Back Home in Southern France
December 9, 1944
Dear Mom,
I’ve enclosed three pictures of the boys took of Walter and I. The one of “Walt” is very good (note the T4). In one of the pictures if you will notice “Flag” has a french book in his hand. THe third picture has a great deal of shadows but still is not bad.
This afternoon I tryed to write you but the little kids come up and start to comb my hair climb up on the chair. They now have gotten to the stage where they are not the least bit bashful. If they don’t see candy around and there is plenty. (I have gotten 20 packages in the past week.) (4 again last night). They just say “Vous vay Bon Bon Non?” “Merci”
“You have candy No?” “Thank you”
Soon after you give it to them they are gone. There mother who is not the old woman I wrote of before but a young woman of 25 is very good to us. Each afternoon she comes in with a bottle of beer or wine, some apple etc. Then she asks us down stairs for the evening. Tonight we stayed late. She and her girl friends sang for us “Silent Night” in French and while they sang they played the phonograph their records are old such as “Penny Serenade” “Oh Solo Mio” etc all in French, again we had beer. After much hissing by the children and shaking of hands we whent to bed. She seems very proud to have us living with her and had all her friend in to night.
Her husband is a prisoner in Germany.
Tonight I received a five pound box of cookies from pop and peanut butter crackers from Mom with gloves (which are well, and ear muffs). The third package were from the Republican Club and contained cigarettes, shaving cream, candy, razor blades, a new type of foam tooth paste, tooth brush, soap, after shave lotion (alos there was a bottle in your package) talcom powder, can of peanuts etc. Last night there were four packages one from Westons, one from Ele, one from Aunt Bebe, + as always one from Mom. The mail clerk says with out a dough I received more packages than any one else in the battery this far. Aunt Bebe sent a fruit cake, Westn fudge, cigarettes, etc. The French self taught arrived yesterday also.
Till tomorrow,
Love,
Bill