Belgium Mar. 25.

Dear Mother & all,
       Well here I am on the move
again and this time it is Belgium.
This sure is a beautiful country.
It is pretty landscape and the
homes seem to be well kept up.
    The Belgium people keep there
homes very neat. I was in a cafe
tonight and also an ice cream
parlor. They have ice cream to
sell over here. It really tastes good
again for a change. It has been so
long since I have had good ice
cream.
     I rode up here on a truck
with a load of material. I drove
a few miles and was able to get
a very good view of the countryside.
There sure are a lot of German
equipment all the way that we
came up here. Also a lot of damage

done to the villages and towns.
It will take years to build some
of this country up again. But here
there doesn't seem to be very much
damage done.
        I received quite a few letters
before I came up here but just
didn't have time to answer very
many of them. I am tired out
tonight. We have been doing a
lot of hard work setting up a
new camp. I am looking for one
of the fellows to bring some mail
up with him tomorrow.
     While I was in France I wanted
to see Paris. I visited it quite a
few times and now I am looking
forward into getting into Brussels. I
guess I will have plenty to tell
you folks once I am back in the
good old U.S. again. Maybe someday

I will be able to catch up with
Harley. It seems as if he is always
just one country ahead of me. He
must be plenty busy now according
to the latest war news.
         Tell the rest I will write when
I can. Goodnight and goodbye for
now.
                           Love Ralph.


The next letter will be posted on April 1st.

Background Information (and comments):

• Here are some war events since Ralph's last letter:
• March 18: 1,250 US bombers attacks Berlin
• March 19:  Hitler issues “Nero Decree” for scorched-earth retreat—Germans to destroy factories, railroads, and bridges, but it is largely ignored. 
• March 20: US 70th Infantry division and 7th Armour division attack Saar (region of Germany)
• March 21: Allied bombers begin 4-day raid over Germany
• March 22: US 3rd Army crosses Rhine at Nierstein
• March 23: British 7th Black Watch crosses the Rhine
• March 24: Operation Varsity: In the largest one-day airborne operation of all time, British, US & Canadian paratroopers land east of the Rhine in Northern Germany