06 October, 1943

438^th AAA AW BN

Camp Edwards, Mass

Oct. 6, 1943    0715

Dear Sweetheart –

Again I’ll try an early start, but I know I’ll end up in a dead heat with the first out-going mail. However it’s worth it, dear, if the letters get to you early. Your letter yesterday p.m. was very sweet, dear, as are all your letters as a matter of fact. I always admired your frankness and you carry it forward in your writing. That’s good. A good many people have different styles – in speaking and writing, and that leads to artificiality. There’s one thing, Sweetheart, that I’m sure about us – and I know you long enough to be sure – there’s nothing artificial in our relationship, and I hope you feel the same way. You must, dear, or you could never react the way you do.

0835

Darling – At 0745 we had a battery commanders’ meeting and I had to attend. Several things were taken up but most important, dear, was the fact that we have not yet received anything more definite than what you already knew – and in view of the fact that a certain amount of days should be allowed beforehand, it would seem that I’ll be around a few days more, at least. As to passes etc., I still don’t know, but I honestly can’t see why we shouldn’t be allowed some time off. Of course – Saturday is Yom Kippur – but since I couldn’t get the morning off anyway – the Lord will forgive me I’m sure if I took off for your section of the country on Saturday p.m. Is this idle dreaming? I suppose so, but I see no great harm. You know dear, if I could see you again before going away, and we said our “so-longs” again – we’d really become inured to saying “farewell, until we meet again”; it’s been twice already. That alone, darling, puts me way ahead of the nearest competitor, doesn’t it?

You did please me, dear, in what you told me on the phone – and I shall enjoy reading it just as much. That I feel proud about such a reaction on your part goes almost without saying; that I feel the same way – has already been said by me. Naturally I don’t feel that you should necessarily continue to act that way; don’t get me wrong, darling; nothing would please me more; I’m merely trying to be reasonable. At any rate I’m glad you’re not going out with that doctor, whoever he is. I don’t like young doctors! As for me – I like girls, but their first names have to be Wilma, their last – B--------d; they must be Seniors at Holyoke, & live at 99 M------y Rd. Oh – and they have to be sweet and lovable, and like Salem. If I ever meet a girl like that, by gum I’ll marry her!

As I told you, dear, I saw ‘Thank Your etc.’ and “Claudia”. Both were very good. In the former – Bette Davis sings “They’re Either Too Young or Too Old” – and does a nice job. “Claudia” has some fine parts to it, with dialogue and little speeches at parts that I wish I could speak sometimes.

Tonite is party nite in our outfit. Charlie and I bought some Ron Virgin Rum and will tie one on a bit. Pauline is now in Phila. – so we’ll have ourselves to drink with.

For now, darling – that’s all. I’m looking forward to your letters and calling you – and oh! If I could only see you this week-end! It would be a long ride – but worth it. We’ll see. I’m short on gas tickets – but could probably just about make it. Solong, dear, for now and

All my love

Greg

The following was enclosed.
CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

03 October, 1943

438^th AAA AW BN

Camp Edwards, Mass

Oct. 3, 1943    0900

Dear Sweetheart -

If I write like fury without interruption – I may be able to get this out in this morning’s mail.

Darling – I missed you terribly after you left. I walked down about 2 cars and waited. I wanted to come back and kiss you again – but I thought it better not to – then I waited until your train pulled out and walked slowly away. My emotions could best be described as an admixture, dear – but one thing I was sure of, and that was that I knew I was deeply in love with you; I just felt like I had never felt before. It was a good feeling and one darling that will stand me in good stead for the duration I’m sure.

I called your Mother. She answered the phone and said she knew it was going to be I.

I got back to Camp at 11 p.m. or 2300 I should say. This a.m. has been terrible so far. I’ve already given a lecture 0730 – 0830 on Malaria – to the whole battalion – at one of the theaters. I haven’t seen the Col. as yet so I don’t know how much he was put out by my leaving Sat p.m. I understand everyone was around all week-end.

Dear – I’ve got to stop right now or the ambulance will leave. I’ll call you tonite dear and until then –

All my love

Greg

27 September, 1943 (2nd letter)

438^th AAA AW BN

Camp Edwards, Mass

Sept 27, 1943    1800

Dearest Wilma -

I have a little time right now so I thought I’d start a letter. If I mail this in the morning you’ll hear from me Wednesday.

Today was kind of mixed up. In the first place one of the teeth I had filled the other day, kicked up. I went over to the clinic & had an x-ray which showed trouble deep in the tooth. So bingo they started drilling and nearly took my head off. They’re draining the tooth and I’ll need more work on it. I never did get up to the hospital. Late in the a.m. I was scheduled for a sex lecture and I got back in time for it. (It was gruesome.)

Around noon I got the letter from you, dear, that I should have received Saturday. I wish I had received it then because I might have asked you a few questions. Gee dear – practically on the eve of coming home to see me you go out with a fellow whose company you enjoy so much? Now you know I understand about your going out, but do you have to have such a good time dear? He must like you in more than just a friendly way to arrange to meet you at the train. Who is he? I told you I was jealous, I guess, and I certainly was when I read your letter. Well I had to tell you, darling, and I know you’ll tell me he’s just an old friend – as you’ve already implied, but remember – if I wrote something like going out for an evening, you’d think too, dear – wouldn’t you?

I’m waiting around to call you soon – so don’t go out, huh?

This p.m. an interesting thing turned up. It seems that the army is always presenting problems to me and leaves me with the decision to be made. An officer who used to be in our outfit – left it for the diplomatic service in Wash. That was about 10 weeks ago. His father was an Army officer & he, Bob, was born in Mexico, his mother being a native of Ecuador. He speaks French, Spanish and a couple of other languages fluently. Today he returned to Camp Edwards, called & left word for me to be around the area at 1500, that he had something very important to ask me. So I waited dear, and this is what he had to say: there’s a separate branch of the intelligence service, formed recently, to do highly technical saboteuring & demolition work in the theaters of war – European, N. African & Middle Eastern. The men travel in groups & for several groups there is one general director headquarters – in close collaboration with the Chief of Staff of the theater. For each headquarters – a medical officer is necessary, one with a knowledge of French and German. Without asking – while in Washington – he actually got permission to contact me – from the Surgeon General’s office, because he knew we were alerted. As it stands, I could get out of the 438th by just agreeing to go with this new group – but it has to be purely voluntary on my part. Talk about adventure, dear, boy! They train them to fly, jump from parachutes etc. A course is given in Wash. (about 1 mo.) and again when you arrive in the theater of choice. If I didn’t know you darling, and if I didn’t feel the way I do, if I didn’t love you, in other words – I think I’d sign up. I could tell my folks I was begin transferred. But darling – I want to come back to you and in ---

1925

See, I told you I’d feel better after talking with you. I’ll miss not calling you dear whenever I want to.  I wish I was like Myrus –

Your statement about crying, dear – made me think. Were you happy or sad? Or was it both? I don’t cry too easily but I’ll bet there’ll be times when I’ll feel like it, Sweetheart – you’ve changed me in such a short time. How did you do it? And if I care for you so much now – aren’t you afraid how much I’ll love you when I really can?

Late p.m. I drove down to Falmouth with Charlie. We both bought combination trench coat, overcoat, wind-breaker – fully equipped with hood & neck protection. I really didn’t need it what with a regular overcoat, trench coat & oil skin – but it looked nice. It’s a new army regulation coat and when I put it on with all accouterments – I look like the male counterpart of Tess of the Storm Country – and as I always say, next week “East Lynne”.

I’m looking forward to your letter, darling, and also to calling you tomorrow. I’ll do my best to get a decision for the Holidays. Excuse me, dear, won’t you – for what I wrote about Herb – I didn’t mean to be so sharp. So long for now darling and

All my love

Greg

* TIDBIT *

about The Ritchie Boys

CLICK ON PICTURE TO ENLARGE

Camp Ritchie Headquarters Building

Greg mentioned being asked to join a "separate branch of the intelligence service..." It is now known that the service he was invited to join later became known as "The Ritchie Boys". While Greg was not a German immigrant, he was fluent in French and German, having graduated from Boston Latin School in 1929, and having partially majored in German Language and Literature at Harvard University, Class of 1933. He mentioned that the course was given in Washington... but not that it was happening at Camp Ritchie.

Dave Roos's post, "How the Ritchie Boys, Secret Refugee Infiltrators, Took on the Nazis" (19 January, 2023) on How Stuff Works, tells a comprehensive story of The Ritchie Boys. Some of it is extracted here:

During World War II, the U.S. Army recruited and trained a secret army of nearly 20,000 intelligence officers at a site called Camp Ritchie in rural Maryland. The "Ritchie Boys," as they're known today, weren't your average American soldiers — they represented 70 different nationalities and spoke many different languages... The best-known Ritchie Boys were 2,800 Jewish refugees from Germany and Austria who fled the Holocaust, then heroically returned to Europe as American soldiers... In April 1942, the U.S. Army converted a Maryland National Guard site into Camp Ritchie, a dedicated military intelligence training center. From the start, the Army sought out recruits with foreign language skills, particularly the languages of their enemies. Of the nearly 20,000 trainees who passed through Camp Ritchie, about 60 percent were American-born.

For eight weeks, Camp Ritchie recruits learned how to extract information from captured POWs, write propaganda pamphlets to drop behind enemy lines, analyze reconnaissance photos and kill the enemy in hand-to-hand combat, if necessary. To complete their training, Ritchie Boys were shipped off to England to learn advanced intelligence techniques. As newly minted intelligence officers, Ritchie Boys were embedded in every American military branch and unit, and they fought in every major WWII battle from the D-Day invasion of Normandy to the Battle of the Bulge to Iwo Jima.

The Ritchie Boys conducted tens of thousands of interrogations of both enemy soldiers and civilians. In fighting the Nazis, one of the Ritchie Boys' most important contributions was something called "The Order of Battle of the German Army" aka the "Red Book." Using captured German documents, the Ritchie Boys assembled a continuously updated master list of every Nazi unit in Europe — its leadership structure, its troop numbers, its battle history, etc. According to a U.S. Army report published in 1946, the Ritchie Boys were responsible for gathering 60 percent of all actionable battlefield intelligence in WWII. Of the nearly 20,000 Ritchie Boys who served in WWII, around 140 were killed in action, including at the costly landings at Normandy and Iwo Jima. Ritchie Boys earned more than 65 Silver Star Medals and countless Bronze Star Medals for their heroic service.

Stanley Carnarius, a Ritchie Boy, describes his experience in this YouTube video, posted by the American Veteran Center, whose purpose is to guard the legacies and honor the sacrifices of all American veterans through oral history preservation, educational programs and civic events.

Historian Dr. Beverley Driver Eddy compiled this list of Ritchie Boys who went on to be involved in various fields such as the arts, politics, science, academia, and technology. It was posted (without sound) on YouTube by The Ritchie History Museum.

27 September, 1943

438^th AAA AW BN

Camp Edwards, Mass

Sept 27, 1943    0720

Darling -

Je vous âime beaucoup, but beyond that I’m in no dilemma, dear. By the time noted above, you should know that sick-call is now on. They’re streaming in in droves, the tent is crowded and someone is always asking questions – but by gum, dear – I’m bound to get this out in the a.m. mail so that you can get this tomorrow instead of Wednesday.

The moment your train pulled out I began to miss you terribly dear. I got home about 7:20, dear, and had a nice chat. They (the folks) thought you were swell, liked you immediately and admired your friendliness. Darling – from that quarter you have nothing to worry about.

A short time after I got home your mother called. She had got to worrying about you, your train etc. &  your father finally insisted that she call and get her mind satisfied. I did my best to do that for her and I believe she felt better.

I left for camp about 2045 and drove easily and by myself. I didn’t find the ride long or tedious. I felt happy in my thoughts about us, dear, wonderfully happy, and believe me, despite things I’ve told you about other girls – I have never felt so content, so stimulated, so proud. I’ll always feel that way about you – and more so.

Darling I really shouldn’t attempt to write a serious letter when I can’t be alone and quiet – but there’s some things I want to write over and over again.

This a.m. I’ll be pretty busy checking up on some of our boys at the hospital – question of their discharge before we leave. But whatever I do – my step will be springy and my spirit light, dear – because I’m very happy.

I’ll have to quit now, dear – or this won’t get out. I’ll call you – perhaps tonite, certainly Tuesday – about 1900 probably. Take care, dear – and I hope to see you soon. Regards to the girls – and

All my love

Greg

23 September, 1943

438^th AAA AW BN

Camp Edwards, Mass

Sept 23, 1943    2130

Wilma dear,

It seemed strange letting the day go by without writing even a few lines. If the occasion arises ever when I don’t write as often as possible, always remember dear that it will be due to circumstances beyond my control. I hope that won’t happen often, because I know you like to receive letters as well as write them.

I received a letter from you today and it was very sweet of you to write some of the things you did, about Oct 9th etc. I know you mean it or you wouldn’t write it. Yes – I too wish I could spend some time around Westover and then in Boston, but right now wishes seem so futile. I shall miss you more than I hoped possible a couple of months ago, paradoxical as that may sound. But having got to know you this past summer will be a source of constant pleasant thoughts without which I would have hated to go away. The war cannot end too quickly for me, dear – but I am not sorry I’m part of it, because when it is all over I shall be proud of having been a part of it, and perhaps you will be too.

As I think of days and nights to come, of long intervals between times of hearing from you perhaps – let us say due to mail delays, of periods of wondering what you’re doing, of how you’re spending your time after school is over, of how bored and restless you may become – when I think of all these things, as I can’t help but think, I am amazed at the workings of a mind which makes one think that even at a great distance he may be able to hold someone’s interest, command someone’s thoughts and affection and maybe even further all these. The mind, and I speak generally, is truly a wonderful machine, a fascinator, an enticer – and I sincerely hope – not a deluder.

I’m really at it, dear. I sat down to jot down a short note just so you would receive some mail on Saturday as a sort of surprise, and here I am running away with myself. I dropped into the Medical tent for a final check-up before retiring and found the lantern burning and no one here. I believe this is the first time I’ve written you in quiet, and see the result dear. Contemporary philosophy has few well-known men, and I’m really not trying to crack the ranks, dear.

About Saturday – I shall try to see you as soon as I can, dear. I believe I’ll stop in at home (I pass right by), stay awhile and perhaps go to town to fix my watch and have my electric razor fixed again. It’s not working. Anyway I’ll call you as soon as I get in.

I guess I’ll go to bed dear and again excuse my wanderings. I sometimes feel better when I say or write things as they come out of my head. You’ll get used to it. I hope.

Good nite for now, dear – until Saturday.

All my love –

Greg

[Note from Fourth Child: Sent to home address, not college address.]

22 September, 1943

438^th AAA AW BN

Camp Edwards, Mass

Sept 22, 1943    1034

Wilma dear,

I’m starting fairly early this morning but I don’t know how far I’ll get. Today is just like last Wednesday, a drip of a day, but we’re fairly well covered here and I don’t mind too much. It’s a good day to write letters, but I’m kind of lazy about it. When I get thru writing to you dear, and a card to my folks – that’s about all I care to do. I owe Johnnie Johnson (former adjutant), & Col Pereira letters, as well as a friend of mine in Alameda, Calif, and a doctor at Pearl Harbor. I guess I’ll wait till I’m confined more before I write.

Yesterday evening, after being fortunate in getting the necessary parts – as I wrote you, a mechanic fixed my wheel. Everything is fine now and the other wheels are O.K. also – so raise the price again, dear – will you, please? Boy! I’m getting my ‘pleases’ in there. The mechanic got thru about 7 p.m. and for some reason or other I felt like talking with you, dear, and I was keenly disappointed when I found you weren’t in. My first message was that no one was in. Then whoever answered dug up Judie; I believe it was she who wore the head shawl. Anyway she told me where you were and why and seemed very solicitous about my contacting you. Thank her for me. And that’s how I arranged to call you at 2000 – and it was worth waiting for –

Your letter, dear, just came in and I’ve read it. It’s a great help for a gloomy day and I was indeed looking forward to it. You say you come right out with what you feel in your letters. Yes, you do – but that’s one of the things I like about you. Then you write that you’re tempted to say more but don’t because you feel I may think you sentimental. Now dear you know I’d never think that; you know I’m very sentimental myself; you didn’t think so at first, I know, but you should now – because one way or another I think I too have made myself clear. I think I’ve been very clear and direct and you must know by now how I feel about you. What you mean by ‘fearing a misunderstanding’ I don’t understand myself. Why should I misunderstand you, dear, and about what? I guess we’ll have to talk that over. As for your having to read between the lines, as it were, in my letters – if you do, it’s because I’ve always been less expressive than most people, and certainly less so than some fellows you’ve mentioned. But dearest – you know what I mean and what is more, you’ll continue to know; furthermore I’m sincere.

Dear I hope you’re taking care of your cold, getting plenty of sleep and getting plenty of rest. I hope this reaches you before you take off for home – and I do miss you very much. Here’s to the week-end and you, dear. Until then,

All my love

Greg

20 September, 1943

438^th AAA AW BN

Camp Edwards, Mass

Sept 20, 1943    1030

Dearest Girl,

I didn’t think I could get around to writing you so early in the day, but there seems to be a break in the continuity of commotion just now and I’m taking full advantage of it.

But to start at the beginning, dear, let me tell you first what a perfectly pleasant week-end I had. As a matter of fact I believe I told you, but it seemed even more perfect in retrospect and I want you to know that. It was all too short, unfortunately, but I suppose we must be thankful for what we get and not complain.

Your suggestion as to our return trip, dear, was very good. It was only 23 miles to Palmer and it seemed that we arrived there in about no time. The road was good, too. We arrived here at 0020 which was very good time, totaling 3 ¾ hours together with all stops; not bad. That afforded us a reasonably good night’s sleep, although I must admit I could have slept a little later than 0545 this morning. Tonight, anyway, I’ll be in bed by 2000.

Back in camp this morning, dear, there’s nothing particularly new in the line of rumors, which in itself is somewhat unusual for this battalion. After sick call this a.m., I examined a few officers for overseas status and then brought my results up to the Triple A TC surgeon’s office (antiaircraft artillery training center). I believe I won’t go to see the dentist today, dear, since as a result of an impartial poll – the odor of onion was still quite detectable on my breath. I’ll go tomorrow without fail. Incidentally it was noble of you to take a couple of bites of onion, dear, and don’t think I wasn’t appreciative of it. True love was never put to a more trying test, and you came thru with flying colors.

Your girl friends dear were or should I say are swell and I don’t blame you for being so fond of them.

1335

As I was saying – (Several things turned up, dear, and this is the first opportunity to start anew. I told you I couldn’t write until the p.m.!) Both Shirley and Betty seem to be excellent companions – and you were right, Lester and Betty are certainly in love. I hope they’ll be happy.

And how about us, dear? I know this – that I was perfectly happy and content every moment I was with you this week-end – just as I have wherever or whenever I’ve been with you. And I don’t think you have to trouble to call it this word or that; it speaks for itself dear – and I think you know what it means. You do, don’t you?

I could leave a space right here so you could think over what I just wrote – but you can wait until the end of the letter if you like dear.

By the way – do you like my personalized stationery? Not to be outdone by you – I thought I’d beat you to it. No hard feeling, huh?

Gosh, dear, I’ve got to stop now and get a couple of more things done. Besides I want to play with my new Scout knife – just like all the boy scouts have. Ooh boy! They’re really a necessity and I just managed to get one. It came today – from N.Y.

Dear that’s all for now except that if I didn’t seem very appreciative of the socks you so thoughtfully made for me – it was not due to lack of appreciativeness (or appreciation), you know that. They’re dandy – or peachy as some people say – and I’ll certainly enjoy wearing them.

So long dear and I’ll write again –

Love

Greg

Regards to the girls.