Belgium June 27

Dear Mother & Dad,
        Well mother I must say
I completely forgot about June
12th being your birthday. On
June 12th I did think of it but
it was to late to send a card
then.
     Freeman's letter was the first
one to tell me of the new
nephew. Marie wrote to me
and just mentioned about Audrey
being in the hospital. Then a
little later in the letter she
said we couldn't see him
very well so I figured it
out to be a boy. Some newsy
letter I would say. Maybe there
is still another letter on the
way. Marie always writes

nice letters to me. Our mail
has been awlful slow in coming
through lately. I had a letter from
Marie, Luella, Freeman and you
this week.
     I sure will see a change in
all the kids when I get home.
I don't know when that will be.
I see by the Stars & Stripes
where to 9th Air Force is going
to the Pacific. Only a few will
be kept here in the E.T.O. The
quartermaster that has been with
us since Texas has left
already. So I really don't know
if they figure the rest of us
will follow or not.
     Well mother, as I told
you once before, I didn't enter
the hospital as I expected to.

The hospital outfit that we
have been doing business with
is going to move, that is one
reseason [sic] for not entering, and
second it hasn't bothered me good.
It is right on the end of my
spine and not on my head
so figure out where it is. It is
quite an operation, so I may
wait to see how it turns out
and when it gets cooler. It
will keep me from going to
the Pacific if I get back in the
states first.
   In your letter you asked what
I did when the alerts came.
It would wake us up and we
would lie awake until it was
over with or until we heard
the planes comeing. Then out

side and watch. If they got to
close by wh we would get
into slit trenches. We always
had to wear our steel helmets.
During Feb. & March of 44 we
didn't have time to dress sometimes.
I saw the anti air craft guns
shoot down a couple of planes.
When the buzz bombs started
to come over, they were so
fast we just laid there and
listen to them go over. We did
have some close ones but none
on the field. I guess that was
about all there was to it.
    Well I guess this is all for
now. Hope everything is all
right back home now, and
Audrey is home. Goodbye.
                        Love Ralph.


The next letter will be posted on July 1st.

Background Information (and comments):

• Ralph's newest nephew, Leon Earl Brown, son of Glenn & Audrey (Dings) Brown was born on June 7, 1945. 
• Glenn & Audrey lived in the back part of the homestead house as Glenn helped his dad with the farm. Most interesting to me (as a child) was the water pump in their kitchen sink instead of running water and watching my Aunt Audrey sort, clean, and size the chicken eggs she had collected to prepare them for selling. Whenever we needed eggs, we went there.

Belgium June 24.

Dear Mother & Dad,
       Another week has gone by and
one less week away from home.
Enough days go by and someday
it will be my lucky day and
I will be walking in the front door.
When that day will be, no
one knows.
     Today we didn't have to
work except for a skelton crew
on the line. My buddy Pyle
had to work and I was with
him most of the day. Whenever
a plane comes in he has to
oil and gas them. Today we
had a surprise. Two German
aircraft came in. These were

the jet propelled type. They will
be sent to the U.S. for tests at
Patterson Field. One pilot was a
colonel and the other was a
German civilian. He use to be
the chief test pilot for Messer-
schmrits Airplane Co. Of course
I was helping refuel the planes
today so had a good talk with
the pilots.
      Well, I have received very
little mail this past week. I received
your letter of June 4th and one from
Lenore, and Marie. I hope I begin
to get a little more mail this
comeing week. I guess this
redeployment has it all mixed
up and they have a lot of work.

    We didn't have any church services
today. Our chaplain has been sent
home. He sure was a happy fellow.
    Well not much more to write about
tonight. It has really been hot
the last few days and showers a
little every night, and it is cool so
a person can really sleep. Those
pesky little oat bugs are here. They
are almost driving me crazy. I have
some more pictures to send home. I
want all the pictures for a scrap
book after I get home so keep them.
So long for now.
                          Love Ralph


The next letter will be posted on June 27th.

Background Information (and comments):

• Here is what I found about planes used by the Germans and photos of each:

The German Luftwaffe fielded two of the best fighters in all of World War 2 - theMesserschmitt Bf 109 and Focke-Wulf 190. There are a total of 105 World War 2 German Fighters (1939-1945) - Fighter Aircraft of the Luftwaffe in the Second World War in the Military Factory.

Belgium June 18

Dear Mother,
       I am a little late writing
again this week, but I have
a very good excuse for this
time. I just returned today
from a seventy two hour pass
in Paris. I was one of the first
men in our outfit to get a 72 hour
pass.
     Paris is really a beautiful
place now. It looks lots cleaner
than it did when I was stationed
there during the winter.
     There are so many parks that
are all blossomed out in flowers
now, and at night the city
is really lit up with lights.

I traveled by rail and was
able to get a good view of the
bombing that had been done over
here. The roads are being repaired
very fast now. Most of them are
serviceable.
     Our mail is very slow in
comeing through. I received 3 letters
while I was gone. It is very poor.
I haven't had a letter from you
for three weeks now. I heard
from Harley today. He is still
in Germany. I sure would like
to see him. I guess I have been
running around to much already to
get many favors. I have a furlough
comeing up next month to England.
It is my first furlough since

Nov. 25. 1943. So I guess it is
about time I had another one.
     I am pretty tired out tonight so
guess I will hit the hay. I hope
some mail will be here tomorrow
and I will be able to answer them
then. Goodnight for now.
                                Love Ralph.


The next letter will be posted on June 24th.

Background Information (and comments):

• Ralph frequently writes about mail delivery problems and this caused me to go back and examine some envelopes. I'm including one from May 21st (postmarked May 23) and one written 5 days later on May 26th. (postmarked May 29). Besides the fact that one has my mom's notes on it and the other has the airmail marking, can you spot the other major difference? (The answer is found by scrolling down after the second photo.)

Answer: No censor stamp

Belgium. June 10.

Dear Mother & all,
      Received Audreys letter yesterday and that is
about all the mail I have had for a few days. It
is rather slow in coming through lately. I imagine
the APO's are all mixed up on the mail
situation because of this deployment program.
   Well I guess I won't have to worry much about
it. I probably will have the same address a
year from now. If I only knew I would feel
better about the whole deal.
      Yesterday was my beginning of my fourth
year in the army. It really doesn't seem as if
it was that long ago. Now I will be wearing
a hash mark on my left sleeve to denote
three years of service completed and this gives
me 5% increase in pay. I will be drawing
$20. a month now while over seas.
     In Audrey's letter she said, she would
probably be in the hospital by now. I hope
everything is ok and I probably am uncle again.
From her letter I see Ruth King has had
a little misunderstanding with her Willie. What
went wrong, do you know? I suppose she is
unhappy about it. I wrote Irene a nice long
letter the other day. I told her all about my

trip over here and just like I wrote your
letter. By the paper I see where Irma is
with her husband so I don't know if Irene
is living at the same place or not. I sent her
letter in care of her folks. Do you ever hear
anything about her anymore.
     I guess they sure are giving them hell over
there in the Pacific. I sure hope they do.
Seems so they would sure want to quit. I
guess they would surrender if it wasn't for the
unconditional part of it. I think the US will leave
it just as it is. Germany finally excepted it though.
     Well I guess this will have to be a letter for
now. I am leaving for a 3 day pass in Paris
this week. It begins the 13th. Wish it was going
to be at home instead. So long for now.
                                                Love Ralph.


The next letter will be posted on June 18th.

Background Information (and comments):

• Ruth King was a neighbor. Someone else will have to tell me who Willie is.
• Here's what I found about the troop situation in Europe at this time:

When the war ended in Europe on May 8, 1945, the ETOUSA headquarters was located in Versailles, France, just outside Paris. As Eisenhower and his staff began to prepare for the occupation of Germany, the ETOUSA headquarters staff moved to Frankfurt, Germany, and co-located with the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Forces and the Office of Military Government, United States. ETOUSA was re-designated as U.S. Forces, European Theater (USFET) on July 1, 1945, with its headquarters remaining at Frankfurt.

At the end of the war, the total U.S. Army strength in Europe was almost 1.9 million: two Army groups (6th and 12th), five field armies (First, Third, Seventh, Ninth and Fifteenth), 13 corps headquarters, and 62 combat divisions (43 infantry, 16 armor, and 3 airborne). 

June 6, 1945.

Dear Mother & all,
        I am a little late in writing to
you this week. In fact I am behind
on all of my writing. In one of my
letters I told you I was going to the
hospital. Well before I could get a
place in there my cyst quit
bothering me. They like to operate
only when they are bothering a person.
So I probably won't go now.
     Your letter of May 28 arrived
the 4th. I received the money
order and thanks for the prompt
service. I guess there is to much
celebration over here. They celebrate
every night over here since VE day.

    There are PW returning and they
really put on a celebration for them.
     Today is a holiday for all U.S
troops over here. It is just a year
ago that they made the big push and
started the ball rolling. Things have
really changed in a years time.
     I know where Harley is located
at now. I am going to try to get down
that way to see him if it is anyway
possible.
     Yesterday I took a trip which
was arranged by the Special Service
Division. It was to Waterloo Belgium.
This is a historicial place where
Napeleon fell. They have a big

     They are arrangeing trips like this
all the time. I sure hope I will be
able to visit a lot of places of interest.
There are a lot of military cementaries
to see. I want to visit Flanders Field.
    Well this is about all. I really
can't think of anything to write any
more. I will try to write later
on.
                          Love Bill.


The next letter will be posted on June 10th.

Background Information (and comments):

• Either a page is missing or Ralph took a break and forgot where he left off in telling about his trip to Waterloo. Recall he said he was near Louvain and on the map below, you can also see Waterloo.
• I believe he meant POW instead of PW. Here is some information and a chart I found:

Axis POWs. Germany treated its British, French, and American prisoners comparatively well but treated Soviet, Polish, and other Slavic POWs with genocidal severity. Of about 5,700,000 Red Armysoldiers captured by the Germans, only about 2,000,000 survived the war; more than 2,000,000 of the 3,800,000 Soviet troops captured during the German invasion in 1941 were simply allowed to starve to death. 

Historian Niall Ferguson, in addition to figures from Keith Lowe, tabulated the total death rate for POWs in World War II as follows:

Soviet POWs held by Germans	57.5%
German POWs held by Yugoslavs	41.2%
German POWs held by Soviets	35.8%
American POWs held by Japanese	33.0%
American POWs held by Germans	1.19%
German POWs held by Eastern Europeans	32.9%
British POWs held by Japanese	24.8%
German POWs held by Czechoslovaks	5.0%
British POWs held by Germans	3.5%
German POWs held by French	2.58%
German POWs held by Americans	0.15%
German POWs held by British	0.0

• On a lighter note, here is information about Special Services Division:

Special Services are the entertainment branch of the American military. The unit was created on 22 July 1940 by the War Department as part of the Army Service Forces.^[1] Special Services would not only use their own specially trained and talented troops but would often engage local performers.^[2]

Special Services were one of the few U.S. Army units to be integrated during World War II. Special Services opened their first Recreational Officer school at Fort Meade Maryland on 1 April 1942.^[3]

• Here is some information about Flanders Field:

Flanders Fields is a common English name of the World War I battlefields^[1] in an area straddling the Belgian provinces of West Flanders and East Flanders as well as the French department of Nord-Pas-de-Calais, part of which makes up the area known as French Flanders.

Flanders Field American Cemetery and Memorial, a World War I cemetery on the southeast edge of the town of Waregem, Belgium. Poppy flowers began to grow after the burial of the fallen soldiers. In Flanders Fields, a famous poem about World War I written by Canadian Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae.