there that there were either Americans or Canadians in the room and there were- both. The English don't do much singing that way- after all the island is very small and if they all sang at once it would disturb a lot of people. Some of the bars have a sign up "No singing". Fine war. Anyway, we went into a huddle with the Canadians and really ground out some of the old favorites as well as some present day approriate new ones.
Went to an English pantomime Saturday- quite a show. The leading man, or principal boy, as they laughingly call her, was a girl who couldn't sing but who had a beautiful figure; the leading lady was a girl who could sing but had no figure; the main comedian was a cook, who was a man, who was called the dame; the show ranged from entertainment for the three year olds to the grown-ups and ran from community singing to practically strip-tease dancing.
Bought myself a new uniform recently. For years I went to school to learn enough to earn enough to get myself a suit with the pants to match the coat and here I have been in the army all this time and have had to wear a dark coat and light pants. So I got them both the same this time. Everyone should have some ambition.
Have been gaining a little weight but couldn't tell how much for a long time. Each time I got weighed, the big figure on the scale was labeled 10 stones and then there were fourteen divisions which I figured were pebbles but 10 stones and 7 pebbles didn't make sense. Being translated, that is 147 pounds.
It is really marvelous the way people here take to the restrictions "laid on" by the war. At the show, the comedian came out with a pitcher of water and sang a parody on "Tress":
I think that I shall never see
A weaker cup of morning tea.
The tea is there without a doubt
But it's too weak the leave the spout.
The water's there it's plain to see
But only God knows where's the tea.
It brought down the house and is typical of the way they take things here.
Well, this is a lot of nonsense but it will help to keep your spirits up until I can get back and help you get the spirits down. The third party in the states will be a reality when I get back there- we'll have it, won't we! Praise the lord and pass the Old Angus!
Hope you will all continue to write occasionally and don't wait up for me- I won't mind waking you up if I get in late some evening! Cheers!
As ever,
******
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That letter arrived in a package of postcards and other whatsits. I wonder whose copy I have. Mildred and Bill, or Louise and Bill, or Marty and Bunch? ;)
Alas, it didn't come with a cover.
Peace,
Doe
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Priceless!
Perry
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Thanks Perry. I've been hanging onto it for a few years, and it just now occured to me to post it. ..duh 
-Anyone wanting to know the Lt. Col.'s name can e-mail me privately. Search Airship in the Members Area.
Peace,
Doe
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Just curious, Doe: Why did you not include the sender's name? There's nothing in the letter that reveals an impropriety. Since you are willing to share the name privately, why not publicly?
I occasionally see covers with names whited out. I suppose that makes sense for modern covers, if senders and recipients are still living, especially at the addresses that are given. But for something that's 66 years old (same age as me!)? I really don't think that anyone really cares about privacy in such cases. Now I do have a V-Mail letter, sent right after the surrender of Japan, in which the sender brags how he is stealing Uncle Sam blind, sending everything he can package to his home in the States. In that case I might hide the senders name. Might. I might also just go ahead and let the world see what a jerk he was.
I think that this is an important aspect of cover collecting. The names often reveal a lot of information, and in some cases are the primary reason the cover is collectible. That's the case with my William Saroyan cover…
would be just a very ordinary paquebot cover if someone had made it impossible to read the return address. As it is, it's worth something like $50 for the signature alone — I paid 69 cents for it — and is certainly one of my prize items (since Saroyan is one of my favorite authors). Even the recipient's name is important —he was Saroyan's agent.
Anyway, Doe, that's an incredible letter you have, just the sort of philatelic item that makes history come alive. If my teachers in high school had presented me with such documents, I might well have become a professional historian. As it was, the political history as it was taught — always leaving out the more distasteful aspects of the "American Experience" — just bored me to tears.
Bob Ingraham
(Message edited by Bobstamp on May 29, 2009)
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Hi Bob,
Had it been simply a cover, I wouldn't have witheld his name. But the letter reveals his thoughts and feelings and dead or not, (I assume dead based on his rank in 1943), I wouldn't want to cause him to blush.
History is so much more than presented. Too bad American schools are so boringly regimented. Might be a teeny bit better now, as I've seen articles where school classes participate in archaeology digs.
And I know regular schools (as opposed to DODDS), also have a focus on their individual state history.
Very old school books are incredible. Waaaay more information is presented and it is written in ways that make comprehension easy. I don't know why text book editors changed the language format only to present less information.
Oh Well, now I am free to read what I want, and learn what I want. hmph! ;)
Peace,
Doe
(Message edited by Airship on May 29, 2009)
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>> Now I do have a V-Mail letter, sent right after the surrender of Japan, in which the sender brags how he is stealing Uncle Sam blind, sending everything he can package to his home in the States. <<
So much for the efficacy of US military censorship. Obviously not much of a deterrent for the sender.
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Lt. Col. ****** *. ******
HQ EBS SOS APO 517
New York, N.Y.
1 February, 1943
: Mildred and Bill
Dear: Louise and Bill
: Marty and Bunch
For the benefit of the newcomers to this family circle, all copies are placed in sealed envelopes and then my beautiful blonde secretary gets up off my knees, unscrambles them- the letters, not the knees- and you get what you get.
Am still having trouble with the language and the way it is used sometimes. Can't understand how these people could have got the language so twisted up since we have been talking it. Went to several spots in London one evening for a few beers and then had to look for one of those spots which are supposed to be the same the world over, went in and found everythng normal and then as I went out I saw this sign which had on it "Please adjust your dress before leaving" and for a minute I wondered if I had made a mistake in the one on the outside.
Several of us went in to one of the hotels there in London and naturally gravitated to the bar. On opening the door, we found a lot of singing going on. We knew right then and there that there were either Americans or Canadians in the room and there were- both. The English don't do much singing that way- after all the island is very small and if they all sang at once it would disturb a lot of people. Some of the bars have a sign up "No singing". Fine war. Anyway, we went into a huddle with the Canadians and really ground out some of the old favorites as well as some present day approriate new ones.
Went to an English pantomime Saturday- quite a show. The leading man, or principal boy, as they laughingly call her, was a girl who couldn't sing but who had a beautiful figure; the leading lady was a girl who could sing but had no figure; the main comedian was a cook, who was a man, who was called the dame; the show ranged from entertainment for the three year olds to the grown-ups and ran from community singing to practically strip-tease dancing.
Bought myself a new uniform recently. For years I went to school to learn enough to earn enough to get myself a suit with the pants to match the coat and here I have been in the army all this time and have had to wear a dark coat and light pants. So I got them both the same this time. Everyone should have some ambition.
Have been gaining a little weight but couldn't tell how much for a long time. Each time I got weighed, the big figure on the scale was labeled 10 stones and then there were fourteen divisions which I figured were pebbles but 10 stones and 7 pebbles didn't make sense. Being translated, that is 147 pounds.
It is really marvelous the way people here take to the restrictions "laid on" by the war. At the show, the comedian came out with a pitcher of water and sang a parody on "Tress":
I think that I shall never see
A weaker cup of morning tea.
The tea is there without a doubt
But it's too weak the leave the spout.
The water's there it's plain to see
But only God knows where's the tea.
It brought down the house and is typical of the way they take things here.
Well, this is a lot of nonsense but it will help to keep your spirits up until I can get back and help you get the spirits down. The third party in the states will be a reality when I get back there- we'll have it, won't we! Praise the lord and pass the Old Angus!
Hope you will all continue to write occasionally and don't wait up for me- I won't mind waking you up if I get in late some evening! Cheers!
As ever,
******
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re: 1943 Letter Home
That letter arrived in a package of postcards and other whatsits. I wonder whose copy I have. Mildred and Bill, or Louise and Bill, or Marty and Bunch? ;)
Alas, it didn't come with a cover.
Peace,
Doe
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re: 1943 Letter Home
Priceless!
Perry
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re: 1943 Letter Home
Thanks Perry. I've been hanging onto it for a few years, and it just now occured to me to post it. ..duh
-Anyone wanting to know the Lt. Col.'s name can e-mail me privately. Search Airship in the Members Area.
Peace,
Doe
Login to Like
this post
re: 1943 Letter Home
Just curious, Doe: Why did you not include the sender's name? There's nothing in the letter that reveals an impropriety. Since you are willing to share the name privately, why not publicly?
I occasionally see covers with names whited out. I suppose that makes sense for modern covers, if senders and recipients are still living, especially at the addresses that are given. But for something that's 66 years old (same age as me!)? I really don't think that anyone really cares about privacy in such cases. Now I do have a V-Mail letter, sent right after the surrender of Japan, in which the sender brags how he is stealing Uncle Sam blind, sending everything he can package to his home in the States. In that case I might hide the senders name. Might. I might also just go ahead and let the world see what a jerk he was.
I think that this is an important aspect of cover collecting. The names often reveal a lot of information, and in some cases are the primary reason the cover is collectible. That's the case with my William Saroyan cover…
would be just a very ordinary paquebot cover if someone had made it impossible to read the return address. As it is, it's worth something like $50 for the signature alone — I paid 69 cents for it — and is certainly one of my prize items (since Saroyan is one of my favorite authors). Even the recipient's name is important —he was Saroyan's agent.
Anyway, Doe, that's an incredible letter you have, just the sort of philatelic item that makes history come alive. If my teachers in high school had presented me with such documents, I might well have become a professional historian. As it was, the political history as it was taught — always leaving out the more distasteful aspects of the "American Experience" — just bored me to tears.
Bob Ingraham
(Message edited by Bobstamp on May 29, 2009)
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this post
re: 1943 Letter Home
Hi Bob,
Had it been simply a cover, I wouldn't have witheld his name. But the letter reveals his thoughts and feelings and dead or not, (I assume dead based on his rank in 1943), I wouldn't want to cause him to blush.
History is so much more than presented. Too bad American schools are so boringly regimented. Might be a teeny bit better now, as I've seen articles where school classes participate in archaeology digs.
And I know regular schools (as opposed to DODDS), also have a focus on their individual state history.
Very old school books are incredible. Waaaay more information is presented and it is written in ways that make comprehension easy. I don't know why text book editors changed the language format only to present less information.
Oh Well, now I am free to read what I want, and learn what I want. hmph! ;)
Peace,
Doe
(Message edited by Airship on May 29, 2009)
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this post
re: 1943 Letter Home
>> Now I do have a V-Mail letter, sent right after the surrender of Japan, in which the sender brags how he is stealing Uncle Sam blind, sending everything he can package to his home in the States. <<
So much for the efficacy of US military censorship. Obviously not much of a deterrent for the sender.
Login to Like
this post