July 20 1945 Letter to Mom

Bensheim Germany
July 20th 1945

Dearest Mom, I started to get a letter off to you last night about midnight. I was corporal of the guard on duty in the orderly room. But an electrical storm was commencing and I no sooner got paper and pen out than a crash of lightning hit the power relay station nearby and all the lights went out. That storm was a beaut. Great jagged forks of lightning playing everywhere and the thunder sounded like all the artillery in the E.T.O. (European theater of operations) was sounding off in unison. In between flashes it was pitch black but most of the time (for about a half hour) you could read street signs a block away it was so bright. One triple forked bolt lit up the castle up on the hill and really made an eerie scene. You

(You) know this is the first place I've seen actual balls of lightning. They looked like balls of fire. 

Mail came in at last yesterday. A big batch of it and it was really swell to hear what's going on at home again. I'll try and answer all the letters this time but it may take a couple of days.

Yes, mom, you do have the family gathered around you again, don't you. Now if dad and I can just get there for a while we can really have a family reunion! Wish I could be out of the army this fall, mom, but I'll be darn lucky if I'm out by the first of next summer. 

Right now I'm just sweating out going to the states with the 2nd F.O.B. and a 30 day furlough. It's a slow process and you can't predict anything very close. A month ago most of us thought we'd be on our way by this time but

now our hopes have lagged a bit and we're just waiting and living as best we can till our turn comes. 

Pause for interruption.... I've been running all over town posting my guards, bringing them back for dinner and taking them back out gain which takes a bit of time. 

Gee, mom, would I like to sit down to one of your special dinners right now. I ate only an hour ago-macaroni and ground meat with a good sauce, tomatoes and bread and peanut butter. It's a good meal but doggone, I know how you would have fixed it and how it would look and taste on our table there at home--You know what I mean. Our rations here have been cut pretty short so when meal time comes round our cooks are hard put to fill us up. So if I kind of fly through a few ration points when I get home, don't be surprised. 

Here it is evening again and still I haven't

finished this. We've just been informed that we've got a rough job ahead of us for the next couple of days. Starting at 0300 in the morning we've got to get up, eat and then this whole area is going to be searched for contraband and arms and the people for proper papers. Doing it house to house in teams of four. We've got to keep going till it's all done, even if it takes several days, without sleep, so I think I'll try and catch a few hours now.

Just got dad's letter of June 19th telling of the examination he's conducting for students to go to U. S. colleges for training. He didn't say any more about going home. He's really in love with that work.

Give my love to grandma won't you. I hope the finger infection is all cleared up. I miss all of you so darn much. I hope the breaks work my way and I can get there before too long.

Loads & Loads of Love,
Lu