April 25, 1944 Tuesday

Evening, Bunny,

My first mail as an officer came today, your Sunday letter. The post office here is divided into two windows – enlisted men and officers. I have a box and feel like Henry Ford or somebody going after my mail.

Have another night completely off after 4:30. Can’t get over that. So much time. Dressed all up in my dark green pants, dark green shirt with brown tie and belt and came up to the officers club to write you. Must try out all my combinations!

Our work here consists of going out to a training area in the morning and “observing” enlisted men in training. It’s wonderful! We stand around offering comments here and there and sticking our noses into other instructors’ problems. Today we went with a reconnaissance problem. We’d watch how well the men worked – correcting errors here and there. Every now and then we took a bunch of firecrackers and went out to act as enemy for the patrols. Great fun, and we could quit at our own pleasure. This afternoon we critiqued formation tank driving and rode on the rear decks of the tanks keeping the men on the ball.

This life of Riley will end when I go to a platoon on bivouac. Our men who are out now are in sad shape – working night and day. But I enjoy this no end. I’m a great observer and critic.

Being a new shave-tail is all right, but there are those who do not think much of us. Older lieutenants call us “O.C.S. Lieutenants,” as if that was a particularly troublesome kind of weed.

And maybe you have heard of the Nazi Platoon they have here. It is a group of German speaking men that function all the time in German uniforms, know German drill and all, and haunt the tactical area of battle training. Whenever you are there and make an administrative or tactical error, they capture you and take you to their headquarters. They specialize on Lieutenants, and the sentence is 8 hours in their prisoner of war camp – “Schicklegruber’s Pokey.” I know because 10 men of Group 61 were caught today as they slept thru the tank formation driving. We saw them in the Pokey, and they are still there now. They got all our “Big operators,” so it gave us all a big laugh. They did not have any security out, so they were surrounded.

It still makes me feel like a heel to see the basic trainees. They are in the tactical area all the time, and a more beat crowd I have never seen. They must be under pretty severe discipline, they act so scared. One company spent all p.m. One company spent all p.m. on arm and hand signals that we never took up in O.C.S. – just soaked up by being near tanks. And after four hours, they couldn’t learn them! They must have been very tired from the bivouac.

Say, I hope like everything you got my yesterday’s letter. I wrote a long one and enclosed a graduation program. I don’t remember mailing it but I couldn’t find the thing anywhere this morning. The only thing I can think of is that some “pal” of mine picked it up from my foot locker and mailed it with his letters. If you got it, please let me know. What I said was that I am in favor still of getting married right away, and want to know if it was entirely impossible for you to get from May 20 to June 1st off. Also told you about graduation and the weekend in Louisville. I have been aggravated all day because I couldn’t definitely account for that letter or one I wrote home. Never saw things disappear as they did. I had some very good reasons for overcoming all difficulties to marrying and living together. Can’t remember just how it went now, but I am entirely convinced it is the thing to do. Please let me know just how serious your school and teaching complications are. That is a terrible time for a teacher to get off, but I hope there is something we can do to work it. Also, can you find out what we can do now to allow us to get married as early as possible in my leave? We have to have a blood test and a license. Why don’t you get yours sometime around May 1st, and ask if I can’t get one thru the army. I have had dozens and could get another if necessary, I believe. I am sure my father can help us out on getting a marriage license if that offers any trouble.

As far as plans for the ceremony are concerned, we have the same problems we had before. With all the things that could come up, I think plans should be pretty flexible. That means pretty small and informal, so that the date can be changed some if necessary. Just as a suggestion, would May 23rd make a good tentative date? With the wedding at my house, and friends invited in the best way possible after we are sure of the date?

I would like to get married as early as possible in the leave, so we could go somewhere, anywhere where we can be together, and have as long as possible. Then I expect we would separate for a time until I had made arrangements for you and maybe Grammie to live near wherever I am stationed.

That is about as concrete as we can be for now. These plans leave almost everything up to you, honey. And I know how busy you are, too. But I am very helpless out here at battle training. Don’t know a great deal, and have no place to find out. The two weeks I am with my platoon, I may not even get a chance to write. We are right out in the woods all thru it, with 5 big tanks to keep going and 25 men to keep alive and learning. So I would like to get just as much planning done as possible now.

These things I’ve suggested tonite are completely subject to what you think, Honey. If you can’t get time off, or can see no way to take it, that is a big thing in our way. About all I can say is that I fully expect to have from May 20 to 30 off. Figure a couple days travel time on each end that leaves only 6 days at home. I guess about all I can supply is myself, and at that particular time. You can see what the situation is in Keene. If there is any way you can arrange for to get married in that time, I’m entirely in favor of it, no matter what it is. And if there is anything I can possibly do to help in planning it, just let me know what it is. I feel stuck way off here in the wilderness, and am only guessing as to what is going on in Keene.

We will have a chance to make a play of our own soon, tho, and if we do it looks as tho we will be able to work it so that we can be together for some time. As before, most of the work, and the discomfort in case our plans don’t work out, lays with you. Because you are there where the plans will work out for better or worse. After we are married, I will be able to take the responsibilities and make the plans. That’s the way we want it, so let’s try like everything to make it that way.

Planning a little wedding isn’t so much, when you think of it objectively. Let’s plan it confidently. We can certainly work out something in the time we have. I can get off. Let’s do anything to get you away from duty for a while. That’s all we need to get married. You and I free for just a little while. We can beat everything else easy enough.

I love you very, very much, Honey. We have a lot of living to do. We’ve got a good foundation and good plans for all the future. Let’s get going on it.

Always all yours,
Wallace