Letters Ray To Shirl a WWII Love Story

  June 21, 1945   My Darling,   At last there is plenty of action floating around. We left Lincoln at 1800 on Monday and were lucky enough to get Pullmans. It was a troop train with a G. I. mess car but it wasn't bad. The worst part about it was that we don't get any travel pay when we travel in troop trains. The trip wasn't too bad. Nice scenery and many Mexicans. They sure must be the passionate type - never saw so many kids in my life. They all seem happy too. No matter what question you ask them they smile before answering. We stopped for an hour in El Paso so I went sight seeing. It's a funny city. The streets just run any way they want to. You have the feeling that you're in something different. Every other store seems to handle curios. I was thinking what a swell time you could have buying Mexican jewelry. I'll bet Mexico is swell. I had lunch in a Chinese restaurant downtown. Not one single fish on the menu. I settled for a steak. It was big and good and...

  June 17, 1945   Darling Shirl,   The subject for my text tonight shall be "Barbers". We could shorten the lecture to very few words, namely, God Damn all Barbers," but it is much for far greater pleasure that we go into intimate and minute details. Do all barbers become morons or the opposite - all morons become barbers? Let us take the case of a nice young man - me ! Monday I had a haircut - having faith in the barber I just said "haircut". Perhaps he was farsighted - perhaps he just hated everyone - who knows? Needless to say, I was ruined - I had the appearance of alfalfa in a hail storm. The next day I went to another shop to have my hair repaired. I tried to tell the barber what I wanted but he wouldn't have it. He insisted that he knew exactly what I wanted. I weakened and let him have his way. The illegitimate sun of unwed parents fixed me up fine. I have very little hair left and what there is of it is all over the right ear. I look like I'm e...

  June 14, 1945 (letter 2 )   My Darling,   This morning I was put on the alert for shipping. I'll ship out around Monday. Tomorrow we should find out where we are going and all the details. I'll write you again tomorrow and keep you up to date.     Gee, I was surprised to hear my name called out. I had just about given up hope. One more place to sweat out and then I can play rough with the little guys. I know that it's serious stuff and dangerous too, but I've got to take a crack at it. You can understand that can't you? What I won't do for that extra 10% pay.   I'm still doing my washing and I'll have a mess of junk to straighten out but it's fun. Nothing like being on the move again.     No more laying around just asettin and awaitin.   Well, got to get on with scrubbing.   Until tomorrow   All my love   Ray

  June 14, 1945   Dear Chubby,   Sunset in Nebraska isn't so bad. The skies are all colored up right pretty like and the sun is bright orange. Once in awhile you can hear the roar of an airplane engine and you sort of look all around you and decide that being alive is very nice.   I'm glad that I'm screwball enough to disregard all sorts of rules and take off for a couple of days to see you. Even if I had been skinned and boiled in oil it would have been worth it.     There was another big shipping list out this morning - must have been a couple of hundred guys on it - but me, I'm the forgotten man. Gee whiz, maybe they don't like me and just trying to confuse me. Oh well, a smart guy once told me to take whatever the bigwigs handout. Don't volunteer for anything - don't try and get on something you aren't scheduled for and don't try and get off something you are scheduled for. Maybe that's a good way to feel. Let old gal Fate take care of all of...

  June 12, 1945   My Darling,   Everything is Roger Dodger at the field. Shucks, no one even missed me. Ya know, I didn't even worry about it at all on the train! I must be getting brazen.   Why is Monday wash day? All over the country yesterday there were clothes hanging out. Now just exactly why is that? Why does everyone have to do their washing on Monday - what's wrong with Tuesday or Friday? I think it's very unfair!   Did you hear from Lu yet? Let me know how her adventure came out.     The train ride was uneventful. Nine cups of coffee and a cheese sandwich for lunch. Six cups of coffee and bacon and eggs for supper. The murder mystery was crummy. It turned out that a street car conductor was the guy who done it. Who ever heard of street car conductors going around murdering people and baffling the police? I'm going to switch to true love stories.     I got back to the field around one this morning and I had the darnedest feeling that ...

  June 7, 1945   Darling Little Flower,   A fine thing, I must say - a fine thing indeed. I ask you to send me a copy of Forever Amber and you write back that it can't be done, but you send me two dollars instead. You make me blush!   I was one mad baby yesterday. I told you about that big shipment that was coming up - well it came up yesterday - about 500 men. Every son of a gun that came up here with me from Boca Raton is on it - radar men that came in only a week ago were on it - the fellows that were here before me were on it - but not me. I'm damned near the last radar man here. I don't know how the hell they figure these things out, but by golly, some one is playing tag with me. I'm so damned sure that I should have been on it but there's nothing I can do about it. AlI the gang that I know are leaving and I'm still asettin and awaitin. There are supposed to be more shipments going out at the end of the week - maybe I'll be on them. I go bats when I don...

  June 3, 1945   My Darling,   I'm afraid we are just about stuck out. There are many odds against us and a couple of them can't be licked. I remember once when I was in fourth grade. The teacher was getting married and quitting her job so they threw a small party for us. She ordered ice cream for the class and it was to be delivered. When it was delivered there wasn't quite enough so two kids had to wait. I was one of the kids. When more ice cream finally came it was not only more ice cream but it had chocolate syrup too. I'm going to believe that that's how it's going to be with us. No matter where I go from here I'm going to see you again before I go over seas. I'm sure of that.   I've been doing some more checking here. It would be impossible to get a plane out of here Sunday night. There are defense plants, an arsenal and a B29 plant here and you'd have to get a high priority to fly. You have to have reservations at least a couple of weeks i...