WW 2 LOVE LETTERS FROM LONDON

21
Betty & Glenn 1945

INDEX & INTRODUCTION

CHAPTERS
1. PROLOGUE
2. 7/21/43 TO 9/19/43 ORIENTATION
3. 9/21/43 TO 11/12/43 PING PONG, ST. IVES
4. 11/16/43 TO 1/1/44 EDINBURGH, HOLIDAYS
5. 1/6/44 TO 3/8/44 GEN. LEE’S TRAIN, CAPTAIN!
6. 3/14/44 TO 5/1/44 FIRE BOMB, PROXIMITY FUSES
7. 5/7/44 to 8/5/44 BATH, D DAY, BUZZ BOMBS
8. 8/8/44 TO 10/31/44 PHOTO LAB, GOODBYE JEAN
9. 11/1/44 TO 1/23/45 SCOTLAND TRIP, 2ND CHRISTMAS
10. 1/26/45 TO 4/25/45 SCOTLAND, HOSPITAL, WALES
11. 4/28/45 TO 7/1/45 VE DAY, GERMANY, PARIS
12. 7/2/45 TO 10/25/45 TENNIS, VJ DAY, MAJOR!
13. 10/26/45 TO 1/11/46 WEDDINGS, MEDAL, 3RD XMAS
14. 1/15/46 TO 3/22/46 UN ORG., STAY IN?, GO HOME!

INTRODUCTION: Here are the experiences, observations, and feelings
of a young US Army officer during 32 months of WW ll in London, as
related in selected daily letters to his beloved wife. Under censorship
requirements, there are no details of his work, or places visited, until
after VE Day, when more information is given. Highlights include fighting
fire from an incendiary bomb that fell on his apartment building, a trip
with Generals around England in a private train, defenses against the buzz
bomb attacks on London, a hospital stay with hepatitis, VE Day celebra-
tions, a trip to Germany and Paris, meeting US delegates to the UN organ-
ization conference, and finally coming home
.
SOME SAMPLE EXCERPTS FROM LETTERS:
From Nov. 16, 1943 “This is the Army” show: . . . . . . Are you all ready to
go to the show honey? I have one ticket only, but I’m sure if you promise
to keep quiet that I can smuggle you in with me. . . . . . . Our seats (or
rather, seat) are pretty good, right in the middle of the dress circle (first
balcony to you), and only a few rows from the front. . . . . . . Don’t mind that
ape on your left, that’s just the Saint, and although he looks and acts like a
wolf, he is really harmless. That blond god on your left is George . . . . . .
Look at the rank in the box over on our left, there’s enough brass to start
a war, and enough gold braid to finance it!

. . . . . The gal right in front of us is a Red Cross worker, I hope she takes
her hat off when the show starts. . . . . That’s sure a cute ATS officer down
there to our left. I’ve noticed that George has been eyeing her since we
came in, but I think that American captain sitting beside her has got him
scared out. Everyone is sure here tonight; RAF, Army, Navy, Marines,
enlisted men and women and officers all over the place, and there are a
lot of civilians too. I kind of like all the flags hanging around for decora-
tions, don’t you? On the side over there it looks like some American
soldier has pulled the American flag so it pretty well covers the Union
Jack, but then maybe it is just an accident.

There goes the bugle sounding “assembly”, kind of a novel idea for an
Army show, don’tyou think? The latest stragglers are coming in now,
and the orchestra is coming into the pit. . . .

. . . . . the lights are dimming, the curtain is going up, and “THIS IS
THE ARMY” is on its way. Since that gal in front of you won’t take
off her hat I guess I’ll have to describe the show for you. The boys are
sitting on a series of steps going up from the front of the stage. The
opening tune is “This is the Army Mr. Jones”, and theyreally can
sing it. . . . . . . . .

. . . . . Will you excuse me, I have to go powder my nose. Yes, it is OK
if you smoke. . . . . I couldn’t find a program for George, so he will
have to do without. Besides he is too busy trying to catch the eye of
that ATS officer. I still think that big captain has him scared out.
Looks like you weren’t the only one to light up, the place is fairly
foggy with smoke. . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . The big hit of the evening is on now. It is Irving Berlin singing
“Oh how I hate to get up in the morning” (I can see his point). He
can’t sing for beans, but the applause he gets is really terrific. He
and the chorus sing his new song “My British Buddy” that he wrote
after he got over here and added to the show. . . . . . Now the finale
“This Time” is on, and the idea of the song is that we are going to
finish up the war right so we won’t have to do it again 25 years from
now. . . . . There went the curtain, and my palms are getting sore
from clapping. . . . . . . . .

. . . . . Shall we leave now, everyone else seems to have that same idea.
I’ll be darned, there goes that captain by himself, so he wasn’t with
the ATS officer at all. Look at George, he is so surprised that he doesn’t
know what to do. I guess he had given up hope and was caught off
guard. Oh well, she is gone now.

. . . . . Well darling, I hope you liked the show, I know I did. It’s too
bad your seat wasn’t so good, and you couldn’t see much. I hope I
explained it to you well enough so you enjoyed it too.

. . . . . Honey, if I should lose you in the blackout outside, I’ll meet
you again in my dreams tonight. I love you so much and want you
with me all the time. . . . All my love and kisses, Glenn

From May 8, 1945 VE Day: . . . . . Today and tomorrow are holidays
here, but we still have to keep a skeleton force on hand, and right
now I am the skeleton. I wandered about earlier this afternoon,
watching the festivities, but I couldn’t get into the correct mood
it seems, now if you had been with me, it would have been dif-
ferent. Anyway it was a sight to see London let down its hair, and
it did, as well as it knows how to, I guess.

. . . . . About 2:30 I took a walk, went down by Buckingham
Palace. There was a big crowd in front there, and at three
Churchill’s speech was broadcast over loudspeakers, and the king
and queen came out on their balcony, at which the crowd started
cheering. It was quite a sight! I walked on down towards Whitehall,
but the crowds coming out from there were so big that I cut up to
Trafalgar Square and then to Picadilly Circus and then back here.
Trafalgar and Picadilly were jammed with people, in fact all the
streets around there were, the rest of London must be deserted
today. Everyone seemed to be having a good time, singing and
making noise. They’ve been buzzing this town all afternoon with
four engine bombers coming over at roof top level, slightly distracting!

. . . . . The searchlights were all on, and some buildings had been
flood lit, the front of the Dorchester Hotel was, and it really looked
good. Down on Picadilly they had a bonfire going and were dancing
a conga around it. The streets were still jam packed up til about
two when I got home. Even then I could hear a crowd down on the
street raising hell til I fell asleep, which was about ten seconds after
I turned off the light. I was dead tired after all the walking I did! It
was quite a night, I suppose there was more celebration here than
any other place in the world last night, and it’s kind of nice to have
seen it. . . . . . . The town really went wild last nite, and after being
the chief target for bombing the last 5 years or so, I don’t blame them. . . . . . . . . . .

From New Year’s Eve 1945 Monday: My darling wife; Just a few
more hours to go and this year will be over, and ‘46 will be with us,
a new year and a better year, ‘cause we will be together through
most of it. So lets drink a toast now to ‘45, it could have been, but
it wasn’t!

It was a year lost to me, one meaningless ‘cause we weren’t
together. The only value that I can see in it is that it brought us
closer together, while keeping us apart. A lot happened in ‘45, the
end of two wars, that led us to where we are now, only two
months apart. But there were 365 wasted days and nights, and
those are hard to forget and ignore. However, I’m sure that all
this time apart will fade into nothing when we are together again.
And we can take up where we left off so long ago, wiser, but just
as much in love. Darling I’ve missed you so much, and all this
time the only thing that has mattered to me is that we are man
and wife, and that some day we will be together again.

Well, now that day is rapidly approaching, after all, what is two
months, when you compare it with thirty, or thirty one, as it will
be by then, thirty one, plus, months and days and nights that are
gone and will never return, but will leave us wiser in the know-
ledge of how much our love and being together means to us.
What did Omar Kyhan say, “The moving finger writes, and having
writ, moves on. And all your piety nor wit can lure it back to
cancel half a line, nor all thy tears wash out a word of it.” But
what is left unsaid is that the moving finger leaves a blazing
message that is indelible in our hearts and will serve as a
reminder later that life together is heaven, and apart it is hell.
Well, two more months of hell, and we will be together again,
and that promise of things to come, and a definite date will
carry us on wings that will make the time fly. . . . . . . . . . . . .

From Feb. 1, 1946 Friday: . . . . . (at the cocktail party) I met
Mrs. Roosevelt, Senators Connally and Townsend, General
Ridgeway, & the judge who has been proposed by the U.S.
for a seat on the UN court. Of course Mr. Walker was there too. .

CHAPTER 1. PROLOGUE

I was lucky in my WW ll army overseas stationing, serving over 32
months at an interesting job on Grosvenor Square in London, living
in a comfortable apartment, eating regular meals at a good mess, and
being able to see many interesting places in the UK. Betty and I (Glenn)
had been married and together for about a year before being separated
when I was sent overseas.

PRE ARMY. After two years at UCLA, which then had only freshman
and sophomore engineering, in 1940 I had to go to UC Berkeley for
upper division classes. There, until he joined a fraternity, I first roomed
with John Locke, a friend from UCLA; he had gotten into upper division
Ordnance ROTC and urged me to apply. I did, and started it late, in the
spring semester. That allowed me to avoid the draft, finish my BS
degree in Electrical Engineering, and enter the Army as an officer.

Another friend from UCLA, Freer Gottfried, introduced me to Betty,
the love of my life, in the fall of 1940. He had married a UCLA Delta
Zeta (Norene); they came to Berkeley for the Cal-UCLA football game,
and wanted me to go with them afterwards to San Francisco. I didn’t
have a date, so they arranged a blind date with a Berkeley Delta Zeta
(Betty) for me.

Dec. 7, 1941 everyone awakened to the news of the Japanese attack
on Pearl Harbor, and I realized the decision to join the ROTC was a
good one. It did mean that I had to stay at Berkeley through the sum-
mer of 1942, after I had enough units to graduate, to finish my last
semester of ROTC, and then had to take an Officer Candidate School
(OCS) class in Aberdeen, Maryland to replace the required, but war
canceled, summer camp.

Betty & I got along well together and after many walks across the
campus holding hands, rare movie dates, bridge games at the DZ
house, dances in the gym, football and basketball games, Scabbard
and Blade dances, etc, we were married July 4, 1942 in Sacramento,
her home town. We had an apartment near the campus in Berkeley,
Betty worked days at the Virus Research Lab, and I worked swing
shift at the Oakland Army Depot while taking my ROTC and a
couple EE classes during the day. Except for Sundays, we communi-
cated by leaving notes.

DOMESTIC SERVICE. In the fall of 1942 Betty and I went by train
to the east coast (sleeping together in one Pullman berth); she was
able to stay with an aunt in New Jersey while I joined the enlisted
men taking the OCS class at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds.
I received my commission as a 2nd Lt. Nov. 28, 1942 and stayed at
Aberdeen taking two more courses in artillery and fire control
instruments. Betty was able to join me and we found a room with
kitchen privileges in Havre de Grace, a short bus ride away. We
can remember going by bus to dressy affairs at the Aberdeen Of-
ficers Club. Early in March 1943 I was assigned to an officer
replacement pool at Frankfort Arsenal in Philadelphia; there Betty
first found for us a tiny one room apartment a streetcar ride from
the Arsenal, then a room with kitchen privileges in a nicer area
near the Arsenal. While at the Arsenal my work included exper-
iments with an optical range finder in a 50 degree below zero cold
box, and a trip to Toronto to see the Bausch & Lomb plant. Betty
and I also had a trip to Chicago where I visited a plant making anti-
aircraft directors.

I was interviewed by Col. Reed at the Arsenal, and in late June of
1943 received overseas shipping orders and a promotion to 1st Lt.
In July Betty took a train home to stay with her parents and work
in a laboratory in Sacramento, and I sailed from New York to Scot-
land on the Queen Mary, converted to a troop transport. My first
“cruise” went well and I soon made my way to London by train
to join Col. Reed’s office.

THE LONDON OFFICE. I was stationed in London from July
1943 to March 1946. Our “boss” was Colonel “Froggie” F.F. Reed,
regular army, who wore two hats; one as Assistant Military At-
taché for Ordnance at the US Embassy, and one as head of the
Ordnance Technical Section of ETO Headquarters. I was assigned
to the theater headquarters, even when it moved to the continent,
but was always on detached service at the Military Attaché office.

There were four officers serving under Col. Reed in the Ordnance
Military Attaché office; W.J. “Bill” Durrenberger, Carl E. “Marty”
Martinson, Fred G. Brenner, and myself. Bill was three years older,
and always one rank above me; he came from the reserves but
joined the regular army during a program offered to some reservists
before the US entered W.W.II hostilities. Bill made a career of the
army, and retired as a Major General. We kept in touchthrough the
years, and saw him several times when he was passing through San
Francisco. In 1992 we visited Bill and his wife in Des Moines, where
he passed away in 2002. Bill’s specialty was tanks and heavy artillery.
As senior officer he ran the office when Col. Reed was away. We got
along well, and I shared an apartment in Portsea Hall with Bill for
my third and final residence in London.

Marty’s specialty was rockets; when the Swedes recovered a German
V2 type rocket from the water off their coast he arranged a trip to
Stockholm to inspect and report on it. He liked life in neutral Stock-
holm and tried to set up an office there; it was quite a while before
Col. Reed could get him back to London! Fred’s specialty was small
arms and ammunition. My specialty was light artillery, fire control
instruments, and anything electrical. We all had military specialties
of Foreign Liaison Intelligence Officer and were “legal spies” report-
ing on British weapons research and development.

In the fall of 1945, the four of us in the office were each awarded the
Bronze Star Medal for service, and Col. Reed was awarded the
Legion of Merit. The photo at the end of the Chapter was taken after
the award ceremony, and Col. Reed is flanked by Lucile Alston and
John Knowles, secretaries from his two offices.

The Colonel was a strict West Pointer and chewed me out once for
answering him “uh huh” instead of “Yes Sir!”; once was enough!

AIR RAIDS. I arrived in London in the summer of 1943, after de-
fenses and counterattacks had ended the terrible saturation bomb-
ing blitz by the Germans. The airplane raids I experienced were
sporadic and not heavy; more enticing to go up on the roof to see
the “show” than to go to an air raid shelter. Col. Reed had a suite
in the Dorchester Hotel on Park Lane across from Hyde Park, and
the roof there was an ideal spot to view the action. We would put
on our steel helmets in case there might be falling “flak” and
watch; the searchlights waving around looking for the planes; the
flash of antiaircraft artillery and their exploding shells; on some
occasions the planes would be close enough that the rocket bat-
tery near by in Hyde Park would simultaneously fire a barrage
of many rockets, what a fireworks display that was!

I could never see that a plane was hit, much less brought down.
One reason for this was that most of the guns were aimed by
radar tracking the planes and feeding data to primitive com-
puters which would predict where the plane would be when
the shell arrived. The German planes were throwing out “chaff”,
strips of aluminum cut near the frequency of the radar, so that
the radar would lock on the “chaff” and not the plane. I was able
to set up a test at an antiaircraft battery and get data from
which the target route could be plotted; it showed the radar
following a target with a plane like speed & route, then suddenly
the “target” stopped in midair while the shells presumably shot
the hell out of the chaff.

Once the building I was in was hit during an air raid; it was at
night at the multistory George Street apartment building I
stayed in after I first arrived in London; a magnesium incendiary
bomb hit and started a fire in the roof and at every floor until
it burned out on a concrete floor in the basement. I joined the
other residents in putting out the fires; they had buckets with
stirrup pumps, and knew how to use them. My first inclination
was to throw the bucket full of water at the fire, but soon learned
a mist from the stirrup pump cooled the fire and was more ef-
fective in putting it out. After the fires were out I got a bottle of
Portuguese port wine I had in my rooms and shared it with the
others who had fought the fires. A few weeks later I received a
letter of thanks for helping fight the fires from one of the other
residents, a British man then on his way to Iraq. He noted his
appreciation also for the wine.

BUZZ BOMBS. The buzz bombs were much different, really
frightful things that put everybody on edge. For one thing the
name didn’t fit them; as pilotless planes propelled by pulse
jet engines and flying at only about one or two thousand feet,
they didn’t “buzz”, they sounded more like a close by motor-
cycle without a muffler as they roared overhead. Then the
sound would quit, and soon you would hear the bomb explode.
They didn’t come as a surprise; the intelligence on them told
us just what they were; the location of the launching ramps on
the French coast was known; but the numbers of them that
could hit London was estimated way too high. That’s why when
I saw the first one streaking across the London sky I knew what
it was, and made my first and only visit to an air raid shelter. It
was soon obvious that the expected mass attack wasn’t material-
ising, so I left the shelter and went on to my room. They continued
for several months, interfering with our sleep, and making every-
one jumpy.

I suspect that Col. Reed was instrumental in getting the super-
secret (then) proximity fuse released for use by the antiaircraft
batteries on the coast near Dover as part of the buzz bomb de-
fense. Up to then it had been used only by the Navy so that any
duds would fall in the ocean and there was no chance of the
enemy finding them; our Air Force did NOT want the enemy
developing a similar fuse! An officer was required to convoy
shipments of the proximity fuse, and I had the assignment to
deliver the first shipment from a mid England supply depot
to the antiaircraft batteries on the coast near Dover. They were
there and ready when the first buzz bombs came on the way to
London. I never found out then how effective they were, but in
2005 read that radar and computers automatically aiming the
guns, and especially the arrival of proximity fuses, raised the
number of stopped bombs from 17% in the first week of June
‘44 to 74% in the last week of August ‘44. After the launching
sites on the French coast were captured, Col. Reed was honored
to accompany Winston Churchill on a flight over to inspect
them. The prime minister was a hero to Col. Reed, and he prized
a signed photograph of himself with Churchill taken on this trip.

To boost Londoners’ morale the massive Allied daylight air raids
heading for Germany were often routed above the city, filling
the sky with vapor trails.

FOG. We were told that we never would see a real London fog
because there wasn’t a normal amount of coal available to be
burned, and that was a major ingredient of a really dense black
London fog. We did see some fogs that were dense enough for
us! One night I came out from a movie with a friend to find a
dark fog had settled in; I had my flashlight, but he didn’t have
one, and had much farther to go, so I let him take the light.
Blackout street lighting didn’t help much, so I made my way
to my quarters by dragging one foot along the curb; I literally
could not see my hand in front of my face. An impending fog
was reason enough to let the civilian workers go home early
from the offices.

TRAVEL ABOUT ENGLAND & THE UK. Part of my job was
to visit testing sites, laboratories, research centers, etc. to
see and report on armament developments and tests. Most
travel was by the excellent train service; for trips closer to
London I would use a car and driver from the car pool.

A frequent trip was to Shoeburyness, on the north side of
the Thames estuary where there was a Royal Artillery testing
facility. The British officers there drank gin and water before
lunch, a custom that seemed strange to me then, but now I
like my gin neat over ice, which isn’t that much different.

Another place I visited quite often was Malvern, in the hills
overlooking the beautiful Severn Valley and Shakespeare
country. There was a research facility there that was working
on the British version of the proximity fuse, among other things.
Malvern was very pretty, with many wisteria covered walls, and
a small hotel I enjoyed.

Unfortunately, I picked up a hepatitis infection somewhere. I
was feeling bad; and Marty saw my eyeballs were yellow and
told me to go to the hospital immediately. I was very ill for
over three weeks, and while I was recovering I was sent to a
rest home at Preston Hall, a country estate well north of
London. Most of the others there were recovering from frost-
bite suffered in the Battle of the Bulge. A nearby estate had
tennis courts we were able to use; I remember the area as
very pretty rolling and green countryside. As part of my
recovery from hepatitis I was told to stay away from alcohol
for six months; I made it for about 3 months until VE Day,
and drank only moderately for a while after that.

I made four trips into Scotland, once to see some tests at
an ICI Chemicals site south of Glasgow. Twice I was able to
go by way of Edinburgh and spend a little time sight seeing
in that very interesting city. The ICI tests were on a recoilless
piece of artillery. The luncheon they put on for the spectators
at a local pub remains in my memory because on the table
was a pinch bottle of Haig & Haig scotch for every four diners.

There was at least one trip to Wales, again to see some artil-
lery firing demonstrations. I was able to see the Roman baths
at Bath, and Bristol University en route.

I went to the Dover and Folkstone area many times, going
through Canterbury on the way. Once I went to a radar facility
south of Folkstone and watched an allied air raid flying over
the continent. They were dropping chaff, so the screen was
turning black behind the lead planes, but we could see German
fighter planes heading up to intercept the bombers, and our
fighters going to meet them.

There was a major ordnance depot on the Salisbury plains
where vehicles and tanks covered large areas of rolling hills.
Near by was Stonehenge which was then open and unguarded
so one could see the megaliths at close range. Beyond Salisbury
is the very pretty Cornwall area; I stayed at a small Camborne
Hotel and went by bus and walking to see St. Ives.

After VE day I arranged to take a trip to the continent. I ac-
companied a British officer, and our mission was to interview
technical personnel who wanted to leave the German area to
be occupied by the Russians, . We left London in a small navi-
gation training prop plane and flew to Brussels; there they
found bearing metal in the engine oil, and sent another plane
to take us on to Frankfurt. I spent several nights in Wiesbaden
and remember an elegant hotel with spas in the basement and
a string quartet playing in the dining room.

We went by car across war ravaged Germany up to what was
then the boundary between Allied held and Russian held ter-
ritory; It was the Mulde River, beyond Leipzig. We stayed in a
village at the river which was crossed by a footbridge. Russian
soldiers on the bridge were anxious to buy wristwatches. Some
of the towns we drove through had been reduced to rubble and
the highway bulldozed clear. At a stop some German children
gathered near the car; when I asked them something from my
German phrase book, they answered in English, which they had
learned in school.

Returning to London from Frankfurt, my orders didn’t route
me through Paris, but I took a plane there anyway. I had no
problem and I got to see a little of Paris, including a Follies
Bergére show, before flying back to London.

AMUSEMENT. Movies were my main diversion, but I saw
other shows too. I attended some concerts in the beautiful
Albert Hall, and along with many Polish soldiers heard
Malczynski’s thrilling Chopin piano concert in Wigmore Hall.
The theater was there even during the war, and I saw many
plays. I saw one show at the Windmill Theater, which had a
semi nude show, and proudly advertised they had never
closed during the blitz.

There was a gymnasium available for exercise, and we
played basketball. The Queen’s Club tennis courts were
open to us, and I played some there. I played tennis many
Sunday mornings with the Military Attaché, General Tindall.
His son had been a ranked player in the US, and the General
was a good player too; I was non expert and even with my
youth couldn’t win from him.

VIPs & OTHERS. There was a constant stream of civilian
and military VIPs who came through the office, some stay-
ing for an extended time. One was Prof. Woodruff of MIT,
author of one of the main Electrical Engineering texts that
I studied at Cal. He was extremely nice and liked to play
poker, but wasn’t too good at it; once I won a 5 pound note
from him and since it was on paper like parchment and
about 6”x8”, I thanked him for my “diploma” in poker. (The
pound was pegged at $4.00 US during the war so things
were expensive in London!)

One time the VIPs were important enough that we had
General Lee’s private train for several days to show them
around. I was a 1st. Lt. at the time, and the lowest ranking
officer on the train; Bill Durrenberger was also there. I was
greatly impressed by the luxury of the General’s train.

When the UN organizational meetings were being held in
London there was a cocktail party for Eleanor Roosevelt, a
US delegate. Bill and I were invited to the party and met and
talked with Mrs. Roosevelt.

FOOD. The officers mess was a couple of blocks from the
office in the basement of the Grosvenor House Hotel on
Park Lane. It was very large, food was served cafeteria style,
and there was always plenty to eat. Every officer that was in,
or came through London, ate there at some time. There was
a bar on the balcony which mainly had only beer available,
but it was the kind of beer we were used to at home and not
the flat beer served in British pubs. Wartime rationing meant
that portions were small in restaurants, and we rarely got
enough to satisfy young men's appetites. One exception was
the Shanghai, a Chinese restaurant in Soho where we got
plenty to eat. They kept a reserved table on a slightly elevated
platform for the Chinese ambassador. The saying there was
that one would have one year of bad luck for every rice grain
left on the plate so we were careful to clean up all our food.
I got my fill of brussels sprouts in England, and ate a lot of
boiled cabbage too. Once I took a British officer to our mess
when cole slaw was on the menu; he had never heard of cabbage
being prepared that way and liked it. Milk and eggs came only
in powdered form and I never got used to that. A rare real egg
or glass of real milk was a treat!

COMING HOME. Col. Reed wanted me to stay in the army, but
even tho he made an annual trip to the US, he was reluctant to
let us go home after the war. So when I had sufficient “points”
I made a formal request to be released from active duty. My
orders finally arrived, and after a send off party I took a train
to Southampton and boarded a small Liberty transport ship
for the trip to Le Havre. I had planned to sleep all the way, but
an officer awakened me and said “Major Burke, you are senior
officer aboard, you are Commander of Troops”. I had never com-
manded anybody in the army, but it turned out that all I had to
do was appoint officers to do the work, and then eat with the
ship’s Captain.

A few days wait at Le Havre ended as I boarded a larger Vic-
tory transport ship for New York. It wasn’t as smooth a trip
as on the Queen Mary and I spent some time in the fresh air on
the deck at mid ship to ward off “mal de mer”. One day we
pushed our way through a light ice flow, but eventually
reached New York. I spent two days at the Pentagon in
Washington, D.C. where I stayed with a college friend,
Mervin Parker, before taking the long train ride home.

LETTERS. Betty and I wrote each other daily the almost
1000 days we were separated. Betty saved all of my letters,
and now over sixty years later I have read them and they
help me remember parts of that time that was bitter but
still sweet and interesting. Following are selected (and
excerpts from) those letters. Most letters have been copied
or excerpted, but retyped for fewer pages and better legi-
bility. The letters used a lot of phonetic shortcuts, such as
nite for night, thot for thought, and corrections have been
made. There are a serious absence of capitals, and no para-
graph separation, this has been corrected where the letters
have been retyped.

BETTY & GLENN 7/4/42 & MEDAL DAY 1945

“Medal Day” Military Attaché for Ordnance Office
Back L to R, Brenner, Burke, Durrenberger, Martinson
Front L to R. Lucile Alston, Col. F.F. Reed, John Knowles
Betty & Glenn 7/4/42

CHAPTER 2. 7/21/43 TO 9/19/43 ARRIVAL & ORIENTATION

21 July ‘43 Wednesday Dearest Betty;
The first day here (NY port of embarkation) is over, or it will be when I write this letter. I sure am tired; it has been 19 hours since I awoke this morning. I arrived here OK with all my baggage; I checked my foot locker and bed roll on the train and the foot locker was waiting for me at the station. The bed roll was nowhere to be found, so I came out without it; a truck brought it this evening. I got to the Fort about 10 AM and spent the rest of the day being processed, but am not finished yet. I drew the equipment I hadn’t drawn before and got a shot in the arm of typhus. It sure stung for a half hour or so.

I hope that you were able to get your reservations (home) and not have to wait too long for them. I know you are going to have a swell time visiting with your folks and mine. Be sure and plan for a good long stay with my family.

This is a nice place. The post is one of the permanent ones and has a lot of trees, paved roads, etc. The food has been quite good so far. We had some kind of lamb chop for lunch and steak for dinner. The steak was too well done to be much good, bur I enjoyed it just the same. Only $0.35 per meal too.

Honey, I’d best close this & get some rest. I miss you a lot, in spite of being so busy. Be sure and let me know when you’re leaving for home. Be good. I love you! All my love, Glenn

(I was “alerted” the next day & couldn’t send more letters. I drew a pistol and steel helmet and practiced shooting the pistol. Saturday we marched to a pier, took a ferry to another pier where we boarded the Queen Mary, which had been converted to a troop transport. It sailed the next day, we were unescorted, traveling at full speed and zig zagging all the way to Scotland.)

2 August ‘43 Dearest Betty;
I suppose you are safely home by now and enjoying a nice visit with your folks. I wish I could have been there to see that you got off OK, but that’s the way it goes.

The trip across was a lot nicer than I expected it to be. I didn’t get seasick at all, which helped a lot. I got a pretty large boat and a stateroom on the main deck. Of course there were eleven other officers in the same stateroom, but it wasn’t too crowded. We had a private bath with bath tub, two wash basins, & toilet. I actually took a bath on the boat! It was a lot of trouble because we had to fill the tub with small buckets of fresh water from a tap across the hall, and then we had to conserve on fresh water too. After a while, tho, I couldn’t stand to be near myself, so I summoned up some energy and went to work.

We ate well, although we only had two meals a day. I bought a carton of chocolate bars and some crackers to tide me over between meals. We ate at small tables and had waiters to serve us. We even had a menu, although it apparently was more for information than anything else because we had no choice. We had some kind of cooked fruit, biscuits, hot or dry cereal, eggs and bacon, and coffee for breakfast. They served the coffee diluted about half with milk; after a while the waiter caught on and brought me black coffee without me having to ask for it. We had a good supper too, usually topped off with a fresh orange or apple which I always saved to eat with my “lunch”.

Most of the time I spent doing “bunk fatigue”, or sitting at a porthole watching the water go by. They had a very nice officers’ lounge with easy chairs, games, reading material, etc, but that soon turned into a gambling den. There was either a poker game or crap game going on at most of the tables. The stakes were too high for me, so I stayed out of the games. I’m too lucky at love to have much luck at cards. The lounge had a piano and there were some real good players at it most of the time. Some of the troops aboard had musical instruments with them and got together and formed a band. They played for us almost every night. After a little practice playing they were very good. I caught a couple of details on the way; just in charge of some men on fatigue duty, so I can’t say that I actually worked hard on the way over.

I was alerted so soon after reaching the P.O.E. that I didn’t have a chance to write you more than one letter, and I’m not sure that one wasn’t held up for a while before it was sent out. I wrote several letters on the boat, but upon becoming more familiar with censoring regulations, I tore them up. I made too many references to weather, etc.

Well, I guess I’d better quit soon and get some sleep. I miss you a lot. Write soon. All my love, Glenn

6 August ‘43 My dearest Betty;
I mailed a V-mail letter to you earlier today to let you know my new address. I certainly hope your letters start reaching me soon. It is bad enough to be away from you without not getting any mail either.

It took long enough getting here; after reaching England I was sent to two different places before reaching my final destination. They were only short stops however. It looks to be a pretty good job. I’m doubtful about my capabilities, but I think I can handle it. My fame seems to have preceded me, and I find I’m supposed to be an expert on a great many things. A great many more things than I do have knowledge of, I’m afraid. Well all I can do is do my best.

We had to find our own billets; however the billeting office gives us help. Another Lt. (Bill Lake, who I met on the Queen Mary) & I found an apartment (flat over here) (at 65 George Street, near Baker Street) within walking distance of the office. We rented it today and are going to move in tonight. The flat is quite roomy and nicely furnished. It has two bedrooms, a sitting room, bath, and toilet. It has hot water and gas heaters. The price is pretty stiff, but I think it is worth it. We pay 9 pounds (about $36) a week between the two of us. However, we are are on per diem basis here at the rate of $5 per day which will take care of rent and food. As long as we are getting the per diem I figure it is alright to pay the price. In order to get anything cheaper, I’d have to live too far away from the office.

Well, dear, I’ll close for this time. I miss you an awful lot. I hope you are having a nice time, and I’d like to hear how your trip home was. Write soon. All my love, Glenn

(It took me so long to reach London that I began to wonder if I had been sent over on a definite job, but finally was released to travel with orders assigning me to Col. Reed’s office on Grosvenor Square, London. I remember standing on the train to London and talking to an OSS officer who told me he was just back from a trip where he parachuted into occupied France and made contact with the underground there.

We were impressed with the “loose lips sink ships” motto, so no mention is made of where we were other than in England. Later we could say we were in London, and name individual places we saw, but never military bases, etc. We wrote nothing of our work, and my letters didn’t mention air raids, buzz bombs, etc.

My “boss”, Col. Reed, was an Embassy Assistant Military Attaché, and also Theater Technical Officer for Ordnance. Our job was to maintain communications with British Armament Research & Development in our fields. We attended meetings, visited manufacturing and research facilities, and witnessed tests before writing reports to be sent to similar US R & D organizations. We also escorted visiting VIPs and officers from the States. My field was Fire Control instruments, light artillery, and anything electrical.)

7 August ‘43 Saturday My dearest Betty;
. . . . . My job promises to be very good. I’m working with a swell bunch of fellows, and the work should be very interesting. Remember the night we first met Gordie French in the Officers Club in Aberdeen? Well, the fellow who was with him is at the same place I am now. I didn’t recognize him when we met, but we got to talking and discovered that we both know Gordie, and then remembered that we had met before. It is a small world!

Don’t worry too much about any “shortages” over here, we are taken care of very well. We eat at an officer’s mess, where the food is plentiful and good; very reasonable too. There is a PX where we can get cigarettes, candy, gum, soap, uniforms, and so on. The amount you can buy is rationed, but the rations are adequate, for instance we are allowed one pack of cigarettes a day. The price of a pack is only about a nickel.

I’m getting so I can tell if I’m receiving correct change now. Getting on to the currency isn’t nearly as hard as I thought it would be, and the values of the coins are quite similar to ours. There is the penny, which is worth about 2 cents, the three pence (5 cents), the sixpence (10 cents), the shilling (20 cents), the two shilling, and the half crown (50 cents). There is a ten shilling note ($2.00) and the pound note ($4.00) which are the common paper currency. They have higher value paper money, such as the five pound note, but you don’t see too many of them. (The exchange rate was held at $4.00 to the pound throughout the war years)

There are a few differences in speech (besides the accents) which are a little confusing at first. An elevator is a lift, an apartment is a flat, an apartment building is a block of flats, and so on.

The countryside is very pretty and green this time of year. The weather is quite cool and rainy. We have to wear blouses (tunics here) at all times, so it is a good thing I bought that extra one before I left (although I could buy one here). I had sort of expected that things would be a little more informal here, but if anything it is the other way; everybody salutes all the time.

I have a very nice room in the flat. It has a wardrobe type closet and a large chest of drawers in one corner; in the opposite corner is a full length mirror. In between is a fireplace, with a gas stove installed in it. I have a chair and desk, and a comfortable bed makes up the rest of it. The room is about eighteen feet square.

Well, dear, that bed looks very inviting, and I’m sort of tired, so I’d better close for this time. I worked (studied) hard today and then went for a long walk this evening. Be good, and write soon and often. Say hello to your folks for me, and remember - I love you. Glenn

(We had to wear “Class A” uniform all the time; coats, called blouses, & tie. The light colored pants were “pinks”, darker ones were “greens”)

11 August ‘43 Wednesday My dearest Betty;
. .. . . I overslept this morning so I didn’t have time to go to breakfast. That alarm clock is another item in my footlocker that I need; I wish it would get here soon. There was no good reason for me to oversleep because I got to sleep about nine last night. I came home right after supper, took a bath, and then went to bed and read for a while. We have some books that came with the apartment, but none of them are very good. A typical title is “Forty-one Years in India”. Doesn’t that sound interesting? Maybe reading a little of that was what put me to sleep so early. . .

The English tea drinking custom is carried on here just like we’ve heard. Twice a day everything stands still while everybody has their tea. A lot of the secretaries are English, and they prepare tea for everybody. The tea is stronger than I like, but it is good to have something hot to drink between meals.

Later - I went for a walk through the (Hyde) park after supper. There was a small lake (the Serpentine) where people were rowing. I didn’t see any sailors. I think I’ll go down there and rent a rowboat one of these nights. There were bridle paths, only I didn’t see any stables where a horse could be rented. There were several baseball games going on between American service teams; some of them were very good. They attracted large crowds of spectators who didn’t seem to know what was going on. There was a RAF officer standing near me who kept asking me questions about the game. He seemed to enjoy it and was interested to learn how it was played.

There are several parks near where I live. In these long evenings it is nice to have them to walk in. Lots of people are out in the evenings, walking around and watching the various games, concerts, and the soapbox orators. . .

14 August ‘43, Saturday My dearest Betty;
I had a rather pleasant day today, everything went right for me. I sat in on a conference, at which the lowest rank besides me was Lt. Colonel, and didn’t pull any major blunders, so I was satisfied. The Colonel (Reed) I work for seems to be very nice, and strictly “regular army”. He is quite an athlete too; he is one of the best squash players in England, and in spite of his gray hair is very active and seems to have unlimited energy.

So much for the brass. After my long walk last night I don’t feel too energetic tonight, so I think I’ll go to bed early and catch up with my rest. I don’t seem to do much in the evenings, but it is usually eleven-thirty or twelve before I get to sleep, and it is always a struggle to wake up in the morning.

I wish I could find some scales to weigh myself. I bet that I’ve gained weight recently. I should, the way I’ve been eating. We usually have cooked fruit, cereal, and eggs and bacon for breakfast; meat, vegetables, potatoes, salad, and dessert for lunch and dinner. I generally go away from the table feeling stuffed. How about you, are you putting on some weight; you should.

Bill just came in and we opened a bottle of wine and had a glassful. It sure was good. We had gotten the bottle several days ago, but didn’t have a corkscrew. I wish you could be here with me, honey. I miss you an awful lot. Still no letters. Guess I’ll close now and climb into my lonely bed. Goodnight dear. All my love, Glenn

18 August ‘43 Wednesday My dearest Betty;
I got very cultural (or something) this evening and went to the symphony. I had supper with one of the fellows in the office, and he suggested going; so we hopped in a cab and went. The fellow’s name is Steve (Rousch) . At least that is what he is called; I saw his first name and it is about a block long. He is about my age, a little taller, blond, and comes from Minnesota. A very nice guy, he was married just before he came overseas.

The program was all Bach and Elgar. I had never heard of Elgar, but his music was good. He is/was a recent English composer. Anyway, the program said his Symphony No. 2 was first played in 1911. That was the main offering of the evening and I enjoyed it a lot. I didn’t care too much for the rest of the program. It was very interesting to see the concert hall. It (Albert Hall) was shaped much like an oval cup, with seats in the bottom and part way up the sides, three tiers of boxes on the sides, and a gallery above the boxes. We arrived a half hour after the concert started, so we were standing just above the gallery. It was a lot like the concert halls in Europe I’ve seen in moving pictures. We walked home afterwards in the blackout. It was mostly across the park so it was a very nice walk. The weather has been nice lately so it was very pleasant out. . . All my love, Glenn

20 August ‘43, Friday My dearest;
I heard the Mikado tonight; just on records tho. George (Drury) (Gordie French’s friend) and I went up to his place after supper and listened to it and also to the New World Symphony. He has rented a combination radio-phonograph and bought the records over here. I don’t know how he plans to get the records home, but I guess he’ll stick them in his footlocker. We had some drinks of rum and coke which weren’t too good because they were lukewarm. George is tall, thin, and blond, nice looking, and hails from Oregon. He went to Oregon State, is very nice and a lot of fun to be around.

It was very dark when I came home. It was almost a necessity to smoke a cigarette to use as a sort of headlight so people wouldn’t bump into me. I found my way home OK tho, it was only a couple of blocks.

I overslept again this morning; didn’t wake up until about ten minutes to eight. I had sort of planned for it and had shaved the night before, so it didn’t take me very long to get ready to go. I had planned to eat breakfast and show up late, but just as I came to the corner where it was one way to the office and the other to the mess I met my Colonel! About that time I decided to skip breakfast. . .

Our laundry came back today, and they did a pretty good job. There was no starch in my shirts, but I’m used to that (my last laundress didn’t like to starch shirts either). The laundry was quite reasonable; only 10 cents each for shirts and pants. Of course it wasn’t quoted as 10 cents, but as 6 pence.

I’m looking for a letter from you any day now, one should arrive soon. I’ve just about given up hope of getting any of your letters that were sent to APO 4200H.

I miss you a lot dear. Goodnight, I love you. All my love & kisses, Glenn

22 August ‘43 Sunday Dearest;
Happy day! Your first letters arrived today, and was I glad to get them (I was)! They were postmarked July 23 and 27 from Philadelphia. No kidding, they really made me feel swell. It’s too bad you had to wait around Philly so long; I was hoping that you’d be able to get a train right away. I suppose that you got my letter in Philly alright.

I went out walking this afternoon after lunch and about wore my legs down to the knees. I saw a lot of interesting places, too. I thought maybe I’d go see a movie this afternoon, but all of them had lines about a block long (a half hour before the show started) so I gave up the idea. I came back by the office, and that was when I got your letters. One of the boys, Saint (St. Lawrence), was duty officer of the day, so I’m now holding down his post while he goes out to buy his weekly rations at the PX. I got mine earlier this afternoon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . I miss you more than I can say. All my love, Glenn

24 August ‘43 Tuesday My dearest Betty;
My footlocker and bedroll were here when I got home this evening so I’ve spent the time unpacking and putting stuff away. The alarm clock will come in handy too; maybe I’ll get to breakfast once in a while now. It still will run only when it is laying on its face, but as long as the alarm works I’ll be satisfied. Everything came through in pretty good shape except for the little tray in the footlocker. I must have had too much weight on it or something because it all busted up. The clothes were pretty well wrinkled but otherwise alright.

(My roommate) Bill, bless his soul, got my footlocker for me. He went down to inquire about his, and when he found it had arrived, he asked if mine had come in. They didn’t have any record of it, but when he went back to pick his up, mine was sitting right by his.

We had lunch at a Red Cross club this noon. I had chicken, but it wasn’t anywhere near as good as you can cook. We had about an hour to kill after lunch so we found a ping pong table and played at that. We had some good games and it was a lot of fun.

I didn’t get any letters from you today, so I read again the ones I got yesterday and the day before. After supper I went for a short walk in the park and then came home and have spent the rest of the evening unpacking. It’s kind of late, so I’d better close, or even the alarm won’t awaken me in the morning. I miss you a lot, honey. I love you. Goodnight dear.
All my love and kisses, Glenn

25 August ‘43 Wednesday My Dearest Betty;
I was very happy to find letters from both you and Mother in the office when I got in this evening. Mom had just gotten a letter from (my youngest brother) Ray, as I suppose you know long before now. I had been away for most of the day, and came down here to make notes on what I had seen while it was fresh in my mind. I might as well work a few evenings a week, since there isn’t a lot else to do.

The day’s activity took me for a long drive over the English countryside, and I did a lot of looking on the way. It was all very pretty; it reminded me of what I have seen of New England, especially up around Connecticut. That resemblance stopped as soon as we went through the towns; the streets were narrow and winding, and the buildings were right up to the edge of the road. The buildings are quite foreign to anything I’ve ever seen. They all seem to be so old, and have all these little gadgets stuck all over them. They are really ugly. I’m getting used to them a little now, so I don’t notice them so much.

That cable that you got was meant to tell you of my safe arrival; I don’t know why it took so long getting there. I sent one to Mom at the same time and hers was delivered about the same time that yours was. Did you get the safe arrival card that was supposed to have been mailed from the Port of Embarkation?

I hope that you have a good time at my folks. You and Mom ought to get on together alright, I know that you will because you both are so swell, and Mom likes you a lot too (so do I). It should still be pretty nice beach weather there, and you ought to be able to add to your tan. Are you going to get in touch with Freer and Norene while you are down there? I have been meaning to write them a letter, but haven’t gotten around to it yet. . .

Later. I just got home. A couple of the boys were at the office too, and when they left I went along. We pushed the button for the elevator and both of them came, so I got in one and they got in the other, and we raced down. It’s a good thing nobody was at the bottom when we burst out trying to be the first ones there. I guess we are all slap happy, but at least we have a lot of fun. Everyone is almost continually in a good mood, and it makes the work that much easier.

I miss you more every day, if that is possible. It is sure swell to be getting your letters, so keep them coming. I love you. Goodnight dear. All my love, Glenn

(In the above letter, Ray is my youngest brother who enlisted in the Navy. He served as a radio man on armed merchant ships in the Pacific and got home occasionally when his ship was in port. Freer and Norene were friends I met at UCLA before I went to Cal; they introduced me to Betty. The ride I take in the above letter was with a General, probably General Saylor, Theater Ordnance Officer. Only a 1st Lt, I traveled with some heavy brass at times!

Before D Day the U S European Theater Ordnance offices were combined with the Military Attaché offices. My good friend Tom Daly was in the Theater office. I was always in the Military Attaché group, tho never actually assigned to the Embassy - most of the time I was assigned to the Theater Headquarters, even when it moved to Paris, but was on detached service at the Embassy. There was also a group that were trained to recover and analyze enemy ordnance and report on them. This group included “Saint” St. Lawrence, George Drury, Steve Rousch, and Major Keck; I saw a lot of them before they moved to join the First Army headquarters close to D Day.)

31 August ‘43 Tuesday My dearest Betty;.
. . . . . I’m all alone at the office tonight; usually there are quite a few around, but the joint is really deserted now. Steve is over at the other office, but is the only one that is working (?) except me. I just finished writing one report this evening, and feel pretty proud of myself. That feeling will probably change when I hand it in for approval, but at the present time I think it is a good report.

This is a good typewriter that I’ve been using, and the chair that I’m sitting on feels good too; it has a sponge pad about a half inch thick. George says we don’t have to worry about anybody running into us from the rear in the blackout, because the seats of our pants shine so brightly. I hear tell that one member of the “Chairborne division” got a medal for sitting so long without a chair pad. As I started to say, this typewriter is very nice; it is a noiseless model, and apparently very new. It is an American make because it has the $ instead of the pound sign, which I can’t illustrate because there isn’t one on this machine. (Don’t you think I’d make a good detective?)

I had dinner at a British army officers mess this noon. I didn’t think that their food was as good as that we get. They really treat us nice when we go to see them. Usually the officers we deal with outrank us by a good margin, but they aren’t formal at all, and as a general rule are very nice.

The work is really beginning to pile up for me. I’ll have to work nights for a while to catch up. When I work nights I don’t exert myself too much; it helps to get things done, tho.

I’d like to get your letters telling of your trip to the sunny southland (Hermosa Beach), it wasn’t too foggy, was it? The mail service between us doesn’t seem to be consistent at all; at least it isn’t on this side. I hope that mine are coming through to you in somewhat consecutive order. . .

With a typewritten letter, and especially with this small type, I seem to run out of things to say before the first page is finished, so I guess I’ll close for this time. I just looked up at a map on the wall, and you are eight hours away, or ahead, no, behind us as the sun flies. Since I usually go to sleep about 10:30 or 11 each night, you should begin your mental telepathy about 2:30 or 3 in the afternoon in order to contact me for your “goodnight”. Wonder if kisses can be sent by mental telepathy? We can try it anyway. I miss you. All my love and kisses, Glenn

4 September ‘43 Saturday My dearest Betty;
. . . . . One of the Colonel’s secretaries is giving a party for her birthday tonight, and we are all going. It ought to be a lot of fun.

I’m afraid that I’m getting used to the cars driving on the wrong side of the road. That’s bad because I’ll have to get used to them on the other side when I get back home. Now I usually look the right way when I’m going to cross the street, but I also look the other way to be sure.
. .
. . . . . Later - much later: I just got home from the party and want to finish this letter before I go to sleep. It was a swell party and we all had a lot of fun. It was in quite a small apartment, not so small at that, but with the number of people that were there, the place was dwarfed. The whole gang of us from the office were there and various other people, including one Major General, two Colonels, and about a half dozen Lt Cols. Lucile (the secretary) is a lot of fun and we spent most of the evening taking turns dancing with her and singing and drinking and eating. The gang in the office got her a cigarette case, it was silver and had copies of all our signatures engraved on one side of it. It was very nice and seems to me to be a good present. . . . I only needed you there with me for a perfect evening.

George got a letter today from Gordie. He is in N. Africa and had met John Locke there. (Gordon French and John Locke were friends from UCLA and Cal. Gordon had trained with George in the enemy ordnance field. John was a very close friend who talked Gordie and me into taking the Ordnance ROTC class that led to our commissions. After the war John complained bitterly that he slogged through the mud of Africa and Italy with the troops while I lived comfortably in London and Gordon was his own boss , attached himself to the best mess in the area, and went where he wanted.)

I haven’t gotten a radio as yet, lately I haven’t been home enough to use it much. I’ve either worked, or walked, or something every night this week except one, and don’t spend any time here except when I’m sleeping. . . All my love and kisses, Glenn

5 Sept. ‘43, Sunday night Dearest;
I got two letters from you today, yours of July 31 and August 7. Doesn’t sound like your trip west was much fun with such bad service in the diner and all. It’s too bad you had to make that long trip all by yourself, but I guess it couldn’t be helped. It is swell you met someone nice on the train.

I was super lazy again this morning and didn’t get up until twelve o’clock. I woke up earlier, but was right in the middle of a dream about you, so I went back to sleep again; I didn’t dream any more tho, darn it. The next thing I knew there was a drum and bugle corp blasting me awake. I went to the front room window and watched as it paraded by. It was Royal Air Force; they looked very snappy and certainly made a lot of noise. After that I couldn’t get back to sleep, so I got up and went to lunch. I wasn’t used to those late hours like I kept last night.

I met Steve Rousch at the mess at noon and we decided to go see a concert. We got down there, tho, and all the seats were sold out. So we decided to see a show; same story as before when I tried to see a movie on Sunday, long lines an hour before it opened, so we decided not to see one. We came up to the apt. and had a glass of wine and talked for a while. He had gotten married only a short while before he came over, so we frequently cry on each other’s shoulder. He is from Minnesota and is one of 13 children. (Think we should have that many, dear?)

About four we went to the office where I got my letters. We then went to a tea dance given by Lady something or other at a local hotel. The dance was very nice. It was a swell large floor, there were tables around the edge and a balcony all around the room. They had all the allied flags hanging from the balcony and I think there were officers from most of the allies present. I saw some uniforms I’ve never seen before, and you really see a lot of different kinds around here. A drum and bugle corps gave a show; that was the second time today I’ve had my ears blasted out. I danced with several good dancers, but not one was as good a dancer as you. It was a lot of fun, tho, and I understand they are held every Sunday afternoon.

It is funny about the music over here; if you think the east coast is slow in taking up the new songs, you should see this place. The latest songs are those that were popular in the States six months or a year ago. I don’t think that any songs are composed here.

After the dance Steve and I went to the mess & had supper. It wasn’t too good this evening - sauerkraut & wieners, and the wieners were cold, at least mine were. After supper I came home and here I am in bed. That just about completes “my day”. Now if you were here it would really be complete. I sure miss you, honey. It seems like ages since I’ve seen you and held you close and kissed you. I guess about the best thing is to remember the swell times we’ve had together and look forward to when we’ll be together again, and hope that time won’t be far off.

Well, darling, I’ve rambled on here for almost three pages, so maybe I’d better stop and get some sleep. Goodnight dear. Keep writing every day; your letters cheer me up no end and make me feel a lot closer to you. All my love and kisses, Glenn
P.S. Maybe thirteen would be too many!

6 September ‘43 Monday My dearest Betty;
I just got back from lunch a few minutes ago; it was pretty good today, we had hamburger steak. This morning with tea I had cup cakes that were left over from the birthday party Saturday, so my appetite wasn’t all it should have been. I managed to eat most everything on my plate tho. At the moment I’m feeling a little uncomfortably full.

I haven’t received any mail yet today, but I feel sure that there will be a letter from you in this afternoon’s mail. It is about one PM here, so It should be about five in the morning there. I suppose that you are very comfortably asleep. Maybe if our mental telepathy is working you are dreaming of me. I’m concentrating very hard, am I coming through?

I haven’t really got anything to talk about now, I just felt like having a chat with you. Are you awake yet? Move over and I’ll crawl in with you for a while. That’s better; now give me a kiss. What are you planning to do today? Going shopping, or to visit someone, or what? Don’t go back to sleep now, here I’ve been up for six hours already and I’m not sleepy, much. Guess I’d better get back to work now, be good and think of me. I’ll be thinking of you, and will come back to talk with you some more later today.

Later -- 4:30. I got a letter from your mother this afternoon, but none from you as yet. Maybe some more mail will come in before I go home. Hope so anyway.

Much later -- 11 PM. This letter seems to be coming in bits and pieces today. Just as I was getting started the second time the Colonel walked in and stated that I was to have dinner with him tonight to meet a British officer who does corresponding work to mine, except he is a Colonel and has charge of the whole works. So, not having any previous engagement, I accepted his kind invitation. He also had some stuff for me to look over, so I couldn’t get back to the letter. I came home about six and took a bath and shaved so I would look my handsome best; donned my pinks and a clean shirt and arrived at Col. Reed’s apartment at 7:30 on the dot.
He lives in a very swanky apartment house, or rather (the Dorchester) hotel. The doorman and the elevator man and so on wore very swanky and colorful uniforms. His place was very nice, but he didn’t have nearly as large a place as we have, and tho the furnishings were newer, they weren’t any nicer. The British Colonel came presently, and we sat around and talked and drank until almost 8:30, when we went out to eat.

We ate at the Senior Officers’ mess, which is just for colonels and above and not for us lowly lieutenants (although the “high moguls” can eat at our mess, and most of them do). The mess closes at 8:30 so you can guess how happy our waitress was to see us walk in at the last minute, she slammed the silverware around and muttered under her breath, but audibly, about people who come in to eat at that time. Anyway we had something to eat, I’m glad to say; I was getting pretty hungry by that time. Col. Reed saw another colonel he knew there, and he joined us. Nothing but brass! (And a little silver). After supper we went back to Col. Reed’s room and talked some more and drank some more. Finally people went home and I staggered out too. ( I didn’t really stagger out, but it was an effort to walk straight).

It was black as pitch out but I found my way home alright. I’m practically getting to be an owl, or something, and can find my way around in the dark quite well. I’m very careful when I’m out in the blackout tho, there are too many tales of accidents and walking into posts and so on. I walk slowly and hesitate at each street crossing and make sure the way is clear before I start across. . .

11 September ‘43 Saturday night My dearest Betty;
. . . . . I ought to get all caught up with my letters tomorrow seeing that I’m Sunday duty officer and have to be there from 8:30 to 5:30. . .

. . . . . The nurses have new khaki uniforms now that look a lot like the WAC officer uniforms; they look a lot nicer than the old blue ones. Tonight was the first time I’ve seen them. . .

19 September ‘43 Sunday My dearest Betty;
. . . . . I met George and Bill (Capt. Durrenberger) at the mess at noon, and after lunch we went to Kew Gardens. They are a huge place around the Kew Palace where King George lll lived. There were a lot of very pretty and colorful flowers in bloom and also a lot of hothouses. It was all very pretty and we spent most of the afternoon walking around. . .

After supper we went to the Nurses Club where there was a dance, but it was so crowded that we didn’t stay long, and headed for home. I got two letters today, from (my brother) Dick and Mom. . .

Have you gotten any snapshots developed yet? I took some today with George’s camera and when I finish the roll I’ll send them to you. It’ll probably take a long time, tho, so don’t expect them too soon. I love you and miss you an awful lot. Be good, dear, and write me all the news. Goodnight darling. All my love and kisses, Glenn

(My younger brother, Dick, enlisted in the Coast Guard. He was a cook on a Coast Guard ship, and didn’t get too far from Southern California during the war, I got word of his marriage and the birth of his first child while I was in London)

(“Swell” was an “ultimate adjective” much used in movies and by young people of the 1930’s and 1940’s, and I was no exception)

TOP: THE SERPENTINE, HYDE PARK; BELOW: KEW GARDENS, LONDON, WW ll

CHAPTER 3. 9/21/43 TO 11/12/43 PING PONG & ST. IVES

21 September ‘43 Tuesday My Dearest Betty;
I’m sort of blue this evening, dear, I haven’t had a letter from you for a week. I was sure that some would come today, but I was disappointed. I guess they are coming by boat instead of by air mail. And to make matters worse, it is just two months since I’ve seen you; that is, it is two months by the calendar, it has actually been much longer than that in my opinion.

I didn’t do much today, in fact I didn’t do anything except work and eat and think of you and bother the mail clerk every half hour or so looking for some mail. I can’t tell you about the work, and the food was nothing to write home about, I’ve already complained about the mail situation, I always think of you all the time, so that doesn’t leave me much to talk about this evening, does it. Maybe if I keep punching these keys something will come out. The way I’ve been hitting the wrong keys, It may not be legible, tho. . . .

. . . . . I’m on duty all night tonight, which is a happy thought. Of course, I can go to sleep after twelve, but I still won’t get as much rest as I would like to have. . .

I took some time off, and have been reading magazines for a while. There is a pretty good file of “Life” and “Time” here. I looked at the pictures in Life, and read through most of the latest Time. The edition of Time that comes over here is special in that it has all the advertisements left out, and just has the reading material (and pictures). The print is a lot smaller too, that way it can be sent as first class mail and doesn’t take so long to get here. A lot of the magazines are doing the same thing. . .

It has been chilly around here lately. I suppose it won’t be long before I’ll have to dig out the long underwear and overcoat. It really isn’t so cold, but the weather is so damp that it seems colder. It is a lot like Aberdeen was last year, although I don’t think it actually gets as cold here as it did in Aberdeen. Ah, to see good old California again! It’ll be a big job to get me away from there once I get back. . .

23 September ‘43 Thursday Hi Darling;
I wish you were here now dear; we are all in George and the major’s (the major and just over minor’s) room; Steve, Saint, George, Maj. Keck, Bill Durrenberger, and me. At the present time we are all reading our mail which arrived in droves after a dry week. We are also drinking wine and getting in a very good mood. George just told a story, but got it all mixed up, so Saint took over and told it.

I got three letters from you today, and one from Merv. Yours were of the 1st, 8th, & 9th. I also got one from Mom, so I really did alright. Merv’s letter was a scream as usual, only more so because he wasn’t as careful of his language as he was when he was writing to both of us. . .

You’re really the social butterfly these days, aren’t you. I’m glad that you are getting out so much, & I think as long as you are keeping busy that way, it would be better not to go to work. While it is nice to save money and all, money isn’t everything, and we ought to be able to save quite a bit on what I make. So long as you are happy and having a good time and are busy. It’s nice that you can have this time with your mother too, because she always worked so much, and if you were working it would be just about as bad. I’ll expect you to be an experienced cook when I get back, with all the practice you’ll get & what your mother can teach you. Don’t start throwing things now, I didn’t say your cooking was no good; I would give anything to be eating some of it now, and then would even be glad to wash, no, dry the dishes afterwards.

Saint is writing a letter to Maj. Keck’s wife now, and is doing his darndest to get the major in bad. He started out by saying we were gathered to celebrate the unusual occasion of the Maj. being sober for two days running. I’m glad he doesn’t know you, or he might give you the wrong impression about me. . .

This is a swell bunch of fellows here; I’ve said that many times, I know, but I really mean it. I don’t know when I’ve been with a better bunch; they are all half crazy and/or slap happy, which helps a lot.

Col. Reed’s secretary (male) just came in & the party is just about complete. The Col. has three secretaries, who we also use when we need them, and there are a couple others floating about the office. The male secretary, John, and two of the others are American. . .

I really enjoy these sessions with the boys. George is trying his darndest to palm off his “Chelsea” cigarettes on us while we are in a happy mood, but isn’t having much luck; we would have to be pretty drunk to accept them. A while ago the cigarette ration was seven packs of good cigarettes and a carton of Chelsea a week; those cigs are on a par with spam in the jokes around here. . .

The news is coming over the radio now and it is still good, thank God. I hope that the war is over soon so I can get home to you and won’t have to just wish I were with you. I love you darling with all my heart and soul, and all I can think of is when we will be together again. Until then I will just exist, and will start living again when I take you in my arms once more. I love you so much that at times it is almost unbearable that we have to be apart. Goodnight darling, I love you with every last part of me. All my love and kisses, Glenn

26 September ‘43 Sunday Hi darling;
Here it is Sunday again and I’m resting up from all the walking I’ve done today. I got up bright and early at 11:30 and after brunch headed out for a little sight seeing. I took along George’s camera and took what I hope are 10 or so good pictures. There was a big parade and most of the pictures are of it.

I am waiting around for Bill Durrenberger to get off duty and then we are going to try to play ping pong or do something. I was supposed to be on duty today, but I traded with him so he could go on a trip a couple of weeks ago. . .

Later. We went down to the Nurses Club to play some ping pong, but the table was down for a dance this evening. There was a Lt. playing the piano and he really could swing out on some of the tunes. We gathered around to listen and sing, and pretty soon we had a good crowd there. We sang for a couple of hours, then went up to the mess and had supper. . .

It is getting cold out these days. I hate the thought of having to start wearing heavy clothes and an overcoat, but soon I’m going to have to in order keep warm. . .

I sure enjoyed my bridge game last night - I’ll have to go down there again some time and play some more. Shall we drop into the Delta Zeta (Betty’s sorority) house and see if we can scrape up a bridge game?. . .

3 October ‘43 Sunday My darling wife;
I’ve just had a very pleasant day. Want to go back to the beginning and go through it with me? All right, here we go...... I awake with a start and look at my watch. 11 o’clock. That’s funny, I set the alarm for 10:30 so I would have time to take a bath, go get my rations, and then meet Steve at the mess at noon. So I look at the alarm and either I shut it off in my sleep, or I forgot to pull out the little button last night; probably the latter. Anyway I get up and wash my teeth and shave and then take a quick bath and dress. By the time I’m dressed and all ready to go it is twelve. Being Sunday I have on my old blouse and pinks and a pair of freshly shined shoes.

It is ten after twelve before I get to the mess, but no Steve. I wait around a while and then go upstairs to eat. George and Major Keck are sitting there reading their papers and waiting for something to eat. They inform me that Steve got up late and had gone to mass, so I sit down to eat too. The meal is roast beef, a little heavy for breakfast, and the Brussels sprouts are cold, and I don’t feel like having my dessert - too full. About half way through the meal, Saint comes in & tells me again that Steve is at mass and will meet me at 12:50 in front of the mess. Saint, Bill D, and Tom are doing something together, and George and Major Keck are taking a little sight seeing trip today. I meander downstairs and wait for Steve. I tell him I’ll go get my rations while he eats and then meet him at the office.

I get my candy and cigarette rations at the PX and also three pair of dark wool socks and take them all to my apartment. I sling my (George’s) camera over my shoulder and go to meet Steve. When I get to the office he is there and also Saint, Tom, Durrenberger, Sgt. Goss, and a few others. No mail for me, darn it. We all go up on the roof & since about everybody has their camera with them we take turns taking pictures of each other.

Steve and I have to leave to get to the concert on time, so we go off and leave the others up there. We catch a bus and go up on the upper deck so we can have a good view while we are riding. Pretty soon we come to the concert hall(Albert Hall). We go in and find our seats. It is a very pretty place inside. It looks very drab from the outside, but inside it is all decorated and all the seats are upholstered in a rich looking red and the boxes have curtains in the same color behind them . We have good seats, about on the same level as the orchestra and on the left side. The hall is enormous, and cup shaped. The program is very good; first there are three pieces (or should I say works) that I’ve never heard of, but they are very good. Then they play Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor. Next and last is Brahms Symphony No. 4 in E minor. I really enjoy the program, and Steve does too.

It is getting toward supper time when we get out so we walk up through the park to the mess. We have hamburger steak and after a liberal dose of ketchup it tastes like something (ketchup). After supper we go to the show and see “Kings Row”, which I like a lot. After the show we go home, and that brings me up to the present where I am in bed and writing to the one I love. Now, did you have a good time along with me, or am I boring you with my imitation of Damon Runyan’s style of writing in the present tense?

How I wish you could have been here and actually come along with me today, darling. I know you would have liked the concert and the show too. And it would be so nice to have you here beside me instead of being with me in my heart only. I’ll close for now, and see you in my dreams. I love you. Goodnight darling. All my love and kisses, Glenn

7 October ‘43 Thursday My dearest;
I started a letter to you earlier today, but only got a couple of lines written so I thought I’d get a fresh start now. I had a nice time tonight; after supper I went down to the Nurses Club to play some ping pong but the table was crowded. I waited around for a while and finally got to play several games. Later there was a dance, and I danced some. They had a floor show (or cabaret, as they call it here). There was a private who was master of ceremonies and he told some jokes and did some “magic” and finally did a fire eating act. He was really good, although some of the jokes he told were pretty raw. The fire eating act was a professional job. There was some more to the show too; another soldier played the piano - some real boogie woogie, a chaplain sang some songs, and a woman sang too. I don’t think the woman was part of the company because she was dressed in a formal and her choice of songs didn’t fit into the rest of the show. She was good, tho. She sang “My Hero” from the Chocolate Soldier and several other songs. . .

I’m kind of hungry now, how about fixing me up a sandwich and a glass of milk? I haven’t had a glass of milk here yet. All the milk we get is of the powdered variety. It is fine for cereals and coffee and so on, but I don’t care for it alone; of course it isn’t offered on the menu either.

I’m going to have a little trouble with traffic when I get back to the States. I look right every time now before crossing a street and it almost seems natural seeing the cars driving on the left side of the street. . . All my love & kisses, Glenn

8 October ‘43 Friday Darling;
. . . . . The Red Cross has some shopping service here that sounds pretty good; they are supposed to get Christmas presents for us without all the taxes and coupons. They hadn’t gotten all the red tape out yesterday, but I think that they will soon. So maybe I’ll be able to get you some little thing of British make. It will probably have “made in USA” on it somewhere, but maybe not. Anyway, it will be nice to pick out something for you myself.

I thought I could write a letter to you here in the evening uninterrupted, but I was mistaken, I’ve been interrupted several times so far, once by Col. Reed. He came in (as he seems to every time I’m writing to you) and wanted to see me about something. Of course I told him he would have to make an appointment to see me because I was very busy at the time (of course!). Another interruption was by the sirens (you know, Woooooooooooooooo, rising and falling). I suppose you read in the papers about the raid. Lots of nice fireworks and searchlights and so on. The worst thing about them I think is the eerie sound of the sirens; I think they were designed to instill fear rather than as a warning.

As I was walking home last night I was behind a couple, and the gal was really giving the fellow “what for” about something. I was just about ready to referee a fight when they turned up a street that was out of my way. I was tempted to follow them some more and find out if the fellow ever did get a word in (edgewise) but I didn’t. Tsk, tsk, what language that gal did throw at him. Don’t you ever treat me that way!

I didn’t get any mail today, maybe I’ll get a whole fistful tomorrow. It has been almost three weeks since you mailed the last letter that I got; that was yours of Sept. 19th, and it arrived yesterday. I really enjoy the clippings and cartoons you include in the letters; I show them to all the fellows, and they enjoy them too. How do you like the cartoons by Winant? One of his I sent to you the other day was particularly good, the one where the officer is looking in his desk and saying “that’s odd, I had a quart of rye here yesterday”. Notice the charwoman in the chandelier. George has often threatened to fill his liquor bottle full of poison and kill off a few maids. . .

. . . . . I suppose that I should clean up my GI clodhoppers tonight too, so I can wear them tomorrow; they are still weighted down with several pounds of good English soil from the last time I made an excursion into the countryside. The “fog” was a little heavy that day.

I miss you a lot, honey. It seems like years since I’ve seen you and held you close to me and kissed you. Something in me just isn’t alive when I’m away from you. About the only kick that I get out of doing anything is that I’ll be able to tell you about it in my letters. . .

(The air raid sirens did sound eerie. By time I arrived in London the major German air raids had dwindled and the attacks were sporadic and not heavy. We would often don our steel helmets and go up on the roof to watch the fireworks and searchlights. Very seldom did I mention anything about air raids in my letters; one exception was the above letter of Oct. 8th)

9 October ‘43 Saturday Darling;
Guess what, I got your letter of Sept. 28th this afternoon, Isn’t that amazing! Only ten days from the time it was mailed. It must have really come by air mail. I also got one from Norene mailed the same day; I guess Freer is pulling my trick, and making Norene do all the letter writing for the family.

Steve and I took a jaunt in the country today with a major, we just now got back. It was a pretty nice day, and it was good to get out of town. We had a little car trouble and the thing refused to move when we were 10 miles from our destination. We thought we were stranded, but a Brigadier that was going to the same place came along and gave us a ride the rest of the way. We phoned, and they sent another car for our return trip. When it was time to leave the car hadn’t arrived, so Steve stayed there and the major and I went back to where the other car had been left. The new car had been there and gone on. We were near a British camp and they invited us in and gave us a cup of tea while we waited for the car to show up. Pretty soon it came and we got back here without further incidents. Guess we did our share of hitch hiking for the day.

Later. . . . . . . . . Bill D and I went down and played several games of ping pong before supper. They were good games and we played about even. He has improved a lot lately and I have a hard time beating him now. . .

Steve and I took along some Army “K” rations for lunch today. They are packed in a box that resembles a crackerjack box, only is larger. They were very good, but I suppose a steady diet of them would get tiresome since there are only three variations. They are handy to take along on these trips where you aren’t always near somewhere you can get food. . .

Darling, there is nothing I would like better than to have you here. If you could get that job and come over it would be swell, but (darn it) there are two good reasons why you shouldn’t come. First and most important is the fact that I might not be here when you’d arrive. I might be here until the end of the war (plus six months), and then again I have no assurance of that. You know how the army is in that way, then where would you be if you got here and I’d gone somewhere else? Secondly the living conditions for civilians aren’t so hot here with rationing and so on. Things are scarce and living conditions nothing at all like we are used to in the States. We get good food in the army mess, but elsewhere it isn’t so hot. There still are occasional air raids, you know. Dammit, it is hard to try to use reason when all the time I keep thinking of how perfect it would be to see you again soon. However, I don’t think it would be a wise move.

Well, darling, I think I’ll go to sleep about now; it is 9:30 already. Will you turn off the light and put your head here on my shoulder? Goodnight, darling, I miss you so much and think of you all the time. I love you. All my love and kisses, Glenn

15 October ‘43 Friday Darling;
. . . . . I took the British major out to lunch at our mess today and then we went to a meeting together. He works on the same kind of equipment that I do. He is a short and thin fellow, red haired, and very nervous. He seems very nice, but I hope I don’t get as nervous as he when I’ve been working at this stuff as long as he has. I know I won’t, because I don’t let anything bother me anymore. . .

The meeting lasted until supper time, so I went directly to the Nurses Club, and sure enough the boys were already there. There were three of them so we played doubles for about an hour. George and I played against Tom and Steve. . .

. . . . . I find that I can do a lot more work here in the evening than during the day because it is much quieter. And then days like today when I’m away most of the day, the evening is about the only time I have for writing reports. I just finished one report and will head for home when I finish this letter.

Darling, I miss you more than I can say. It seems like forever since I’ve seen you and held you close. I think of you all the time, and want you with me. If the war news keeps getting better, maybe I’ll be able to get home by or before next summer. I figure that is the earliest we can hope for, and I am sure hoping! Goodnight darling. I love you. All my love & kisses, Glenn

(I wasn’t very good as a seer; it was more than a year and a half beyond the following summer before I was able to get home. It was more wishful thinking than anything, but the news from the north Africa campaign was reassuring.)

17 October ‘43 Sunday My dearest Betty;
How are you tonight, darling? Did you have a nice Sunday, or should I say are you having a nice Sunday? I actually got up in time for breakfast this morning, which is a record for me. Had real eggs too, you know, the old fashioned kind that come in shells instead of all powdered up. I guess the rumor about oranges for breakfast was just a rumor ‘cause I didn’t see any. . .

I met George at breakfast, and we spent the rest of the day together. We went to church this morning (now don’t faint). It was a very pretty place with some very fancy architecture and stained glass windows. In the afternoon we saw an ATS (corresponding to WAC) parade and took some pictures of it. We also saw the Queen drive by; I didn’t have my camera ready, darn it, or I could have gotten a picture of her.

We then started out on a pretty extended tour of sightseeing. We saw Westminster Abby and the Houses of Parliament, and also Big Ben, which is at one end of the Houses of P. Then we walked east along the Victoria Embankment of the Thames all the way to the Tower of London Bridge. That was about a four or five mile hike, so I’m pretty tired tonight. We saw St. Paul’s Church and London Bridge and the Tower of London, and then walked over the Tower Bridge.

We got to talking with a couple of Bobbies (cops), and strolled along with them most of the way. It was very interesting because they were continually pointing out places of interest to us that we wouldn’t normally have noticed. They seemed to know the history of every building we passed. The Tower of London was very interesting to see; I had always pictured it in my mind as just a tower, as the name implies, but actually it is an old castle, with moat around it. It wasn’t open for tour at the time we got there, but I’d like to go back some time when it is open and go through it. The Tower Bridge was impressive, but the London Bridge wasn’t unusual at all; the old one was removed, and the present one built around 1925.

So much for the rubbernecking; after all the walking I did today I’m pretty tired, I need to get more exercise to keep in shape. I came home early and took a hot bath, and am now in bed. George and I wanted to go to a show tonight, but nothing good was playing, so we decided to get to bed early instead.

. . . . . It was about a year ago that we started out on our transcontinental trip to join the army, wasn’t it? A lot has happened between then and now; it doesn’t seem possible that we could cram so much into one year, does it? I think that the best part was the time we spent in Philadelphia, don’t you? We had a lot of fun there; we didn’t do very much, but I liked being able to spend so much time with you.

It sure is lonely here without you to come home to every night. I’ve gotten so that now I never see this apartment from the time I get up in the morning until I go to bed at night. At first I had a guilty feeling when I didn’t come home right after work, as if I was keeping you waiting with supper, but I’ve gradually gotten over that. It won’t take me long to get back in that routine when I get back to you, tho. Darling, I miss you so much, I love you and think of you all the time. We may be a few thousand miles apart, but you are here with me in my heart at all times. Goodnight darling, I love you. All my love and kisses, Glenn

19 October ‘43 Tuesday My darling;
This was quite a day for me honey. I’m finally home and in bed. I just had a hot bath and am about ready to go to sleep, in fact I’ll be doing that as soon as I finish this letter.

The old alarm went off at 6 AM this morning. I shaved and dressed and met Capt. Durrenberger in front of his hotel. We just barely made the train by running for it - it pulled out a minute after we got aboard. I didn’t have time for any breakfast, but ate a couple of chocolate bars and some cookies to keep me going until noon.

It was very pretty in the country today. The leaves on the trees are turning color now and are about half colored and half green like they were in Maryland at this time last year when we first arrived there. I suppose it won’t be long now before all the leaves are off the trees. The fields were still pretty green; with all this rain I don’t see how they could be any other color. One thing that strikes me here is the way they stack their hay; very neatly so that it looks like a bran muffin, but about the size of a house. You see those stacks everywhere you go. The (third class) trains are just like you’ve seen in the movies, with the doors all along the sides opening into the separate compartments. The trains don’t have conductors that collect the tickets, instead they are collected as you leave the station.

I didn’t get a new crystal for my watch as I had hoped. It seems all the “visiting firemen” who come there have the same idea and they had to clamp down on fixing personal watches. Guess I’ll have to find some place in London that can get a new crystal for me, I’m lost without a watch. (This trip must have been to the large Ordnance Depot on the plains near Salisbury, where among many other things, they had an instrument repair shop)

. . . . . What are the new songs that are popular there now? It really takes a long time for them to get over here. Among the latest here are “Whispering Grass” and “Johnny Got a Zero”. The British pronounce the letter “z” as zed, so we rib them by singing it Johnny got a zed-ro. Bill D was telling me that his gal had written telling him the tune that was No. 1 on the hit parade and he had never heard the tune - & couldn’t remember the name of it.

Every once in a while we catch each other using British terms or pronunciation, and when we do, we say “You’ve been here too long”. The correct come back is “No, I haven’t been here too long -- how about a spot of tea, old chap”. I find it hard not to pick up a lot of their terms and so on, especially since we deal with them so much. . .

23 October ‘43 Saturday Darling;
. . . . . Steve came along and we went to check our train reservations. They are OK going, but we have to check at the other end for return reservations. I am now on the train and waiting for it to pull out, which it won’t do for about a half hour. Maybe by that time I can finish this. The accommodations I have are really OK. They are first class - I have a compartment all to myself, and it is filled with glass and chrome gadgets. The wall about half way up is in a dark stained finish; the rest is in white. I have a wash basin, and this little table that pulls down from the wall that I am writing on now. I am sitting on the bed and it feels pretty soft. It is perpendicular to the track.

Major Keck & a British major who is going with us, or rather is taking us down, are in the next compartments. Steve, who did the arranging for reservations wasn’t able to get a compartment for himself, so he is back a little farther in a first class coach. . .

I may have to wait until Tuesday morning to mail this; we can’t mail them in British Post Offices. I wish you were going along with me tonight. We’d be a little crowded in this bed, but I think we could manage - I know we could, it would be like our trip to Chicago.

The train has started now, so my writing probably won’t improve any. We are taking advantage of a business trip to have a little vacation tomorrow. As Col. Reed put it, we can’t help it if they don’t work on Sundays. Once we are down there (Cornwall) we’ll just have to spend the day enjoying ourselves. . .

25 October ‘43 Monday Night My darling;
I’ll have to make this letter do for two, or else write it in two sections, ‘cause I didn’t get time to write yesterday at all. We were on the go all day, then when we got back to the hotel in the evening the four of us gathered in the room Steve and I shared and talked - they were still talking when I went to sleep. I am on the train again and this time it is already moving, so I’m writing under a handicap. Bear with me, and I’ll try to make it as legible as I can.

I had a pretty good night’s sleep Saturday, much better than Steve did, I’m afraid, but then he can collect three dollars for that night since the army didn’t furnish him quarters. Mine were furnished since I was traveling on a warrant (what we called a TR -Travel Request - at home). It was very pretty country we were traveling through with lots of rolling green hills and fields all divided by fences built of rocks, vine covered so that they look more like hedges than fences.

We arrived at Camborne, in Cornwall, slightly before noon and walked to the hotel where we had reservations. It is the Tyacks Hotel and is a combined hotel and Pub. Camborne is a small town and typical, I think, of rural towns, at least in that district. We unloaded our stuff and then Steve decided to go to Church. We had a glass of beer, then went up to a church, but the only service of the day was already over. At least our intentions were good. We wandered around the town and took some pictures.

We had planned to go right over to St. Ives but found the first bus didn’t leave for a couple of hours, so we had lunch at our hotel, and then caught the bus. It was one of those double deck affairs that seem to be used all over England. How they keep from tipping over on some of these streets I’ll never know, but even tho it seems like they lean at 40 degrees going around some curves, they don’t tip over. The majors (Keck & Pyne) had inquired about the bus service to St. Ives and were told the bus we took would go to another town and another bus would be waiting to change to. The way it turned out, the connecting bus came along an hour later. When we found that out we decided to start walking since it was only about four miles farther on to St. Ives. That turned out to be not such a good idea because after we had walked a half mile, we had a bit of what we would call a “heavy dew” in California. We had raincoats and took what shelter we could until it blew over but we got a little wet. We walked for about two miles in all, and then waited for the bus.

St. Ives is quite a famous little resort town, sometimes called the “Riviera of England” I am told. It is almost at the extreme southwest tip of England and has better weather than most of the island. There is a little harbor, and then the town is built up from it into the hills that rise steeply behind it. It reminded me a little of Avallon on Catalina, except that the buildings aren’t anything like Avallon. They are all very old and the streets are very narrow and made of cobblestone and wander about without any apparent rhyme or reason. We had tea at the “Copper Kettle” a little place on the front. It was very picturesque and they served very good tea, biscuits, and cakes. It really tasted good after walking and being out in the rain.

This train is really jumping around, as you can see from my writing. I think I’ll leave off here and get to sleep; I’ll continue the story tomorrow. Goodnight my darling. I love you!! All my love and kisses, Glenn

26 October ‘43 Tuesday noon My darling;
I’ll continue from where I had to leave off last night due to the train jerking around too much. I was telling you about St. Ives. . .

Steve, Major Keck, Major Pyne, and I spent several hours just wandering around and looking at St. Ives. It is an artists’ colony as well as a resort town and there were a lot of studios with signs outside advertising paintings. All along the waterfront there are lots of tea houses and restaurants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Above and to the center of St. Ives there are quite a few hotels, but most of them were closed. The whole town was pretty well closed up for Sunday, so we couldn’t get any supper. We were prepared for that and had some sandwiches in our pockets, so we didn’t get hungry.

We caught a bus back to Camborne about the time it got dark. This time the connection was good and as we got off the first bus, the other one was coming up the street. We got back to the hotel and had a pint of “bitters” (ale) each, went up to Steve’s and my room and ate some more sandwiches. I was tired and sleepy so I climbed into bed and it wasn’t long before I went to sleep in spite of the conversation flying thick and fast.

I got a good night’s sleep and awoke at eight Monday morning. We had breakfast and then went about the business we had come for. We had supper at the hotel; cold beef and chips. It was cool before supper so we sat in front of a fire and had a pint of bitters. The hotel bill for one night lodging and three meals was only 14 shillings ($2.80), so you can see it wasn’t a swanky place, it was just an old pub and hotel, but it was an interesting experience staying there.

Maj. Keck and I left that evening and were lucky enough to have reservations for the good sleeping compartments on the way back. I sure wish you could have been along with me on that trip, darling. I know you would have enjoyed it, and I would have enjoyed it more if you were with me. I hope I have sort of taken you along with me by means of my letters. . .

30 October ‘43 Saturday Night My dearest Betty
. . . . . We went back to the mess and talked for a while and I was shown the game of “shove ha-penny’. A small metal disc about the size of a ha-penny (half penny) is shoved by hitting it with the palm of your hand to make it land between certain lines ruled on a board. Sort of a miniature shuffle board game and not much to it, but a game played mostly in pubs.

We went on to the Sergeants mess where there was a dance going on. This is a combination British and American camp and there were both British and American officers and sergeants at the dance. There were some ATS (women) sergeants and some girls from a neighboring town. A small four piece British service band was playing, sax, drums, piano, and violin. They had two bars and a long table loaded with cakes and donuts. An English sergeant tried to convince me they were “rings” and not donuts, but I remain unconvinced. . .

A game of “darts” was under way. I watched it for a while, and then finally played a couple of games. It is another favorite “pub” game. There is a circular target divided by radial lines that you throw darts at. There is a very narrow outer ring that you have to get a dart into before you start scoring. After you get a dart in the narrow ring, you throw, and the radial section the dart lands in is numbered, and you score whatever number that is. That goes on until near the end of the game, then you again have to land in the narrow ring, but this time you also have to land it in the certain radial section that will give you the correct amount to go out with an even score. It isn’t very complicated even tho this description may make it sound so.

I danced a little although I didn’t do very well since I was wearing my G.I. boots. They just weren’t made for dancing! I was wearing my wool longies too, and they made dancing a little warm. It was a lot of fun even tho I wasn’t prepared for a dance.

Well darling, I’d better get to sleep now. It’ll probably be a long day for me tomorrow. I miss you so much darling. Goodnight now, I love you. All my love and kisses, Glenn

4 November ‘43 Thursday My darling;
Seems to me I remember the 4th for some reason, I wonder what it could be? Oh yes, it is our 16th anniversary, isn’t it. Soon we’ll have to start counting them in years instead of months, but that can wait, can’t it? It has been a swell 16 months, the best I’ve known. Even these last months that we’ve been apart have been that much better for knowing that I have you to go back to. I didn’t think at the time I married you that I could ever love you more than I did then, but I do now. That year we had together added something to my life - the knowledge of the complete happiness that comes just from being with you all the time. I don’t think I fully realized that until I was away from you and found how much I miss you and how lonely I get for you. I love you darling, and exist only for the time when we can be together again. . .

Durrenberger and I went down to the Red Cross after work this afternoon for some ping pong. There were a couple of nurses playing when we got there, so we had to wait a while before they decided to give the table up. Boy, they were a couple of beef trusts if I’ve ever seen any; the floor fairly shook under them. Bill and I were only able to get in three games after they left ‘cause some others came in and were waiting to play. They were good games tho.

We ate down there this evening. It was a very good meal tonight, they had some potatoes that tasted like they had been roasted and were very good. Mostly we get our potatoes boiled or occasionally mashed. The English haven’t any imagination when it comes to cooking vegetables. Cabbage is a very common vegetable here, and with all the ways there are to cook it so it is edible they invariably boil it to death and then serve it half cold. . . .

7 November ‘43 Sunday Dearest;
. . . . . After breakfast we hurried to the train station and just caught the train with two minutes to spare. This friend of Steve’s met us at the other end with his two sons. We got on another train and went about four miles farther on. It was a beautiful day, but quite cold. There was a high and steep hill and we climbed to the top; it was just as steep as the climb to the big “C”. I found out in a hurry that I was out of condition! The view was very pretty, the whole valley spread below us and ever so often you’d see a small village with it’s church steeple rising above the rest of the houses, and all the little green fields orderly partitioned off by hedges or fences. Practically all the leaves have turned color and most of them have fallen, but the fields are still nice and green.

We walked back the four miles to the house. The streets all had high hedges along them so it was hard to see much of what was behind them. We stopped at a pub and had a beer, ginger beers for the kids. A lot of the way we walked back was cross country, over fields, with stiles to cross the fences. I wish you could have been along with us today. The country is very beautiful and I know you would enjoy seeing it, and I can’t fully enjoy it when I’m thinking how swell it would be walking there with you, holding your hand, or perhaps with my arm around you (bold, aren’t I?).

We got back to Mr. Day’s ( Steve’s friend’s) house just in time for dinner, and that walk had really worked up our appetites. Mrs. Day was very nice; she satisfied our appetites without an undue burden on her rations. We had Brussels sprouts, which seem to be the staple and mainstay food here, which were prepared in such a way that they were quite good, not the cooked out cold things we get at the mess. All they needed really was a little french dressing. I’m afraid you’ll have to give up the idea of ever feeding me Brussels sprouts, from all reports and indications I am scheduled to have them for every meal from now until next spring. They are on a par with spam as concerns the American soldier’s choice of food. Along with the sprouts we had pork that was nine tenths fat and some quarter fried potatoes. She served pie for dessert that was still hot and very tasty. The filling was a combination of raisins, orange marmalade, and I don’t know what else. Sounds a little weird, but it tasted very good, sort of like a minced meat pie.

The boys are 15 or 16, are twins and look very much alike, but not so much that you can’t tell them apart. If you fail to believe this I don’t blame you, but they were still wearing short pants! And you thought Philly was bad! They also have a girl 10 or 11 years old.

After we ate we moved into the living room for our coffee in front of the fireplace and talked for the rest of the afternoon. Most of the houses here have fireplaces (and no central heating) but they are usually very small things; this one had a good fire going and it gave out a lot of heat. All in all it was a very nice day, sort of like spending a Sunday at home, but with one important thing lacking; maybe YOU can guess what it was.

I’m on duty tonight, so I had to catch an early train back while Steve stayed for a while longer. I got back expecting to find a whole stack of letters from you, but there wasn’t even a little note. That makes a complete week with no letters now, confidentially this army postal service stinks! .

10 November ‘43 Wednesday My darling;
. . . . . We had a very nice drive through the English countryside. It was a beautiful day, and you can see so much more of the country when you are traveling by car than by train. I sat up in the front seat (along with with the WAC driver, but don’t get jealous ‘cause she wasn’t pretty and definitely wasn’t young) and navigated with the aid of a road map. I didn’t get us lost even once, and we arrived 15 minutes ahead of the time I had planned, so I was very proud of myself. This is the first time I’ve been on a trip with the Colonel (Reed) and I had made all the arrangements so I was very pleased that things went so smoothly and we spent a very nice day seeing the things that we wanted to see. . .

11 November ‘43 . . . . . . . . . It was another nice day, and we took our time coming back, looking the country over on the way. We went by a very pretty cathedral and stopped and looked at it. It was very old, having been built in the middle of the sixteenth century. We went in the church and it was very pretty inside; all the windows were stained glass and with the sun shining through them they really showed up nice. . . . .

12 November ‘43 Friday Darling;
. . . . . The Colonel’s secretary (Miss Devine) invited Saint, George, Steve, and me up to her place for supper tonight. She is very nice and is an American; she is divorced and has a boy six or eight who is living with friends in the States. The four of us bought her a bunch of flowers and that made a hit with her. I had the best meal I’ve had since I got here. She was using the same materials that the British use, but there was a world of difference in the results. We had fried pork chops, mashed potatoes, fresh green beans, and baked parsnips. I never did care much for parsnips, but even they were eatable. The fried pork chops weren’t greasy at all and were very good. The meal was topped off with a fresh baked home made apple pie; yum yum, it was good! Almost as good as one of your pies would taste to me now. I’m afraid I’ll be spoiled and not want to eat in the mess for a while. . .