February 7, 1945: Dad writes a letter home with the news that after nineteen months at Topeka he will be moving on to his next assignment shortly. “I’ll have a new address soon, so you needn’t write until you hear from me. I’m going to be assigned to a Bombardment Group at McCook, Nebraska in a day or so, so I’ll write you from there. Maybe I’ll spend a year on the Pacific, but that remains to be seen. I don’t know myself for sure. Don’t know how long I’ll be on this side until I get assigned or where I may end up…”
Aerial View of McCook Army Air Field in 1944. Public Domain Photo Credit: United States Army Air Force via National Archives
He also writes¸ “We just had one of those U.S.O. Camp Shows tonight and it occupies us for a while. It’s getting rather monotonous around here and sometimes I envy Stanley for being over there. It’s slow and I just haven’t much to do to keep me busy while my beard and whiskers get tougher by the day.”
Aside from the news from Topeka, Dad takes time to comment on some of the news from home; the most important being that his sister is expecting. “Ann, I must congratulate you on the increase to come in your family. By Golly, I believe you’re just trying to show mama up. Maybe you might break her record of three children. Perhaps, with God’s help, Stanley may come back to this country and be a God-father at the Christening. That’s looking rather far ahead and it’s all up to you as to who should be a God-father. I have merely made a suggestion.”
He also comments about the snow that has been socking in his hometown. “It seems you people had it rather hard being snowed in up there in Albany. However, keep the home fires burning. We’ve heard all about it over the radio and read in the papers about the shows and amusement places being locked up.” He even alludes to the recent fire at St. Joseph’s Academy. “I guess the sisters at S.J.A. convent sort of built too big a fire.”
He closes with “I haven’t much more to write and besides it is very late and I’ve got to go to bed. God bless all of you.”