438th AAA AW BN
APO 527 % Postmaster, N.Y.
England
8 February, 1944 1600
My dearest sweetheart -
You are so sweet to me I don’t know what to say or write. What you make difficult for me to understand, dear, is how I made you love me, so earnestly and sincerely in so short a time. I still find it hard to realize that I’m so fortunate in having so lovable a girl interested in me. Darling, believe me when I say I appreciate it. I always will, and that no amount of attention and love that I show you when we’re finally together again, will ever repay the warm feeling of satisfaction and comfort you give me when I read your letters and thank the Lord that I have you and am able to hold you – even though we’re so far apart, even though our courtship was so relatively short, even though – I must confess – I wondered whether you would continue to love me after I left and the months slipped by. I wanted you darling – more than I told you, wanted you and yet I honestly feared I couldn’t hold you for myself and yet leave Boston. I knew you were attractive, desirable, very datable – and I was afraid of the competition. None of this is written to belittle my estimation of your avowed affection, sweetheart. I believed you but felt that I hadn’t been around long enough to cement our feelings. Being older I was surer of my own. Your courage and ability to instill courage in me are unbelievable – and when I read a letter of yours, straightforward and with spirit – why, dear, I just don’t know what to do. Were I near you, I could show you, do things for you, send you flowers, call you – and in as many ways as possible show you how much I really loved you.
It’s so maddening to feel all these things, to read your letters, to look at your picture – and yet not be able to embrace you, hold you tightly to me and say nice things to you that you could actually hear. The fact is, darling, that when I write the word, it seems so cold and matter-of-fact. It’s just there on paper and no amount of effort seems able to convey to you my actual emotions. You must remember then, dear, that I love you and cherish you as I have no other girl; you must always remember that no one exists for me in my future but you – and you must have the patience to await my return until I can prove to you that I was worth waiting for.
No matter how long the delay in getting my letters – you must – and I know you do – feel that I’m writing you constantly – and thinking of you even more than that, if it’s possible. I was sorry to read in your latest letter that a week had passed without your hearing from me. By now you no doubt have – Why there should be that much delay, I don’t know. Your last letter – which I found waiting for me when I returned from the Medical meeting late last night – was written and mailed January 31st, dear, and that breaks all records for me for delivery. It means it arrived on the 6th of February and that’s almost too good to be true. There are several letters between the 21st and 31st that must be on their way.
Your good wishes on my birthday, sweetheart, were wonderfully expressed and I’ve already re-read that letter several times. Whatever you wished, dear, will be for both of us, and I know we’ll deserve it all.
I still can’t get over the fact that we grew to care so much for each other in so short a time. But the how, the when and the why are immaterial. The fact is we do and I thank God for that.
I’m pretty tired right now, darling, and I’m going to stop soon. I’ll tell you about my trip to London for the Medical Meeting tomorrow. Today – was the day of our inspection – and it seems as if I’ve been tearing along at top speed ever since Sunday afternoon. I’ve just come back from the inspection and all went off slick.
For now, Sweetheart, I’ll stop – but I do thank you, in every way I know how, for your swell birthday wishes. I’ll write again tomorrow – and until then – my sincerest love is yours.
You are so sweet to me I don’t know what to say or write. What you make difficult for me to understand, dear, is how I made you love me, so earnestly and sincerely in so short a time. I still find it hard to realize that I’m so fortunate in having so lovable a girl interested in me. Darling, believe me when I say I appreciate it. I always will, and that no amount of attention and love that I show you when we’re finally together again, will ever repay the warm feeling of satisfaction and comfort you give me when I read your letters and thank the Lord that I have you and am able to hold you – even though we’re so far apart, even though our courtship was so relatively short, even though – I must confess – I wondered whether you would continue to love me after I left and the months slipped by. I wanted you darling – more than I told you, wanted you and yet I honestly feared I couldn’t hold you for myself and yet leave Boston. I knew you were attractive, desirable, very datable – and I was afraid of the competition. None of this is written to belittle my estimation of your avowed affection, sweetheart. I believed you but felt that I hadn’t been around long enough to cement our feelings. Being older I was surer of my own. Your courage and ability to instill courage in me are unbelievable – and when I read a letter of yours, straightforward and with spirit – why, dear, I just don’t know what to do. Were I near you, I could show you, do things for you, send you flowers, call you – and in as many ways as possible show you how much I really loved you.
It’s so maddening to feel all these things, to read your letters, to look at your picture – and yet not be able to embrace you, hold you tightly to me and say nice things to you that you could actually hear. The fact is, darling, that when I write the word, it seems so cold and matter-of-fact. It’s just there on paper and no amount of effort seems able to convey to you my actual emotions. You must remember then, dear, that I love you and cherish you as I have no other girl; you must always remember that no one exists for me in my future but you – and you must have the patience to await my return until I can prove to you that I was worth waiting for.
No matter how long the delay in getting my letters – you must – and I know you do – feel that I’m writing you constantly – and thinking of you even more than that, if it’s possible. I was sorry to read in your latest letter that a week had passed without your hearing from me. By now you no doubt have – Why there should be that much delay, I don’t know. Your last letter – which I found waiting for me when I returned from the Medical meeting late last night – was written and mailed January 31st, dear, and that breaks all records for me for delivery. It means it arrived on the 6th of February and that’s almost too good to be true. There are several letters between the 21st and 31st that must be on their way.
Your good wishes on my birthday, sweetheart, were wonderfully expressed and I’ve already re-read that letter several times. Whatever you wished, dear, will be for both of us, and I know we’ll deserve it all.
I still can’t get over the fact that we grew to care so much for each other in so short a time. But the how, the when and the why are immaterial. The fact is we do and I thank God for that.
I’m pretty tired right now, darling, and I’m going to stop soon. I’ll tell you about my trip to London for the Medical Meeting tomorrow. Today – was the day of our inspection – and it seems as if I’ve been tearing along at top speed ever since Sunday afternoon. I’ve just come back from the inspection and all went off slick.
For now, Sweetheart, I’ll stop – but I do thank you, in every way I know how, for your swell birthday wishes. I’ll write again tomorrow – and until then – my sincerest love is yours.
All my love
Greg
Regards to the family.
Love
G.
* TIDBIT *
about Medical Proficiency Training
about Medical Proficiency Training
Along with an inspection, Greg had been training his men for First Aid Medical Proficiency testing. The three main areas to be covered consisted of Application of Drugs and Compounds, Application of Dressing and Bandages, and Application of Medical Forms. There is a very detailed list of items and their usage at the WWII Medical Research Centre site. During training, medical department troops would have been familiarized with the majority if not all of the materials used for these applications, since they may soon be called upon to use any of them.
Here are a few examples of what the men needed to know:
Here are a few examples of what the men needed to know:
CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE
Burn Injury Set (Sulfadiazine Ointment [5%]
Use wooden applicator to spread ointment evenly
over burned surfaces or onto dressing
which is to be applied to these surfaces.
Bandage, Gauze Compress, 2 x 2 Inches:
For dressing small wounds.
Field Medical Record Jacket:
Used for enclosing the field medical card, emergency
medical tag and any other clinical record of value.
Note the substantial metal eyelet and string
structure for securing the form to the patient.
Burn Injury Set (Sulfadiazine Ointment [5%]
Use wooden applicator to spread ointment evenly
over burned surfaces or onto dressing
which is to be applied to these surfaces.
Bandage, Gauze Compress, 2 x 2 Inches:
For dressing small wounds.
Field Medical Record Jacket:
Used for enclosing the field medical card, emergency
medical tag and any other clinical record of value.
Note the substantial metal eyelet and string
structure for securing the form to the patient.
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