October 24

Dear Mother,
          Another week has finally rolled by and
maybe it is a week less until I am able to
be home again. Did you have lots of company today?
We are haveing visitors now.
           I attended church this morning and the
rest of the day was spent just like any
other day. Work, work and work.
         I am writing this from our new Red
Cross Club on the field. It is a grand place.
They have refreshments for sale here. Sandwiches
cookies, pie, cake and fruit. I just had a
delious pear to eat.
      Our mail has been awlful slow in
comeing over again. I suppose soon we will
have bunches of it to read.
          Well mother, I can't think of much to
write about tonight so I guess I must close.
I am fine and wish I was home. Someday
we will be together again. Goodbye for
now. Please write often.     Your son
                                                  Ralph


The next letter will be posted on Oct. 29th.

Background Information (and comments):

• This was another V-mail written on the 24th, censor stamped on the 26, but not postmarked until Nov. 1.
• I was surprised to read that the Red Cross charged for refreshments, so I did some research and found the following: athttp://www.npr.org/sections/money/2012/07/13/156737801/the-cost-of-free-doughnuts-70-years-of-regret
• The photo is from the website; it is a Red Cross Clubmobile (probably not the "grand place" Ralph wrote about.

Go to any VFW hall, even today, and you'll get the same story: During World War II, the Red Cross had comfort stations for soldiers overseas, with free coffee and free doughnuts. Then, in 1942, the Red Cross started charging for the doughnuts. Soldiers have held a grudge ever since.

Turns out it's true.

"It keeps coming up, that they were charged for coffee and doughnuts," says Susan Watson, archivist for the Red Cross.

The organization started charging only because the U.S. Secretary of War asked it to. British soldiers had to pay for their snacks, and the free doughnuts for Americans were causing tensions. So the Red Cross complied, after protesting to no avail. It didn't last long — for most of the last 70 years, Red Cross doughnuts have remained free — but veterans haven't forgotten.