Letters To Home

Tomorrow is the day!  Monday, Jan. 7th—also it marks completion of 2 ½ years’ service overseas for me.  We have been extremely busy today—fixing up our French “40 and 8” boxcar so that it is in a livable condition.  It seems likely that we will go to one of these two ports:  either Le Havre or Antwerp.  The journey from Erding to either of these ports will require three days and two nights, including delays and stopovers.  All day we have been working on the car: “weather-stripping” the walls and floor, building six triple-decker wooden bunks, spraying and powdering the thing with DDT insecticide, putting in a couple of plexiglass windows, setting up a pot-bellied stove, rounding up wood and coal (such as there is), obtaining water, K ration and toilet tissue, and such stuff as that.  No other railroad system can make that statement!  My being car chief gave me additional work.  Also I have had my records completed, and have just finished packing my duffle bag (had to throw a lot of junk away).  Also washed out all my dirty clothes, as this may be my last opportunity this side of the states.

The 26th S.C.U. is losing seven men on this shipment.  Nearly 500 are leaving from all of Erding.  We’ll be getting up early tomorrow, for we must get our baggage down to the train and be ready to go at 8:00 a.m.  Actually, the train will pull out between nine and ten o’clock, judging from past performances.

Needless to say, this is my last post from the ETO.

Now I warn you: I can’t be expected home before a reasonable date!  Bear in mind all the complications that come up in a long trip of this kind, and remember how far away I am from Spokane.  I suppose some will want some idea of how long it’s going to take—I can only give my own personal guess, and that is: from Erding to Spokane, anything between three and five weeks.  There is no standard time for these trips—different shipments vary.  Just for the fun of it, I’ll compromise my estimates above and guess that I arrive in Spokane a civilian one month from tomorrow.

We are due at the port on the 10th—then we start sweating out a ship.  We may stay there from three or four days to two weeks or more, waiting.  Some boats are faster than others, so the ocean trip itself will probably require from five to twelve days.  Landing in the states, I will likely be at a reception camp in the New York or Boston area for a couple of days.  The transcontinental train-ride to the West Coast will take up another five days or so.  I understand that my actual discharge will be handled at Fort Lewis, Washington.  Figure a couple of days there, and another day to get to Spokane.

I mailed a parcel containing my camera, a book, and some very valuable underwear yesterday.  I hope Mom and Dad are on the lookout for it.

“Mr.” Mackliet!!—-can you imagine that?

[letterstohome copyright 2008]

I recently sent some pictures home; they are the first of some odds and ends that I must clear out in the next couple of weeks—it’s a long haul from Germany to Spokane! The Army encourages us to carry only the barest essentials. I won’t have too much trouble in that respect, as I am not as great an accumulator of “stuff and junk” as most GI’s.

One picture I enclosed was a flattering view of Munich —it isn’t in as good condition as it appears. Only a place like that could keep us at a place like this on our days-off!

Bavaria is in the icy grip of sub-zero weather now, and we’re freezing our big ears off. It hasn’t been warmer than 15-20 above (I’d guess) the last two days; yes sir, the thermometer has taken a nosedive. We have about five inches of snow with some ice under it. The only enjoyment the Krauts have had since V-Day is watching the victorious American supermen slip on the ice and snow and come crashing down on their well-fed posteriors! (Unlike most GI’s, I’m getting to hate these people more every day I’m here. I suppose some will say that Germany is the cleanest, most modern country in Europe and that the Germans are a wonderful, if somewhat misunderstood people. Bah! They ought to take them all out and shoot them.)

I received letters from home on Nov. 17th and 20th. It looks like Mom and Dad were getting just a little ahead of me concerning this redeployment situation. I hope they don’t think I would start on my way home without telling them. I’m approximately 7,500 miles from Washington. The entire journey may take a month or so after I leave Erding, counting the stops and layovers that can easily occur. To go from here to a port on the Atlantic coast of France takes several days of tiresome, uncomfortable traveling in boxcars going along at about 15 m.p.h. And contrary to the impression fostered by the movies and newspapers, most GI’s do not sail on large luxury liners but on Liberty and Victory ships and assorted banana boats, also making about 15 m.p.h.!! Ha Ha! Those are the conditions that prevail, as Jimmy Durante has said.

Let’s drop that subject for a minute. The U.S. Army, as you may have heard, has thousands of Germans on the payroll now, and more are being hired every day. German women work in nearly all Army mess halls—and what a wonderful job that is for a hungry Heinie! Recently a surprise inspection and search was pulled at one of our bases, and it was discovered that only 98% of the German personnel had stolen food concealed on their persons. How do you like that? No rations are allowed for civilian personnel—they eat their meals out of the GI’s rations, and then try to smuggle out everything they can carry. Too bad they’re not built like cows, so that they can eat the stuff and subsequently bring it up and sell it or whatever they do with it! German women workers were searched by WAC’s. Not only were there all kinds of hidden pockets for carrying food, but some women were found with butter smeared on their arms (under sleeves) and other such tricks as that. Many women had hidden food in their bosoms. Zounds! You’d be surprised how much food could disappear that way!—one need not be in Germany long to see that! Well, I must hurry and finish this note; got to go to the mess hall and try to organize a football team of eleven of those frauleins to represent Erding! Our GI’s didn’t win a game this season. P.S.—We Americans are a bunch of easy-going fools. When are we going to get wise to ourselves?

Back in Ireland, after VE-Day, I amassed the staggering total of 48 points, with 85 then required for discharge. Bob says to me, “Will the day ever come when are high-point men?”. I didn’t try for the $64—a bird in the hand, you know. Come VJ-Day and I inveigled an unwilling Army to donate 8 additional points to the cause. And now, on Dec. 9th, I find myself a dyed-in-the-wool-and-a-yard-wide, honest-to-goodness high-pointer—-that I should live so long! Not only that, but the Captain has put my name on the door as NCO i/c (noncommissioned officer in charge). With Bob gone and Herb in Paris, I’m alone in the office. There’s work enough for three men, but who and what am I in charge of? Fortunately, there is a radio in the office, so I don’t become too board.

I’ll end this with a bang: I haven’t been extremely enthusiastic about the prospect of going home after 2 ½ years overseas, have I? I realize that I haven’t, and there is a reason. Since about the middle of October, I have been making inquiries in regard to my being discharged over here and being employed as a civilian by the Civil Service Commission, for duty with the Army. Thousands of men have already done that very thing. The pay is good, far better than what is being paid in the states for similar work. For a fellow who planned to start school next fall but was wondering what to do until that time, it looked like a good chance to make some gelt. Before going to Switzerland, I made formal application for job and salary rating (merely a request for information). The whole thing is at present so snarled up with red tape that I will likely be home before they get around to considering my application.

Actually, I thought I would have an answer by this time; I could then make my decision, leaving with the other 56-pointers if I didn’t like the set-up offered me. If I wished to stay here and find out what action will be taken on my request, I could have my name scratched from the shipment. After some serious thought, I have decided that I will not do that under any circumstances. So, here’s how the matter stands: If I do not hear anything concerning the application up to the day I leave, I will go back to the states in the regular manner. If action is taken by the higher-ups at an earlier date then I anticipate, and if an attractive offer is made to me before the shipping date, there is some chance that I will sign up. In which case I will come home next summer! Simple, eh?

[letterstohome copyright 2008]

Brrrr! — after two years in the U.K., I’m no longer used to this kind of climate. Yes indeed, a long, cold winter is in prospect. Long underwear (which most of us seldom wore) will be selling at a premium during these coming months. — Brrrr!

Now that I’ve set the proper mood, I’ll continue: We flew here from Compiegne on Saturday, arriving about noon after a 2 ½ hour, 450-odd-mile trip (over 600 miles by train or truck, actually).

Last Saturday night I dreamed that I was at home. After several hours at W. 703 (it seemed), I casually remarked “By the way, I’m stationed in southern Germany now”. No one seemed the least bit surprised – especially me! We knew we were going to Erding two weeks before we left N.I; the stop-over at Compiegne was an unexpected development, however. And so, Bob, Herb, and I have reached the end of the trail – this should be our last regular assignment in the Army overseas. Any further traveling should now be to the west! All in good time, of course.

Here at the ARC Aero Club, where I am writing this, there is an autographed picture on which the following is inscribed: “To the boys of the 9th Air Force Base Depot – quite a mess, isn’t it? – Jerry Colonna”. Ha! A memento of “Professor” Colonna’s visit to the base – and a more or less accurate description of the situation here as well!

Erding is officially the 9^th A.F.B.D. – Air Strip R-91 is also located here. You will find Erding (our depot is on the town’s outskirts) about 35 kilometers (roughly 20 miles) to the northeast of Munich (German spelling: Munchen). Before Germany was unified and federated under Bismark, this area was known as Bavaria. To some extent, it is still known as Bavaria, speaking from a geographic point of view.

I can’t say as yet what this place is going to be like – we are not at all settled down, only partially unpacked. There is lots of room for improving the living conditions. It could be quite a nice camp, if the Army will go to the trouble of fixing it up. The main difficulty at present is the over-crowding — there are three times as may men as can be comfortably accommodated in existing facilities.

Like the U.K. and France, Germany is most attractive in appearance, except for the cities, which are bombed to hell. The smaller towns and villages are in better shape and are very quaint, though lifeless.

[letterstohome copyright 2008]