Edward J. Thomas - World War II
On Saturday Jan. 15, 1944 Britain wants Germany to be partitioned when the war ends. Dwight D. Eisenhower is made commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force that will lead to D-Day less than five months from this date.
Below letter is copied from Eddie's letter word for word.
Dear Izzy & Mac: The Aleutians Sunday 16 January 1944
I efficiently muddled through my files which are based on the
W. C. Fields System and inefficiently found three of your letters
dated Nov. 23, Dec. 8, and Dec. 26. Because of the difficulty I had,
I am thinking of revolutionizing my files to the Robert Benchley System.
I believe it can be done simply by stirring my papers from right to left
by instead of vice versa as prescribed/bulb-nosed Fields.
I was interested in knowing just what your impression would be when
you saw those photographs of me standing in the row boat. These were
very deceiving pictures because they made you believe I went fishing.
The truth was that I had a couple of hours of leisure time to walk around
with some friends a small lake/in an attempt to find a suitable spot for
snapshots. We found a row boat anchored on shore and we just stepped in it
and had our pictures taken. I suppose if it came right down to a frank
confession, I would have to say that there probably was a fish caught. It was
the camera that caught it when it snapped me.
You wrote that you gave up your job as a steward. I have been in
the Army so long that I must have completely forgotten that you held such
a troublesome job. If I knew you were a steward, I would have asked
for some of your experiences in handling the problems of others. How about
giving me some dope on this? Most problems when they are passed on to
somebody else sound pretty funny, especially when they are not your own.
I see that you are not taking my advice in bowling because the scores in your
Nov 23 and Dee 8 letters weren't very high. It was very encouraging,however, to
notice that you have improved in your letter of Dec 26. My advice, I guess, is
showing some results. Keep using that straight ball, girlie. Just as in
everything else, it's better to be straight than crooked.
You gave a very good description of your Christmas celebration and
with Mac mixing the drinks I am sure everybody enjoyed himself very much.
I was very much moved to know that your first drink was to me. If,
however, I had been asked whether you ought to do it, I would have suggested
that you drink for me. In that case there probably would have been the
possibility of my getting drunk, that is if there is anything
to telepathy.
So far I have thanked you only indirectly for the Christmas gifts
you have sent me. Now I wish to do it directly. Those soap bars were very
slick and novel. I have noticed that my name is not merely printed on
the surface but impregnated so that it doesn't wear off for quite some time.
I received a letter from Gertie and Gene and also one from Genie
and shall now have to think about ansvrering them.
With love, Eddie
P.S. Let Harry know I received his sensational record-breaking, l7-page
letter. Tell him that he forgot to include an index.
Izzy:
Your last letter-stated that you paid $4.80 for my gifts to Mom
and Harry. To make the sum an even amount, I am enclosing a money order
if for 45.00. If there is any mistake in my understanding and the full
amount is over $5.00, let me know. Thanks. Ed
On Sat., Jan. 22 the Allies invade coastal Italy around Anzio.
Mon, Jan. 31 the Allies secure the Marshall Islands from Japan.
