July 30 and August 1, 1945. Stanley writes his last two letters from Albany while on a 30 day R&R at home. In a few days he will be reporting to Fort Dix in New Jersey for his next assignment. He reflects, “I’ve had a pretty eventful month home. I was home for the 4th of July. I was also home when baby Judy was born. Was home for the Christening and also being God Father to Judy. Also home for my birthday. What else could a person ask for?”
He starts his letter of July 30 with his account of baby Judy’s christening. Apparently little Judy was hungry during her christening as Anna did not have a chance to feed her before going to Mass. As Stanley tells it, “…as soon as we got her into the church and started to wait for the priest she started to bawl. The priest started to read from the book and baby started to yell and started to lick her little fingers. She was doing it so loud that the priest had a smile on his face while reading from the book. She yelled all the way until we got outside the church. Then she stopped… Ed said that the priest said that it was the first time he heard a kid that loud. He said she must be a very strong baby and has good lungs….Now the baby is a Catholic.” Afterwards they had a celebration back at the house which included a birthday cake for Stanley so they “killed two birds with one stone.”
Stanley also writes of a little episode that he had with little Terry. “Yesterday she was calling everyone swinia (pig/swine). I tried to convince her she shouldn’t call anyone by that name and gave her a lecture. Then I asked her if she is going to call anyone swinia and she said no; until tomorrow. What can you do with a kid like that?”
On the first he writes “day after tomorrow…I’ll be on my way back to camp… time sure went by fast and I appreciated and made every minute count…Tomorrow I’ll have to start packing the stinking barracks bag again.”
He details that Eddie will be driving him and Bill Burns (who lives in Troy up the street from where Eddie works) to Fort Dix. “I think we will leave about eight in the morning as that will give us enough time to get back there and it will be nice and light outside. We should be there sometime after lunch.”
Stanley also writes Dad that he sent the toiletries and accessories to him. “…one overseas box contains one cake of Woodbury’s soap, and the toilet accessories; namely aftershave cream lotion, talc and men’s cologne. Also in the same box is two combs, two fingernail files and one necktie pin, or should I say collar pin. In the second package are two bottles of Vaseline hair tonic, one big pecan candy bar, some candy kisses—from the whole family—and some pretzel sticks… All is compliments of the family.” For all the stress in some of the prior letters about having Dad send a note requesting the various toiletry items, the postal clerk, “did not even ask for the letter of request for the items. He did not even ask what was in the boxes or nothing. One of the guys there knew that I was overseas. I did have the letter in my pocket just in case. I guess they thought it best to help out a GI. …Hope you get both packages in good shape and write as soon as you get them.”
Included in a few of the letters from home was an Overseas Edition that was printed by the Albany Times Union specifically for people in Albany to clip out and send to servicemen who were overseas. Below is the Overseas Edition that for the week of July 20 through the 26. You can click on the images below to view a larger version of the image. 
