17 May, 1944

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 654 % Postmaster, N.Y.

England

17 May, 1944        1035

Dearest sweetheart –

It was just about this time in the morning a certain amount of months ago that I stood on the deck of a ship and looked back at the land that was quickly becoming more and more difficult to see. I don’t remember exactly how I felt that morning, dear; the excitement inside everyone was too great to allow an evaluation of emotions. But I can think back to it now with some sort of comprehension, and it seems to me my reactions must have been a mixture of adventure on the one hand – and a terribly strong desire to be back on land with those I loved and whom I knew I wouldn’t see for a long long time. I must have thought about you – and very hard, too, for as I remember it you were constantly in my mind – as I’m sure my letter to you, written on the ship, must have implied. I must have wondered, darling, what would happen to our affair, because I admit that at that time I felt that I just hadn’t quite had enough time to win you. How glad I am that I was wrong!

The trip, as I wrote you afterward, was uneventful – but everyone was artificially keyed up. We needn’t have been, as matters turned out, but the combination of moving pictures, newspaper stories and radio reports in the months preceding couldn’t help but have some effect on all of us. I remember visiting the men of our outfit and giving them short talks on various subjects with a view towards relaxing the mind, where my own, dearest, wasn’t entirely relaxed itself.

It’s interesting to think back on things and analyze one’s feelings of the past. In the months to come, sweetheart, I hope to be able to look back on this particular interlude just as calmly. With God’s help, I know I will.

Well, well, well – how did I get around to reminiscing like that? It’s not the past I should be thinking about – but the future. I do plenty of that though – and as I wrote you before – I skip the details of the immediate future in my mind’s eye, and I find myself back home with all those I love, either getting ready to marry you, sweetheart, or when I really splurge – already married to you. Heavenly days! and that’s just what it will be, too. I knew I loved you when I left, darling, but my love has matured immeasurably since then. Your constancy and sincerity have made me love you more than I thought possible considering I’ve been away. Just think how much I’ll be able to love you when I get back!

Darling, I’ll have to stop now. I’m in a pleasant mood right now – and when I finish this I’m just going to sit back and dream awhile. There’s been no mail for 3 days now but I expect there ought to be some soon. My love to the folks, sweetheart – and remember, dear that I love you very strongly and that I’ll continue to love you forever.

All my love for now

Greg

* TIDBIT *

about the United States Maritime Service

The purpose of the United States Maritime Service was to enlist and train those who would serve in the U.S. Merchant Marine and the U.S. Army Transport Service. The following document was issued on 17 May, 1944, lowering the age of those training for the Merchant Marine to 16 with parents' consent:

WAR SHIPPING ADMINISTRATION
Washington

Cleared and Issued Through Facilities of the Office of War Information

The War Shipping Administration announces that, effective immediately, the United States Maritime Service will enlist young men between the ages of 16 and 17 1/2 years for training for service in the Merchant Marine of the United States, with their parents' consent. Six weeks training is required for service as messmen and utility men in the stewards department, and 13 weeks training for service in the deck and engine departments. Upon completion of training, men will be assigned to merchant vessels within a few weeks. No men are being enrolled between the ages of 18 and 26 except those classified by Selective Service in any F or L classification or in 1-C, but all qualified men over the age of 26 and less than 35 1/2 for the deck and. engine departments, or less than 50 1/2 for the stewards department, are eligible for enlistment for training.

A career at sea has always been attractive to young men. The Merchant Marine is playing a vital part in winning the war. Without it, supplies, equipment, and troops could not be transported to our battlefronts. Gen. Eisenhower, Gen. McArthur, Gen. Montgomery, Admiral King, and Admiral Nimitz have recognized the merchant seamen as part of our fighting team.

Here is a way young men can volunteer for a part in the winning of the war, before they reach the age of registration under Selective Service.

Recruiting Poster

In 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, realizing that winning the war would require many ships to carry war supplies to the fronts, ordered mass-production of Liberty ships. He also established the U.S. Maritime Service (USMS) to enlist and train the men of the U.S. Merchant Marine and the U.S. Army Transport Service needed to operate these ships and troop ships. The USMS was first established under the Coast Guard and later supervised by U.S. Navy. Many of its first recruits were from the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and many others were sent to the USMS by U.S. Navy and Coast Guard recruiters. The USMS was the only racially integrated service of the time.

The USMS took over 250,000 raw recruits and turned them into fighting mariners. They taught them operation of anti-aircraft guns and cannon. They taught navigation, engine operation and maintenance, and deck operations aboard training vessels that operated in hazardous waters subject to mines and attack by submarines. Men at the fronts depended on the trained mariners for bombs, gasoline, shells, ammunition, food, guns, vehicles, planes, medicine, and other materials for warfare. In fact, 1 in 25 mariners serving aboard merchant ships died in the line of duty, suffering a greater percentage of war-related deaths than all other U.S. services. Casualties were kept secret during the war to keep information from the enemy and to attract and keep mariners at sea.

Thousands of active and retired mariners, Navy, and Coast Guardsmen were pressed into duty to serve as administrators and instructors in the U.S. Maritime Service. They believed then, and still believe today, they joined a uniformed, armed service. However, many of these were cheated out of service and retirement time. The USMS Training Bases were disbanded in 1954, the servicemen sent home with a "release from duty" to be all but forgotten by the country they served. Merchant Seamen returned without veteran status. They received no travel pay expenses, mustering out pay, state and/or federal pensions, disability benefits, or other federal veterans benefits. They did not receive home loans at a reduced interest rate, G. I. Loans, on the job training with journeymen's wage scale, paid college education with living expenses, or medical and dental payments which other veterans received.

16 May, 1944

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 654 % Postmaster, N.Y.

England

May 16, 1944      1120

My dearest sweetheart –

I’m back at the Castle again after a moderate morning’s work. Everything is going along smoothly, dear, although I haven’t heard from you in a couple of days. But as you wrote, with the mail coming through so swiftly in recent weeks, we’re bound to strike a snag now and then. The other night I got to thinking of the first couple of weeks after our arrival here – with the cold and the fog and no mail. Gosh those were blue days, sweetheart, and I must have sounded awfully discouraging in my letters. Then we ran into another long delay around Christmas time – that was rather hard to take. Other than that, though, considering the distance, it hasn’t been too bad at all. Again, darling, I must caution you not to be worried if you don’t hear from me every day or for awhile. There’s bound to be delays for one reason or another – and when there are – remember that if I’m not writing, I’m nevertheless thinking of you just as hard – and in those instances – probably harder.

Yesterday was quiet and restful again and we had a movie for the Officers up here at the Castle. It stank – but was side-edited by various remarks from the audience, as you can well imagine. The picture was ‘Alaskan Highway’ with Richard Arlen as the “hero”. We got our money’s worth in fun, anyway.

Tomorrow or the day after, I’ve planned to give a lecture on various subjects to the Battalion as a whole – so I’ll have to prepare it today I guess. Other than that – there’s nothing much on my social calendar, darling, although it is rumored we have may have another brawl this Saturday night – if we can get some liquor. I’ll let you know.

DINNER BELL!

1305

Hello – darling –

Just got back from lunch and the only piece of news is that our new APO number is 654. Apparently it has no special significance – and from what was said by the adjutant – we should have had it some time ago, and not 578. Anyway – it’s easy to remember – and you can start using it right away.

In re-reading one of your letters of several days ago. I had to laugh again at Jeannette’s calling you at 0300. That sure was a whacky thing to do – and yet – you’ve warned me. I suppose you can’t blame her though – after such a long time. Is he getting a chance to come home? You amused me when you said you thought it was a call for the doctor, and that you had been dreaming of such things. Boy, it will be no dream when it actually happens, darling, I can assure you. Certain it is that you’ll have to get used to some plain and fancy swearing. I’m afraid I’ve gotten a little rusty (not in the swearing!)

Well – sweetheart – I’d better get back to the Dispensary and do a little work. I hope all is well at home, darling, and that you’re taking good care of yourself for me. My love to the folks, dear – and

My sincerest love is yours for always

Greg

* TIDBIT *

about Alaska Highway

From IMDb comes this plot summary:

Pop Ormsby wins the contract from the Army Engineer Corps for the construction of the Alaska Highway connecting Alaska to Canada. The elder of his two sons, Woody Ormseby, decides he had rather fight with bullets than bulldozers but is assigned by the Army to work on the project. Woody and his younger brother Steve are both rivals for the affection of Ann Caswell, the daughter of Road Engineer Blair Caswell.

Wikipedia gives more detailed information:

The movie begins with the attack on Pearl Harbor. Alaska at the time was weakly defended. Canada had already built the northwest staging route; a series of airfields spread across northwestern Canada. The decision is made to build a highway to Alaska.

The workers are divided into three starting camps, Fort Nelson BC., Skagway Alaska, and Valdez Alaska. The workers from Fort Nelson BC begin building a highway north. The workers in Skagway are transported by the White Pass and Yukon Route railway to Whitehorse. From Whitehorse they begin building a road north and south. The workers in Valdez Alaska move to a point inland and begin building a road towards Fairbanks and Whitehorse. The movie goes on to show some amazing footage of bulldozers building the highway. The black troops arrive and all work hard building the highway.

The highway is opened to traffic. The truck drivers find that the road is better to drive than expected. However, Some of the highway is not correctly built and becomes impassable in rain. Flooded rivers wash away some bridges and they have to be rebuilt. Some of the highway is not properly drained and ice builds up on the road. Trucks sink into the mud and are frozen into the mud. Some grades are too steep and accidents happen. Civilian contractors are hired to improve the highway. New bridges are built and telephone lines are added to the route.

Skagway is given a new life by all the troops stationed there. The port is expanded. The White Pass and Yukon Route railway is leased by the army. Supplies flow from Skagway to Whitehorse. One train engineer is given the soldiers medal for risking his life to save his train.

CLICK ON MAP TO ENLARGE

Places mentioned: A=Valdez, AK; B=Whitehorse,
Yukon; C=Fort Nelson, BC; D=Fairbanks, AK; E=Skagway
Haines, AK is about 1 hour SE of Skagway

The decision is made to build a highway from Haines, near Skagway to connect to the Alaska highway. The Indians living in remote Alaska are now connected with the rest of the world by the highways. The airports are upgraded, planes and supplies flow to Russia.The peace river bridge is dedicated. Politicos and Army brass from the US and Canada make speeches. The highway contractors finish their rebuilding of the highway. This allows supplies to flow into Alaska.

The film ends with scenes of massive convoys of trucks headed north into Alaska. "Now we can press home the attack. This is the road through the brooding wilderness. This is the wedge that has pried open the last great frontier of America. The key which has unlocked the treasure chest of Alaska and the Canadian northwest."

The Alaska Highway (also known as the Alcan Highway) has come a long way from the treacherous military supply route it once was. Today, nearly all of the two-lane highway is paved with asphalt and serves as a site for pleasurable road trips. It begins in Dawson Creek, British Columbia and comes to an end in Delta Junction, Alaska, though Fairbanks, Alaska is the destination for most traveling the highway. Those continuing on to Fairbanks do so by traveling 98 miles north on the Richardson highway.

The total length of the Alaska Highway is 1,390, with the highest summit reaching 4,250 feet. According to Out West Newspaper, travelers should allow seven to 10 days to travel the length of the highway.

15 May, 1944

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 578 % Postmaster, N.Y.

England

15 May, 1944      1045

Good morning, darling –

First of all – I love you! I always believe in putting first things – first – and in case you don’t know it, dear, that thought is above all – first in my mind. I’ve just returned from the Dispensary and have to attend a B.C.’s meeting at 1130. Other than that, things are on a routine schedule – i.e. – as far as I know.

Yesterday was a very quiet and uneventful day. I hardly moved out of my room. I spent the day reading a couple of back copies of Stars and Stripes, Yank and Time Magazine – as well as listening to the radio . It was all quite restful – but I needed it after running around for the previous two days. I wrote you, my folks, Shirley Feldberg – who had written me a very friendly and sincere letter, and finally to a Major, friend of mine at Pearl Harbor. I don’t know if I mentioned to you dear, that I had heard from Col. Pereira in California. He wished us luck, by the way.

Say, darling, when you ask me if I love Borscht – you have to be more specific. Now – as a doctor’s wife – you’ll find that details are very important. As everyone knows there are several kinds of borscht – beet borscht, spinach borscht – and I suppose – just plain borscht. I lean towards the spinach type, for some reason or other, but if you make it, I’m inclined to think I’ll eat any type.

Oh – and before I forget it – you mentioned something about a souvenir of some sort from the Cathedral here. I had already looked around for something – before – but all they have are postcards. But from Mary’s point of view – a relic wouldn’t mean too much, anyway, for this reason: the Cathedrals in England are Protestant, chiefly, all belonging to the Church of England – which is strictly Episcopalian. Will you explain that to her, dear?

I remember well the night we went to D. Moore’s and waited for our table. As I recall it – we didn’t get our steak, either – but oh those Martinis! Darling, I do hope you learn how to make a good Martini – as if that were all I had to think about! It was interesting your running into Stan. I haven’t heard from him about the Zippo – but I’m glad it arrived, anyway. He’s apparently started up again where he left off – in reference to the women, I mean. I hope he gets someone and settles down. I believe that will make him again the fellow he used to be and whose company I enjoyed.

Yes, darling, as many kids as you want. I love them too and I hope we can afford to have a few of them anyway. Gosh it will be nice to have a late snack with you. I used to go alone and was always very lonely. It will be swell – the two of us – and I’m willing to arbitrate on the onions, sweetheart – say – one thick slice instead of two?

Dearest – that’s all for now. My best love to the folks and from me, darling, my deepest and sincerest love for always

Greg

* TIDBIT *

about Dinty Moore's

The popular comic strip Bringing Up Father, started in 1913 by cartoonist George McManus, told the story of an Irish-American, a former bricklayer named Jiggs, and his wife Maggie, an ex-laundress, who achieved sudden wealth, supposedly by means of a lucky ticket in the Irish Sweepstakes (though McManus was a bit vague about their means of wealth in the strip, and the Irish Sweepstakes didn't come into being until 1930). While the snobbish Maggie and beautiful daughter Nora constantly try to "bring up" Father to his new social position, Jiggs can think of nothing finer than sitting down at Dinty Moore's restaurant to finish off several dishes of corned beef and cabbage, followed by a night out with the boys from the old neighborhood. The clash of wills that ensued often resulted in flying rolling-pins, smashed crockery, and broken vases, all aimed in the general direction of Jiggs's skull.

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

"Bringing Up Father" strip from 1928

Because George McManus favored a restaurant on West 46th Street in Manhattan owned by a Mr. James H. Moore at that time, James Moore soon claimed he was the inspiration for the character Dinty Moore. He changed his restaurant's name to "Dinty Moore's" and made a fortune from the Bringing Up Father connection. In fact, Bringing up Father was so popular that many Irish men at the time named Moore were nicknamed Dinty.

According to the blog A Week in New York April 1946, posted about the original Dinty Moore's in New York City, written by Bill Bence, strangely enough, on May 15th, 2010:

James Moore, who changed his name to Dinty after opening the restaurant, was notorious in the 1920s for his flagrant disregard of Prohibition which endeared him with the hard-drinking celebrity set. Corned beef and cabbage, which is not a traditional dish in Ireland where Irish bacon and greens was the usual holiday fare, was the signature dish. The restaurant also served an Irish stew made from kosher beef and lamb and an array of steaks and chops. Its chopped steak was a favorite as was rice pudding, a dessert that was popular throughout New York at the time. Many patrons ordered sandwiches to go with their beers. In Arthur Schwartz's New York City Food, Schwartz took note of a menu from the establishment in the 1940s that offered gefilte fish, a sign of the importance of the New York City's sizable Jewish community, even to an ostensibly Irish restaurant.

In his 1930 restaurant guide, Dining in New York, Rian James reported the high prices of the establishment but added that the "food is wholesome, the portions large, the waiters quarrelsome and slow, and inclined to argue with you if you attempt to speed them up; but the quality of the food that is set before you --when it is set before you--has no equal." In a magazine short story from the '30s, "The Grasshoppers and the Aunt," collected in the anthology Beacon Light of Literature, the heroine is taken to Dinty Moore's to experience sophisticated Manhattan life and is astonished to discover linoleum on the floor and the only decoration "a lot of black-and-gold signs hung around with a portrait of an oyster on them." The menu seemed mundane but to her astonishment the place actually was full of celebrities. On the other hand, in Ghost Light: A Memoir, Frank Rich remembers the place on his first visit some decades later as "exotic as everything else I'd seen in my few hours in the city. The warm glow of brass gleamed from every nook; a long wooden bar with bottles and gold spigots aligned behind it ran the length of a wall." Crisp white cloths covered the tables and the attentive waiter wore a black suit, starched white shirt and bow tie. But Rich was just a kid and easily impressed.

In 1940 Life magazine called Dinty Moore's a favored establishment of West Side cafe society made up of "semi-solvent actors, sportsmen and Louis Sobol." By sportsman the magazine meant the horse racing set and Damon Runyon and friends. Sobol was a Broadway columnist for the Journal-American. This crowd, the magazine said, was distinct from the Easy Side cafe society of "semi-solvent refugees, parvenus and Lucius Beebe." Beebe was the snooty society columnist of the Herald Tribune. In 1946 it was known to be a favorite hang-out place for the theater crowd. The restaurant had nothing to do with Hormel's canned Dinty Moore beef stew, which was introduced in 1935.

Eventually other Dinty Moore's were opened in cities around the country. By 1952 when Dinty Moore passed at the age of 83, the American had become known as the "Corned Beef and Cabbage King." Here are some memorablia collected on the internet from the Dinty Moore's in Boston.

CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE

Menu from 1948


Menu from 1956


Postcard of the inside


Matchbook

The address of Dinty Moore's, 611 Rear Washington Street, no longer exists in Boston. The alley below is now part of the Millenium Place Garage for the Ritz Carlton Residences.

The Boston restaurant in 1976

14 May, 1944

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 578 % Postmaster, N.Y.

England

14 May, 1944      1100

My dearest and only Sweetheart –

At last a chance to sit down alone for awhile to write you. I feel so strange when a day goes by and I can’t write a letter for one reason or another. The past two days were very busy ones for me and I was away – more than I was here. And with Charlie not around to help – I have that much more to do.

Anyway, darling, I got back and found two letters from you and one from your mother – all swell. Today is actually Mother’s Day – and I hope that both my mothers got some flowers. Incidentally, dear, you’re absolutely correct about your suggestion. I don’t know why I didn’t send you the check and let you handle it. I think the reason was that when I sent it out – we were not yet engaged, that is – I hadn’t heard it, and I thought I ought to handle the thing myself. In the future – you can do it for me – or us – and as you say, that will be your department. But for pity’s sake, darling, will you sort of keep me posted on things I should remember from time to time? The fact is I wish you had access to my checking account. That would make things even more simple, but that will have to wait too. I think that will be a good idea, though, when we settle down – unless you’d want one of your own. I guess we’ll be able to settle that – without too much difficulty.

Darling, I have missed you a great deal, more than I write you, I think. You write that you can tell my moods from my letters. That’s good – but I sometimes deliberately try to camouflage my mood and I hope I do – those times. I’d love to be home, married to you and loving you and I envy every young couple that are able to be together. However – as you feel, so do I; I know that what we’re dreaming about will materialize and I get pleasure out of just thinking it. It’s wonderful above all though, darling, to realize that despite the time I’ve been away from you – you still love me and feel about me – as I do towards you. That, after all, is the crux of my present state of happiness – and its realization is what makes me happy – at a time when I shouldn’t be – particularly.

I was pleased to read about my folks etc. coming over and I hope all goes off well – and I see no reason why it shouldn’t. Do you suppose it will be difficult for me to get to know all your family, dear? I hope not. I know about your folks who are now my folks too. They’ve been very easy for me to know and once I get back, I’ll do the rest.

And you, sweetheart, – will I have to get to know you? No! I feel as if I’ve known and loved you for years and everything will be just the most natural thing in the world. I hope you feel the same way.

Darling – that’s all for now. I love you, dear, for a hundred good reasons – but chiefly because you are you! Love to the folks – and

All my love to you, dear, forever

Greg

* TIDBIT *

about the Hungarian Jews and Auschwitz-Birkenau

On May 14, 1944, 148 trains filled with Hungarian Jews left Hungary for the death camp known as Auschwitz-Birkenau. By July 8, 1944, a total of 437,402 Hungarian Jews had been deported. This was the largest single mass deportation during the Holocaust. With the arrival of these Hungarian Jews, Auschwitz-Birkenau became the site of the largest mass murder in modern history and the epicenter of the Final Solution. Almost one half of all the Jews that were killed at Auschwitz were Hungarian Jews who were gassed within this 10 week period in 1944. After an experimental gassing at Birkenau in September 1941 of 850 malnourished and ill prisoners, mass murder had become a daily routine. By mid 1942, mass gassing of Jews using Zyklon-B began at Auschwitz, conducting extermination on an industrial scale.

CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE

Hungarian Jewish women and children, just off a transport train

At the beginning of the persecution of the Jews by the Nazis in 1933, until March 1944, Hungary had been a relatively safe haven for the Jews. Many Jews from Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Poland sought refuge within its borders. Although in 1938 Hungary had enacted laws similar to the laws in Nazi Germany, which discriminated against the Jews, it was not until March 10, 1944 that a special group of SS soldiers under the command of Adolf Eichmann, was activated for the purpose of deporting the Hungarian Jews to Auschwitz. The personnel in this Special Action Commando was assembled at the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria and then sent to Hungary on March 19, 1944 during the celebration of Purim, a Jewish holiday.

The deportation of the Hungarian Jews had actually begun on April 29, 1944 when a train load of Jews were sent to Birkenau on the orders of Adolf Eichmann. Another train filled with Hungarian Jews left for Birkeanu on April 30, 1944; the two trains with a total of 3,800 Jews reached Birkenau on May 2, 1944. There were 486 men and 616 women selected to work; the remaining 2698 Jews were gassed upon arrival. On May 8, 1944, former Commandant Rudolf Höss (Hoess) was brought back to Auschwitz-Birkenau to supervise the further deportation of the Hungarian Jews. The next day, Höss ordered the train tracks to be extended inside the Birkenau camp so that the Hungarian Jews could be brought as close as possible to the gas chambers. The mass transport of Hungarian Jews eventually consisted of 3,000 or more prisoners on each train.

Transport Trains deliver Hungarian Jews directly to gas chambers

It is estimated that as many as three million persons were eventually killed through gassing, starvation, disease, shooting, and burning ... 9 out of 10 were Jews. In addition, Gypsies, Soviet POWs, and prisoners of all nationalities died in the gas chambers.

Here is the matter-of-fact decree that began the process for the Hungarian Jews:

Decree Concerning the Ghettoization of Hungarian Jewry, 7 April 1944
Subject: The Assignment of Dwelling Places for Jews

The Royal Hungarian Government will soon have the country purged of Jews. I order the purge to be carried out by regions. As a result of the purge, Jewry irrespective of sex or age ­ is to be transported to assigned concentration camps. In towns or large villages a part of the Jews are later to be accommodated in Jewish buildings or ghettos, assigned to them by the police authorities. Jewish experts and skilled workmen employed in factories engaged in war production or in mines, large works, or landed estates, whose immediate replacement would endanger the production of the works in question are exempted. However, in factories, mines, or companies which are not earmarked for war production, they must be replaced immediately by the most suitable persons from the staff of the company, works, etc. in question. The persons replacing the Jews must be given the full range of authority of their predecessors. Committees appointed by municipal or county authorities are to determine the persons concerned.

The authorities are to proceed forthwith to provide for people to take their place. As soon as the replacement is feasible ­ and the head of the administrative authority concerned must endeavor to achieve this as soon as possible an expert trustee must be immediately appointed and placed at the head of the factory or company in question, with full responsibility. The rounding up of the Jews is to be carried out by the local police or by the Royal Hungarian Gendarmerie units concerned. If necessary, the gendarmerie will assist the Royal Hungarian Police in urban districts by providing armed help. The German security police will be on the spot as an advisory body. Special importance must be attached to achieving undisturbed cooperation with them.

The administrative authorities of the countries must forthwith establish concentration camps in suitable places and numbers, corresponding to the number of Jews to be placed in them. The location of these camps is to be reported to the Secretary of State for Public Security. In every town or large village where the number of Jews necessitates the assignment of separate buildings for them, the police authorities are to take the necessary steps on their own initiative, since only Jews dangerous from the point of view of state security are to be detained in concentration camps, whereas the others are to be accommodated in Jewish buildings. Buildings where Jews have dwelt in large numbers are to be turned into Jewish buildings.

People of non-Jewish origin living in such Jewish buildings are to be assigned residences of a similar value and similar rent within thirty days of the purge in the district concerned. They must be relocated there by the police authorities, so that on leaving the concentration camps the Jews can, when the time comes, immediately be accommodated in the Jewish buildings.

Simultaneously with the rounding up and the transportation of the Jews, the local authorities are to appoint committees which, in cooperation with the police and the gendarmerie, must lock up the residences and shops of the Jews and seal them separately. The sealed envelopes containing the keys and indicating the name and address of the Jew are to handed over to the commander of the concentration camp. Perishable goods and live animals which do not serve the purpose of production must be handed over to the municipal and village authorities. They are to be used in the first place to cover the requirements of the army and public security organs, and secondly those of the local population. Money and valuables (gold, silverware, stock shares, etc.) must be taken into safe custody by the above bodies and, together with a short list specifying them, be handed over to the commander of the concentration camp. Perishable goods and live animals which do not serve the purpose of production must be handed over to the municipal or village authorities against a receipt and counter-receipt. The municipal authorities must deliver these valuables within three days to the branch of theNational bank at the center of the territory to be purged. The police bodies carrying out the purges shall determine these centers separately in each case.

Jews are to be transported as prisoners, by train or if necessary by relay coaches to be ordered by the municipal authorities. The Jews to be deported are allowed to take with them only the clothes they have on, at most two changes of underwear, and food sufficient for no more than 14 days. They will also be allowed luggage weighing no more than 50 kilograms, including the weight of bedding, blankets, and mattresses. They are not allowed to take money, jewelry, gold or any other valuables.

The rounding up of the Jews is to be carried out in the following sequence:

Gendarmerie districts VII, IX, X, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, and I.

All armed companies and the training units subordinate to them are at the disposal of the district commanders of the gendarmerie and the police. However, when availing themselves of armed units, the commanders should bear in mind that closing the boundaries of a certain district must not end before the rounding up of the Jews has been completed in the adjacent districts also. Headquarters of gendarmerie districts and police authorities are to establish contact with each other over the rounding up of the Jews, so that the purge may take place simultaneously and jointly. If a Jew cannot be found at his residence, the usual warrant must be issued against him with reference to my present order. The homes of such Jews are to be dealt with in the same way as those of Jews who are caught.

I draw the authorities attention to the fact that all Jews who have fled here from the territories of foreign countries are to be given the same treatment as Communists, i.e., they are to be taken without exception to concentration camps. People whose Jewish origin may be doubtful are also to be taken to concentration camps, where their origin is to be clarified.

My present order is to be treated as strictly confidential and the heads of the authorities or headquarters are responsible for seeing to it that no one will learn of it before the purges are started.

Recipients:

All deputy prefects and mayors, the Regents Commissioner of Carpatho-Ruthania (Karpatalja Kormanyzoi Biztosa), the commanders of all gendarmerie districts, all commanders of gendarmerie investigative units, the central investigation command of the Royal Hungarian Gendarmerie, the central police offices of Budapest and of the provinces, the leader of the Royal Hungarian State Security Police, the gendarmerie battalion at Galanta, and the commander of the gendarmerie school battalion of Nagyvarad.

This decree of mine was also received by the Superintendent of the Hungarian Royal Gendarmerie.

Budapest, April 7, 1944 Laszlo Baky

13 May, 1944

V-MAIL

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 578 % Postmaster, N.Y.

England

13 May, 1944

Hello darling!

Well I didn’t think I’d get a chance to write today either. Yesterday, dear, I was away all day and so for the first time in some while I couldn’t even get a V-mail off to you. I’m busy as all get-out today too – but I’m taking a few minutes off to jot you and my folks a line. It must sound awfully important, sweetheart. It really isn’t, but the fact is I’ve just been hopping around for the past 36 hours – but I think I’ll be able to write you a regular letter tomorrow. That’s all for now, dear.

Love to the folks – and

All my love

Greg

P.S.
I love you!

* TIDBIT *

about Anne Frank's Tree

On May 13, 1944, only three months before her family was rounded up, Anne wrote in her diary: “Our chestnut tree is in full bloom. It is covered with leaves and is even more beautiful than last year.” On Feb. 23, 1944, she had written: “Nearly every morning I go to the attic to blow the stuffy air out of my lungs. From my favorite spot on the floor I look up at the blue sky and the bare chestnut tree, on whose branches little raindrops shine, appearing like silver, and at the seagulls and other birds as they glide on the wind... As long as this exists, and it certainly always will, I know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances may be."

Sixty-two years after dying of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, Anne Frank continues to haunt countless readers of her diary, with its youthful exuberance, dry humor and shattering hints of the violence that would sweep away her world. But fewer people know of the soaring chestnut tree that gave comfort to Anne while she and her family hid for more than two years during the German occupation. The tree, in the backyard of the house where Anne hid, gained fame more than a decade ago when it was damaged in 1990 by an underground oil spill and other toxic pollutants. For 17 years, the city government tried to save the tree, spending $200,000 to pump out the polluted water surrounding it, as well as trying other methods to preserve its roots. Nothing worked.

In the ensuing years, fresh ills befell the tree: fungi turned almost half its trunk to white rot, and a moth infestation attacked its crown. The German news magazine Der Spiegel reported in 2006 that botanists had spent months running tests and observing the tree, but their efforts did not improve its condition significantly. When local officials deemed it a safety hazard and ordered it felled in 2007, a global campaign to save the chestnut, widely known as The Anne Frank Tree, was launched. The tree was granted a last-minute reprieve after a battle in court. In 2009, city workmen encased the trunk in a steel support system to prevent it from falling.

However, the steel support failed under rain and gale force winds on Monday, 23 August, 2010. The once mighty tree, diseased and rotted through the trunk, snapped about 3 feet (1 meter) above ground and crashed across several gardens. It damaged several sheds, but nearby buildings — including the Anne Frank House museum — escaped unscathed. No one was injured, a museum spokeswoman said. On 24 August 2010 it was reported that a small side shoot was growing out of the stump below where it broke, and there was hope that it would grow into a new tree.

But before its fall, many clones of the tree had been taken, and a plan developed to plant 11 in the U.S. as well as 150 at a park in Amsterdam. The 11 sites in the U.S. were to be chosen largely because they were places that exhibited “the consequences of intolerance — and that includes racism, discrimination and hatred.” A call went out and 34 applications were received. Three locations were chosen ahead of time:

* The White House

* The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, where Anne Frank was already honored, and

* The World Trade Center site in New York.

Here's the planting in Indianapolis:

Here is the dedication at the US Capitol:

* Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas was chosen because it was there that black students fought for school integration under the guard of 1,200 soldiers in 1957.

Among the other sites are Holocaust centers in

* Seattle

* Farmington Hills, Mich.

* Sonoma State University in California, whose exhibit was created by an Auschwitz survivor who attended school with Anne, and

* Boise, Idaho, (whose statue of Anne was vandalized by a white supremacist group).

Here is the dedication in Boise:

The remaining sites are:

* The William J. Clinton Foundation in Little Rock, home of the former president’s library, which was chosen, the Anne Frank Center said, because of Mr. Clinton’s and the foundation’s commitment to social justice.

* Boston Common in Boston, Massachusetts, which has monuments to liberty; an 11-year-old researching what project she might undertake for her bat mitzvah asked Boston’s mayor, Thomas M. Menino, to ask for the sapling.

* The Southern Cayuga Central School District in upstate New York, which based its case on nearby landmarks like Seneca Falls, regarded as the birthplace of the women’s rights movement.

It turns out the saplings selected for sites in the United States were temporarily caged themselves. When they arrived in the country in December of 2009, the young trees were seized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Because of sicknesses ravaging horse chestnuts in Europe, the trees needed to be in quarantine for three years.

12 May, 1944 (Orders)

No letter today. Just this:

* TIDBIT *

about Orders Authorized on 6 May, 1944

TOP SECRET
HEADQUARTERS
SOUTHERN BASE SECTION
SOS ETOUSA

SUBJECT: Concentration Camp           Date: 12 May 1944

TO:   CO, Med Det, 438 AAA AW BN
      Priority List No A--2277  

   The Priority Lists and the Embarco plan indicates that your unit is now in its concentration camp (Sherborne). After complying with POM-SSV (vehicle waterproofing, acquisition of required equipment and supplies, and other preparatory functions) you will be prepared to move on or after   31 May    on six (6) hours notice. You will receive further instructions on Exercise "Hornpipe" through command channels.

EMBARCO

E.R. YOUNG, Lt. Col. CE

Embarkation Control Officer

TOP SECRET

ORIGINAL

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[Notes: CO = Commanding Officer (Greg was CO of the 438th AAA AW BN Medical Detachment). POM-SSV = Preparation for Overseas Movement - Short Sea Voyage. "Hornpipe" was the code word for the airborne element of "Overlord," which was the code word for the Invasion of Normandy. This was evidenced in a signal that was sent on May 23rd from General Eisenhower's Headquarters to the operational Commanders-in-Chief. When deciphered it read: "Exercise Hornpipe Bigot Halcyon Y plus four." Hornpipe meant "Overlord". Bigot was a code word used to express the highest degree of secrecy, Halcyon indicated D-day, and Y had been fixed as the 1st of June. The signal thus fixed D-day as the 5th June.]

11 May, 1944

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 578 % Postmaster, N.Y.

England

11 May, 1944       1040

Dearest darling Wilma –

I’m back at the Castle now – a little bit earlier than usual but I have a few things to take care of before tomorrow and I wanted to get an early start.

Yesterday, dearest, I got your letter postmarked May 3 and 4th – and really when you asked me if I were in England, I really had to stop to think. Your getting a letter of mine in 4 days time is really amazing. The best in this direction has been 5 days – and that was once. But where I used to hear regularly in 2½ to 3 weeks – now it is usually 7-10 days. It certainly does help to make things easier, darling, and it’s a pity I can’t call you as easily as I can write you. I haven’t left this place – and it is impossible to make a call from here – and as I wrote before, my chances of getting to London – are very, very slim. But I love you very much, anyway, sweetheart – even if I can’t call you now – and that is really what matters most.

So you thought my eye incident was funny, huh?? Well you wouldn’t have thought so had you seen it! Anyway – it really was funny and did have to do with the Reverend.

Darling I’m glad you went over to visit Ruth and I’m glad you like her. I know she does you – as do all my family. Irv must really be busy from what I hear. I don’t suppose I was ever that busy. And as for planning whether to do general medicine or surgery exclusively – I guess many factors will enter into that and what medicine will have to offer post-war – is still a question to be answered. I’m not too concerned, though – and whatever comes, I won’t let it run me or you into the ground. We’ll both love life too much for that.

Yes, dear, I remember the Cohens. They seemed like a jolly couple – he rather slim and she – shall I say, heavy set? Say you really ran off a list of liquor that your Dad has. What a brawl that would make! I guess it’s getting quite difficult to get it all over the world. I’m the proud possessor of ½ a bottle of Haig and Haig – and I’m treasuring it.

Yesterday – in addition to your two letters, I got one from Barbara – written all over the page – and urging me to hurry up and come home so that I could marry Auntie Wilma. I also got one from Mrs. Gardner – who is now back in Salem, Dr. Gardner – by coincidence on the same day – who is back at San Francisco, and finally one from Barbara Tucker. The latter told me about your visit to Salem which she said she enjoyed. She thought you very O.K. and that’s a lot from her, dear. The Gardners just had local news etc. – but it was nice hearing from them. Gosh – darling – I have a bunch of letters to answer – and I just feel too lazy to or don’t get the time. I’ll get around to it, though.

Well – sweetheart – I’ll stop now. It’s so wonderful to hear from you regularly and to know that you still loved me only 5-6 days ago! It makes me love you even more than I do already. Altogether – it’s a satisfying feeling and I know darling that we’re going to be very, very happy. Love to the folks and

All my love forever, dear

Greg

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