Camouflaged trucks and guns
Sunday
[September or October 1945]
Dear Mom & Lou,
Lou, I’m sending this to the office because you will perhaps get it sooner.
Look in the newspapers on Thursday, Friday, Saturday for story (I.N.S.) on “rubber divisions” furnished to the Army by U.S. Rubber Co. and cut them out for me. And watch the papers closely now for stories about the ways the Germans were deceived, either by American or British units, especially anything referring to any “ghost” or “phantom” army. Friday’s “New Orleans Item” carried quite an interesting little story put out by U.S. Rubber, but not going into any detail, telling how they had provided the army with countless dummy tanks, trucks, planes, guns, etc. Which were used by a special engineer unit overseas. Interesting don’t you think so? They didn’t mention the unit that used them & I don’t think they told more than a fraction of the story, but even that much is interesting.
This is the most boring place I have ever seen - especially when you don’t even have enough money to buy more than postage. I’m down to $.45 before this letter so I hope you’ll send or have sent some money air mail.
Things look fairly good re discharge just now but - anything can happen here. I wrote George [Dahl] asking him to use his pull in Washington to see to it that I get out as soon as my points make me eligible - this is no place to get stuck, let me tell you.
I’ve learned, in my Army life, that there are lots of nice places in the world in which to live - but none of them is spelled MISSISSIPPI. I’d like to run into Kay Crosby now -
Love
Harold
[September or October 1945]
Dear Mom & Lou,
Lou, I’m sending this to the office because you will perhaps get it sooner.
Look in the newspapers on Thursday, Friday, Saturday for story (I.N.S.) on “rubber divisions” furnished to the Army by U.S. Rubber Co. and cut them out for me. And watch the papers closely now for stories about the ways the Germans were deceived, either by American or British units, especially anything referring to any “ghost” or “phantom” army. Friday’s “New Orleans Item” carried quite an interesting little story put out by U.S. Rubber, but not going into any detail, telling how they had provided the army with countless dummy tanks, trucks, planes, guns, etc. Which were used by a special engineer unit overseas. Interesting don’t you think so? They didn’t mention the unit that used them & I don’t think they told more than a fraction of the story, but even that much is interesting.
This is the most boring place I have ever seen - especially when you don’t even have enough money to buy more than postage. I’m down to $.45 before this letter so I hope you’ll send or have sent some money air mail.
Things look fairly good re discharge just now but - anything can happen here. I wrote George [Dahl] asking him to use his pull in Washington to see to it that I get out as soon as my points make me eligible - this is no place to get stuck, let me tell you.
I’ve learned, in my Army life, that there are lots of nice places in the world in which to live - but none of them is spelled MISSISSIPPI. I’d like to run into Kay Crosby now -
Love
Harold