France

June 29, 1944

Dear Mom & Pop:

This is a rather backward way of congratulating you upon your 40th anniversary, but anything I might have sent earlier would not have reached you in time anyway. Have been thinking even more today of you and Pop and feel very proud of you both. I look forward to spending the next anniversary with you. I have been proclaiming your anniversary to all and sundry so that everyone here wishes you the best.

Your letter and Gracie's letter of the 14th came yesterday, so I guess our communications are regularly established again.

Don't know where you got the business of the card. We never heard of it and wouldn't have had time for it if there were such a thing.

Just the other day I got an answer from Joe Landers to the letter I sent him. He says he has been terrifically busy, which I imagine he has. He is still in England, and I judge will remain there.

Today I was talking to one of our replacement officers, a Lt Harrison, and found much to my surprise that he is from Chicago and Champaign. He was born and raised in Logan Square district and then his family moved to Champaign. He went to school there from '38 to '42 when he left to join the army.

Another surprise I had was in talking to Capt. Ruda, one of our medics. He's from Chicago, which I knew, but just the other day it occurred to me to ask him if he knew Joe Jana. He tells me he knew him quite well for Joe was in the class ahead of his at Loyola. He told me he thought Joe was married now. Neither one of us know just where he's on duty.

That was a very nice letter Mrs. Weymouth sent. I'm going to drop her a note. Also Aunt Lil. Thanks for her address. I didn't have it.

I have a new pair of shoes and they are so comfortable that I have been walking around in them all day today.

That little jack knife you bought me is certainly handy. It's my principal eating tool for we don't bother much to carry our mess gear. You would be horribly shocked, I know, to see me pie-shape my K-rations and eat it from the knife. The corkscrew is handy for those rare occasions when we get hold of some Normandy champagne of which I wrote. The people here are reluctant to sell us any for bottles are so scarce that they are afraid they won't get them back. If you drink it there, they'll gladly give it to you, but generally we haven't time for it.

Love,

Bob