No letter on 1 March 1944... Just this from 29 February:
[Note from FOURTHCHILD: 1944 was a Leap Year, unlike 2011.]
438th AAA AW BN
APO 527 % Postmaster, N.Y.
England
29 February, 1944 1400
Dearest Sweetheart,
Today is payday so I had to run around a bit this morning. As a result the boys are happy again. It’s funny to see them after they’ve been paid. They start to settle up their accounts with each other; one pays up ₤2, six shillings and collects 18 shillings from someone else and that’s the way it goes. More money changes hands than is passed across the counter of Barclay’s Ltd in a week.
Some of the boys have already taken off for their furlough trips. The enlisted men are getting 7 days also – and the great majority are heading for the western part of England or Scotland – since most everyone has already been to London – and London, some of these nights, isn’t too healthy a spot to be in, anyway. My own leave starts tomorrow, dear, and I’m kind of blue about it. If only I could be with you instead of tramping around the countryside. Well, I always wanted to see England – and I’m getting the chance to. I’ve missed you particularly the past few days, sweetheart – no special reason – just a spell – as you no doubt have had too. Maybe it’s the thought of our being engaged – and my impatience at the time involved. I’m so anxious to hear a reply to my letters of several days ago.
Sunday night and last night I went to the movies. Due to the splendid effort of the Special Service Division – which has a very important job in overseas stations – we have our own projector and can show films in our battalion area. Most of the shows are quite old – but no one seems to mind. Sunday we saw “Petrified Forest” – with Leslie Howard, B. Davis and H. Bogart – the latter in his first “bad-man” role – remember, dear? Last nite we saw “Mr. Smith goes to Wash.” – another oldie, but good – and really although I had seem them both, I actually enjoyed them. Anyway – in each case – they had killed 2 hours – and I didn’t have to travel more than 75 yards to get to see them.
Tomorrow, darling, I won’t be able to write – but if it’s at all feasible, I’ll try to write you from wherever I am. I wouldn’t want you to find a big gap in your mail. However – if there are some spaces, dear, you’ll understand – won’t you?
In the past 3 days I’ve received only one letter from you, dear, and that was a V-mail written Valentine’s Day from Bea’s house. Darling I’m so glad you got the roses and I do hope they were nice. You buy a cat-in-a-bag when you order by mail – and that was the only way. I was curious as to how it would wash out. I sent Penn a check, as I did with Fannie Farmer and wondered what they’d do about it. I explained what I wanted. I was half tempted to send Stan the check and let him handle it for me. As things developed, I’m rather glad I didn’t. Anyway – if it made you the least bit happier, Sweetheart – I’m glad. I just didn’t want you to be forgotten just because I happen to be away.
Well, darling, I’ll say ‘so long’ for now. I’ll probably not write long letters for the next several days but I’ll make up for it, I know. I wish only that you could be with me the next few days – then things would really be all right. I have so many nice things to tell you, darling, – but it will have to wait until I can tell you I person – alone. Until later, dear, you have –
Today is payday so I had to run around a bit this morning. As a result the boys are happy again. It’s funny to see them after they’ve been paid. They start to settle up their accounts with each other; one pays up ₤2, six shillings and collects 18 shillings from someone else and that’s the way it goes. More money changes hands than is passed across the counter of Barclay’s Ltd in a week.
Some of the boys have already taken off for their furlough trips. The enlisted men are getting 7 days also – and the great majority are heading for the western part of England or Scotland – since most everyone has already been to London – and London, some of these nights, isn’t too healthy a spot to be in, anyway. My own leave starts tomorrow, dear, and I’m kind of blue about it. If only I could be with you instead of tramping around the countryside. Well, I always wanted to see England – and I’m getting the chance to. I’ve missed you particularly the past few days, sweetheart – no special reason – just a spell – as you no doubt have had too. Maybe it’s the thought of our being engaged – and my impatience at the time involved. I’m so anxious to hear a reply to my letters of several days ago.
Sunday night and last night I went to the movies. Due to the splendid effort of the Special Service Division – which has a very important job in overseas stations – we have our own projector and can show films in our battalion area. Most of the shows are quite old – but no one seems to mind. Sunday we saw “Petrified Forest” – with Leslie Howard, B. Davis and H. Bogart – the latter in his first “bad-man” role – remember, dear? Last nite we saw “Mr. Smith goes to Wash.” – another oldie, but good – and really although I had seem them both, I actually enjoyed them. Anyway – in each case – they had killed 2 hours – and I didn’t have to travel more than 75 yards to get to see them.
Tomorrow, darling, I won’t be able to write – but if it’s at all feasible, I’ll try to write you from wherever I am. I wouldn’t want you to find a big gap in your mail. However – if there are some spaces, dear, you’ll understand – won’t you?
In the past 3 days I’ve received only one letter from you, dear, and that was a V-mail written Valentine’s Day from Bea’s house. Darling I’m so glad you got the roses and I do hope they were nice. You buy a cat-in-a-bag when you order by mail – and that was the only way. I was curious as to how it would wash out. I sent Penn a check, as I did with Fannie Farmer and wondered what they’d do about it. I explained what I wanted. I was half tempted to send Stan the check and let him handle it for me. As things developed, I’m rather glad I didn’t. Anyway – if it made you the least bit happier, Sweetheart – I’m glad. I just didn’t want you to be forgotten just because I happen to be away.
Well, darling, I’ll say ‘so long’ for now. I’ll probably not write long letters for the next several days but I’ll make up for it, I know. I wish only that you could be with me the next few days – then things would really be all right. I have so many nice things to tell you, darling, – but it will have to wait until I can tell you I person – alone. Until later, dear, you have –
All my love,
Greg
* TIDBIT *
about The Petrified Forest
about The Petrified Forest
The Petrified Forest (1936) was directed by Archie Mayo. Here is a summary of the story, as it appears in Wikipedia.
Alan Squier (Howard), once a British intellectual and writer, now a penniless alcoholic drifter, wanders into a roadside diner in the Petrified Forest area in northern Arizona. The diner is run by Jason Maple (Porter Hall), his daughter Gabrielle (Davis), and her grandfather (Charley Grapewin), "an old man who was missed by Billy the Kid."
Alan recounts his European adventures and Gabrielle is instantly smitten with him. Gabrielle's mother, a French war bride who fell in love with Jason when he was a young, handsome American serviceman, left her "dull defeated man" and moved back to France when Gabrielle was a baby. She now sends poetry to Gabrielle, who dreams of moving to Bourges to become an artist. She shows Alan her paintings - the first time she has shown them to anyone - and reads him a favorite Villon poem. Boze Hertzlinger (Dick Foran), Gabrielle's blue-collar boyfriend, grows jealous of Alan, who assures him that he intends to leave forthwith. Alan mooches a ride from wealthy tourists Mr. and Mrs. Chisholm (Paul Harvey and Genevieve Tobin), but before they can depart, Duke Mantee (Bogart), a famous gangster fleeing a massive police pursuit, invades the diner with his gang and takes the entire group hostage.
Everyone is of course terrified, except Alan, who has little to live for. Indifferent to the danger, he engages Duke in lively conversation and toasts him as "the last great apostle of rugged individualism." As the police converge on the restaurant, Duke prepares to flee, announcing that he will bring Mr. and Mrs. Chisholm with him as human shields. Alan has an inspiration: With Gabrielle in another room, he produces a life insurance policy he is carrying with him, and amends it, making Gabrielle the beneficiary. Then he asks Duke to kill him, so that Gabrielle can use the insurance money to make her dream of studying art in France a reality. "It couldn't make any difference to you, Duke. After all, if they catch you, they can hang you only once...Living, I'm worth nothing to her; dead, I can buy her the tallest cathedrals, and golden vineyards, and dancing in the streets."
The police close in; Duke obliges Alan by shooting him. "So long, pal," growls Duke, "I'll be seein' ya soon." He exits, only to be gunned down himself by the waiting posse. Alan dies in Gabrielle's arms, secure in the knowledge that she, alone among the film's principals, will escape her dead-end existence to pursue her dreams.
Alan recounts his European adventures and Gabrielle is instantly smitten with him. Gabrielle's mother, a French war bride who fell in love with Jason when he was a young, handsome American serviceman, left her "dull defeated man" and moved back to France when Gabrielle was a baby. She now sends poetry to Gabrielle, who dreams of moving to Bourges to become an artist. She shows Alan her paintings - the first time she has shown them to anyone - and reads him a favorite Villon poem. Boze Hertzlinger (Dick Foran), Gabrielle's blue-collar boyfriend, grows jealous of Alan, who assures him that he intends to leave forthwith. Alan mooches a ride from wealthy tourists Mr. and Mrs. Chisholm (Paul Harvey and Genevieve Tobin), but before they can depart, Duke Mantee (Bogart), a famous gangster fleeing a massive police pursuit, invades the diner with his gang and takes the entire group hostage.
Everyone is of course terrified, except Alan, who has little to live for. Indifferent to the danger, he engages Duke in lively conversation and toasts him as "the last great apostle of rugged individualism." As the police converge on the restaurant, Duke prepares to flee, announcing that he will bring Mr. and Mrs. Chisholm with him as human shields. Alan has an inspiration: With Gabrielle in another room, he produces a life insurance policy he is carrying with him, and amends it, making Gabrielle the beneficiary. Then he asks Duke to kill him, so that Gabrielle can use the insurance money to make her dream of studying art in France a reality. "It couldn't make any difference to you, Duke. After all, if they catch you, they can hang you only once...Living, I'm worth nothing to her; dead, I can buy her the tallest cathedrals, and golden vineyards, and dancing in the streets."
The police close in; Duke obliges Alan by shooting him. "So long, pal," growls Duke, "I'll be seein' ya soon." He exits, only to be gunned down himself by the waiting posse. Alan dies in Gabrielle's arms, secure in the knowledge that she, alone among the film's principals, will escape her dead-end existence to pursue her dreams.
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