Letters Ray To Shirl a WWII Love Story

  Sept. 12, 1946      My Darling,      Gee it doesn’t sound like such a pretty picture down there now.   To me, no place would be very nice without you.         I was very happy to get a swell, long letter.   It made me feel good. (In a bad way).         Tom Alexander pulled his greatest trick on me so far.   Yesterday he comes up to me and says, “ Ray, I’m being dispossessed!   I’m too old for such things.   Ray, for God’s sake find me a place to live.”   I looked at him as if he were completely insane.   This was too much for little old me to handle so I seemed the advice of the smartest man in the world.   I told him what I wanted and he moaned, “Oh Jesus”.   Then he thunk a bit and asked if a suite at the Palmer House would be O.K.   I asked him if he thought he could do it and he said, “ God Damn it, If anyone can, I can.”   So he’s gonna call me tomorro...

  Sept. 11, 1946       My Darling,       These last two days have seemed awfully long.   I miss you an awful lot.         Called everybody after your telegram came yesterday.   Bill said he was lonesome already.   He sounded convincing.   Your Pop wanted to know all about the ship you flew in and why it didn’t have four engines.   I naturally had to straighten him out.   He also said that he was watching the moon and thinking of you Sunday night.        Mom isn’t mad at you.   She figured you didn’t have enough time as it was.   You know she would really have liked to have gone with you.        There are a million questions I’d like to ask but I’ll wait till you get home to ask them.   No sense in your spending all of your time writing letters.          It’s one of those fresh cool nights with a breeze.   T’wouldn’t tak...

  Nov 27 10 am 1945       Dear Shirl,      Been trying for three days to think of what appropriate answers to write.   Not much success.        As you said, things are tough all over.   It’s my problem from now on I’ll keep it to myself. As to the rest of it, I won’t make any more promises and I’ll stop my dreaming.          My name is fourth from the top on the discharge list.   It may happen before February.   So far I’m still in the Bomb Group.   Should be transferred out this week.      What about Christmas cards to your grandparents and Mabel?   I don’t know their complete names or addresses.   It would be proper to send them wouldn’t it?        There isn’t much doing around here lately.   We’re scheduled for two one hour classes next week.   We’ve all been tinkering with woodcarving etc.   I made a jewelry box.   ...

  Nov. 27, 1945        My Darling,        If you get this letter before you send one telling me off for not sending this earlier everything’ll be joke.   I started to write you Thanksgiving morning then waited so I could tell you about our dinner.   The dinner was so punk that it put me in a nice gruesome mood.   Finally snapped out of it and decided to call you.   The jolly old operator told me that all the jolly old operators in Chicago were out on strike.   I’d been an awful long time since I’ve been as mad as I was that day.   I was all ready to rent suite 1313 at Carlsbad Caverns and become a genuine hermit.   If there had been a letter Thanksgiving Day it would have been a sad one.         Your letter this morning made everything seem different.   I’ve been a pretty nasty character the last couple of weeks.   To everyone, but mostly to you.   I couldn’t see my way cle...

  Nov. 17, 1945      Dear Shirl,       You might as well sit down.   This is going to be the most degodamndetailed letter ever to pass between us.   All of our troubles are caused by one thing - money.   To be blunt, I ain’t got none.   I never did get in my flying time so instead of sacrificing our being together in KC to pay my father more money, I can’t do either one.   My pay at the end of this month will be 166.00$. The musts’s out of that are 60.00, 50.00, and 20.00.   That leaves 36$ to buy supposedly 90 meals, get Christmas presents for you, your mother and Eddie, Mom and Myles, Ken’s and Lee’s kids, buy 30 packs of cigarettes, send Christmas cards, have at least six uniforms cleaned and pressed, call you and Mom on Christmas Day and a couple of small items like razor blades etc. etc.   Right now I’m laughing about it.   It sounds so ridiculous.   Usually it doesn’t seem very funny and I’d just as so...

  Nov. 13, 1945       Dear Shirley,        There isn’t a lot you left for me to say.   I just won’t say anything.   I’ve got to stick to my guns on this and those debts have got to be paid as soon as possible.   If you think it’s selfish and inconsiderate of me you are probably right.   Maybe I’m like your ring, pretty much phoney.         If you really meant some of the things you said it looks like we’ve got a pretty shaky foundation.          There is one thing I’d like to say.   When you take two and two in August and it equals four, then whittle it down for a few months and in November it still equals four, I think that requires some quick action.        Right now we’re about as far away from each other as we’ve been in a long time and I don’t know how it’s going to turn out.   It’s strange the way things happen.   I wonder what else can come u...

  Nov. 5, 1945       My Darling,      That ole thing about lightning striking the same place only once is hooey.   It can strike twice, and did.   Namely, my father is at it again.   Damnit honey, I’ve kept up my end of the bargain to him but he wants more.   No use going into details but I’ll have to pay out every cent I can.   Not because I really have to.   Maybe it’s pride or just plain stubbornness.   It’ll knock out the trip to Kansas City and even more.   Our Christmas presents from me will be pretty skimpy this year.   No use kidding yourself sweetheart, I just can’t be myself till this is all. Taken care of.   Maybe it’s childish and all that but I’ve got to do it.        All day yesterday I was thinking about the first.   Was going to write a hotel for reservations as soon as I got my flying time in.   Even was going to surprise you and have a thermos bottle full ...

  Nov. 4, 1945       Sweetheart,       Just got back from seeing “Don’t Fence Me In”, Could be that old age is catching up with me or maybe it’s slap happiness but by golly I enjoyed it.   Twas all about Wild Cat Willie who wasn’t dead and buried after all.   The music was like a Hit Parade.   Don’t Fence Me In, Along The Navajo Trail, Kiss Goodnight, and Tumbling Tumbleweeds - even the Last Round Up.   Adda Popular Science and a Leon Errol Comedy and you really get your 15 cents worth.   Aside from all of this the picture boosted my morale considerably.   Another one of those days.   Tch tech, we artists and our temperaments.         We had another meeting with the Colonel this morning. Quote he - We are going to the South of France.   You might not be able to have your wives over the first winter, or the first summer, but we’re going to try to arrange for you to have em over by the second su...

  Nov. 1, 1945       My Darling,       Happy Halloween Sweetheart.   I’d have sent you a card or sump’n only I didn’t find out about it being Halloween until afternoon.   More darned surprises.   For Pete’s sake, tomorrow’s November!   By Golly!         To be absolutely Franklyn I was eager to get your letter.   However, it did come at the best moment.   Things were really black today.   Knew it was gonna be a bad day as soon as I woke up.   Things kept goin down until your letter came this afternoon and then they climb back up.   My little prophecy about the next months being tough is coming true.   Our squadron is being transformed into a photo recon outfit.   More breaking up and reassembling of crews.   They’ll put a lot of men into a hat and then draw to see who’s what.   This’ll make everyone discontent.   Then our date was changed.   Of all the damn da...