26 June 1945

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 513 % Postmaster, N.Y.

26 June, 1945      1045

Nancy, France

My dearest sweetheart –

Well, I didn’t write you yesterday and as usual – the reason was because we were on the road. I doubt if any outfit in the Army has moved as often as this one. At any rate, dear, we left Reims, traveled 130 miles east and here we are. I hated heading back in the general direction of Germany again – but directions don’t mean much. When the time comes to go – I’ll go swiftly – from any corner of France.

The set-up for the officers is swell. We have a large private home and the dental officer and I share a tremendous room, with closets, shelves, large windows which open outwards, and roller type sun shades. By the way – I’ve never mentioned the new dental officer. We got him – the last days in Leipzig; he’s Jewish and from Brooklyn – but he seems to be of a much nicer type than our previous dentist with the same combination. He’s married, and about the same age as I.

Well – to go on – the house has a front porch, and rear and side patios, back lawn etc; there are 3 bathrooms and a couple of other washrooms besides. But get this, darling – we’re running our own officers’ mess for the 15 of us and we have two full time French cooks and two waiters. We also have outside help to do our room – in the persons of German prisoners. Incidentally – German prisoners are being used all over France. The master race doesn’t look too proud, either.

So here we are, dear, and for how long – I don’t know. No one here at Hq knows. Our Colonel is Provost-Marshall of the City and our boys are the M.P.’s – that’s Baker and Charlie batteries. Able and Dog are doing the same at Metz. Nancy has a population of 125,000 and is quite modern because it was badly beat up in the last war. There’s practically no damage from this one. It has been called “the little Paris” – but so far, I don’t know why. Last night we spent in fixing up our room and it looks fairly nice considering everything. I managed to find a rug, couple of small tables etc.

The Colonel and I were talking – out front - and a neighbor came over to say “hello.” He asked us over – he has a beautiful home – and we met his wife. They have a couple of kids – 8 and 10 yrs old and we spent a nice hour or so. We found they played Bridge and they asked us over tonite to play. It’s next door.

The latest letter I have from you, sweetheart, is dated 15 June and which I received before we left Reims. That’s not bad, either. And you discussed marriage, etc. – in it. I’ve been waiting for you to mention the subject. I’m pleased with what you had to say, too, dear. I haven’t wanted to pin you down or anything like that. But I didn’t know exactly how you felt, for instance, about my coming home and having to leave. I wanted to know if you’d marry me – all other factors being O.K. I realize we’ve been apart a long time, darling, and that there’ll be a few things we’ll want to see about – to see how things shape up – etc. But if all things do seem to be all right – I feel we ought to marry, regardless of my next assignment. I gather, dear, that you feel the same – and it makes me very happy to know that – because it’s the one thing in the world I’ve been thinking about since the war was over. And I honestly believe everything will work out all right, too, because first of all and most important – we love each other and we’ve got a lot of good time behind us – I mean testing time – and we’ve proved we can take it. Families, problems, details – I’m sure will seem easier once I get back – and so, sweetheart, here’s to an early return and us.

And now I’ve got to go and take care of many details – water supply and whether it’s potable, V.D. rate, prostitution – etc. etc. Be well darling, and patient a little longer. We’ll make it up. So long, dear and love to the folks.

All my sincerest love –

Greg

25 June 1945

No letter today. Just this:

Here are some photos Greg took while in Reims

CLICK TO ENLARGE

Reims - Bill Bowman, Bruce Silvus and George Thiessen - June 1945


Reims - Joan of Arc - June 1945


Reims - June 1945


Reims - June 1945


Reims - School where Armistice was signed - June 1945


Reims - War Room where Armistice was signed - June 1945


Reims - Interior of Reims Cathedral - June 1945


Reims Cathedral - June 1945


Reims Cathedral - June 1945


Reims from the Cathedral - June 1945


Reims from the Cathedral - June 1945


And one missed from Leipzig in May of 1945!

Greg

24 June 1945

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 513 % Postmaster, N.Y.

24 June, 1945      0900

Reims

My dearest sweetheart –

Well – mail finally came through yesterday and I got 3 letters from you, darling – as of 4, 8, 13 June – the one of the 8th being V-mail. I also heard from Lawrence – on the coast and from Eleanor. It was wonderful to feel in touch again with you and home – and yet your letters left me a bit sad. Darling – I know my asking you about marriage and talking more of the future must have indicated to you I was coming home shortly. But – as you write – I never said definitely that I was coming home – and that’s what you should be going by. My freedom in talking about us and the future was because the war was over, the dangers considerably less and I now felt and feel that if I ask you to marry me – the chances are immeasurably better that I’ll be able to get home to get married.

By now, of course, you’ve received more of my letters and you know our job and all the uncertainty that is associated with it. As I wrote the other day – about the only thing that seems reasonably certain – right now anyway, is that I probably won’t go to the Pacific.

So you can see why I’m sad, sweetheart – because I can see the set-back you’ll receive when you realize that I’m not on my way home yet. I blame it all on the newspapers and radio – and the same unhappiness and disappointment is being registered a thousand-fold. There isn’t an officer or enlisted man in this outfit that received mail yesterday that didn’t experience the same sadness I did. Most of the girls had left or were getting ready to leave their jobs; one of my own men in the medics told me his wife had just had her hair waxed, bought a new dress and wouldn’t leave the house for fear she’d miss the telephone call. That’s terrible, dear – and all because people were told the First Army was coming home. Hell – none of the First Army that did the fighting is home yet. The 1st Division is in Czechoslovakia, the 4th and 9th are occupational troops – as is the 3rd Armored – and those divisions are or were the backbone of the First Army – from D-Day on. The only troops getting home right now are the greenest – and it’s understandable, too. But – now there’s not a damned thing to do about it but wait.

I don’t know how you’ll take all this, darling, after having keyed up your hopes – but I know you’ll understand that we have nothing to say about it. As a matter of fact I can be thankful I haven’t been snatched up by a ‘hot’ outfit on its way to the CBI via Marseilles. There are MC’s who have had that happen to them.

Meanwhile, dear, we’re moving to Nancy tomorrow. We’ve already got back word from the advance party that finding quarters has been quite a problem – which means – they’ll probably be poor. But as MP’s in town we ought to get first crack at anything that becomes vacant. I’m not worrying much about it.

Last nite – Saturday – full moon and all – we went to the Opera in town – seven of us, including the Colonel, the Chaplain and the S-2, S-3, and a couple of line officers. The company put on Pagliacci and Covalleni’s Rusticana. It was Class B – but the music was good and a welcome relief from the movies. The opera house here is small but attractive.

And that’s all for now, sweetheart. I love you terribly and that’s why I’m hurt when I think that I’ve had to disappoint you about my return home. I’m doing the best I can to contain myself over my own disappointment.

So long for awhile, dear; love to the folks and

All my everlasting love

Greg

* TIDBIT *

about the Opera of Reims


Opera of Reims

This information has come largely from the Google translation of The Opera at Reims website.

In 1866, following a public competition, the architect Alphonse Gosset, of Reims, won first prize for the construction of a new theater. The "Grand Théâtre" in Reims was opened in 1873. In September of 1914, when the World War I bombing began, the theater's dome and large chandelier collapsed. Fire completed the destruction and by the end of the war, only the facade remained standing.

Facade of the Opera of Reims after WWI


Facade of the Opera of Reims today


Opera of Reims facade detail

After World War I architects François Maille and Louis Sollier reconstructed the opera house, completing the work in 1931. While respected the work of Alphonse Gosset by retaining the facade he built, but behind it they totally restructured the interior in the Art Deco style. The performance hall is typical of Italian theaters, with horseshoe seating.

Opera of Reims horseshoe seating

Paintings by Rousseau-Decelle representing "The theatre arts being born of the feast of Bacchus" adorn the ceiling of the theatre. There are four decorative scenes: Bacchus and his Train, The Dionysian Spring, The Dionysian Fall and The Origins of the Theater.The architect's sister, Marcelle Sollier, created the bas reliefs in the double stairwell of the main staircase, in the same style as those of Antoine Bourdelle in Paris. Edgar Brandt executed the ironwork in the wells of the small staircases and the 7.5 meter diameter "shield" chandelier in the theater. The glasswork of the chandelier was completed by Jacques Simon in 1929.

Opera of Reims chandelier and ceiling art

An acoustic device is hidden in the relief patterns that run all around the room. This recurring motif, engraved on the back of wooden armchairs, has become part of the place.

Opera of Reims acoustic panels

The four degree slope of the seating area echoes the four degree slope of the pit, aiding the visibility of spectators as well as improving acoustics. A rehearsal room equipped with a large platform with the same 4 degree slope of is in the attic that forms the dome over the light shield.

Opera of Reims four degree slope

In 1997, after the closure of the Chanzy fire station, which adjoins the Grand Théâtre, the latter was closed for safety reasons and became the subject of a restoration campaign. Architects Henri Dumont, Bertrand Nivelle and Guignard were in charge of operations. The interior decor was modified slightly while retaining its original style. In 2010, the building was renamed Opera of Reims. The theater continues to be the city's largest and most important theater and opera venue.

23 June 1945

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 513 % Postmaster, N.Y.

23 June, 1945      0935

Reims

My darling Wilma –

Although there’s very little in the way of news to write you, it’s always a pleasure to sit down and tell you I love you more and more each day. Without that love, darling, I can assure you that my daily existence would be very very dull. So I lean on it for comfort and stimulation of my mind – and it’s a wonderful medicine. Unlike medicine, however, there’s no danger of an overdose – so I find myself having a little of it – every hour, on the hour; in addition – I sneak in a little on the half hours, quarter hours – and I’ve noticed recently that the same was taking place on the minutes of an hour. In other words, sweetheart, I’m thinking of you and loving you constantly and I think my case will be permanent – but only when I get that overwhelming dose – saturated love in the person of you.

We are starting to make preparation for our move Monday, and as usual – it requires a lot of details. But I believe everything is pretty nearly ready for us to leave at 0800 – in convoy, and we’re scheduled to arrive in Nancy at about 1600 hours.

I can’t remember whether or not I wrote that I managed to visit the Champagne caves of one of the Companies here in town. Reims, of course, is the champagne center of the world. I visited the Pommery Co. The process of making the stuff is done in caves because it’s so cool and the temperature is kept constant. These caves happen to be in the remains of old chalk mines dug by the Romans in the 2nd and 3rd century and they’re 100 ft. deep. It was very interesting. I’ll tell you about it some time in the future, but I know a lot more about champagne then I did before.

The Pommery Champagne Co. - Reims - June 1945
and now (below)




Champagne vat holding 17,000 gallons
exhibited at World's Fair St. Louis 1900
June 1945
and now (below)

I bought a bottle at the place for 130 fr. I’d love to send some home – but it’s strictly taboo. I’ve been thinking I’d like to save a few bottles to take home in my trunk and have a good binge the day I arrive. But we probably won’t get our footlockers for some time after we arrive – and the space involved is considerable.

We had some excitement last night and I missed out on some sleep. I was called to see a fellow about 0100 – who had a questionable broken shoulder. He said he had fallen into a hole near here. The MP’s in town came looking for him and 3 others about an hour later. It seems one of the 4 had become involved in a brawl with some Negroes – and a Negro was shot. They arrested all 4 of them. We learned this a.m. that the negro died and so – the question of murder comes up. All 4 of the soldiers are definitely no good and they deserve what’s coming to them. They’ve been chronic trouble makers. Of course – the great majority of the battalion sees red when they see a negro. Most of our boys come from Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and So. Ohio and they just plain hate Negroes. What irritates them especially (and a good many Northerners too) is to see a negro with a white girl. There’s plenty of that going on here, too. One of our boys saw a white WAC out with a Negro and kissing him. But it’s not new for our boys to get in trouble when things are easy for them. They always do better when they live in mud, under poor conditions, ducking artillery shells etc. It’s been that way ever since I've known them. And it’s the same way for our Venereal rate which has soared since the war was over. I’ve been here long enough, though, to stop worrying about things. I take them all as they come along. There’s not enough money in the Army to aggravate myself anymore.

And anyway – all I’m concerned about is you and home and when I’m going to see you. Nothing else matters now, sweetheart. I must see you, love you and marry you - and until then I won’t be relaxed, I won’t be living, I won’t be happy.

So long for now, darling – love to the folks – and

All my everlasting love

Greg

* TIDBIT *

about Pommery Champagne

Madame Louise Pommery built the Domaine Pommery Estate ten years after taking over her late husband's champagne business. She was responsible for creating brut (dry) champagne in 1874. Before that time, champagne was a very sweet drink, generally consumed with dessert. Brut is also lighter and fruitier than the original.

Madame Louise Pommery built the Vranken Pommery estate in 1868 to represent modernity and extravagance. A patron of the arts, she commissioned murals of people making and drinking Champagne, and had them carved into the chalk cellars of her wine estate. At Vranken Pommery, the artwork found throughout the caves is just as much on display as the racks of champagne bottles lining the walls and filling the storage rooms. Upon descending the 116 steps into the cellar, visitors will instantly become aware of the atypical surroundings of the Pommery caves.

Steps to cellar

In upholding Madame Pommery’s reputation as a great supporter of the arts, the cellars house a permanent collection of contemporary art in addition to serving as an unusual gallery space for temporary exhibitions of the same genre. Neon colored lighting cuts through the dimly lit cellars, highlighting a stark contrast between the modernity of the house and its rich and historic champagne producing traditions.

Photo by Jacqueline Dauriac

In all, there are about 18 kilometers of underground caves that keep the Champagne at the perfect temperature for the year it spends in the bottle before being recorked and sent to market. The caves are named after cities, and the longest one (a full kilometer) is called "Montreal."It was given that name by Madame Pommery more than 100 years ago. She had never visited Montreal, but she liked the name.

There are more than 21 million bottles of champagne stored in the caves of the Vranken Pommery cellars, with the oldest going back to the late 19th Century. Some are rarely touched. As Greg said, These bottles are stored 100 feet (30 meters) underground at a temperature of 50F (10C).

22 June 1945

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 513 % Postmaster, N.Y.

22 June, 1945      0900

Reims

My dearest sweetheart –

How I love you and miss you these days and nights! You’ll never really know, darling, until I can come home and tell you and show you. You can’t possibly conceive it from merely reading words. And feeling like that – here I have to sit in France – waiting, waiting – and yet thankful I’m not heading for Marseilles as so many other near here are. A trip to Marseilles, dear, means the C.B.I. without the States first. I don’t know what I’d do or you either, sweetheart – if I had only that to look forward to. I’d feel like going AWOL – I know. So the one comforting thought I have is that I will be coming home. When – I don’t know. We read in the Stars and Stripes that it will take most of a year to get all the men re-deployed. There’s no reason to believe we’ll be the last to go – because this job of being M.P.’s is just one to fill a temporary shortage. When our time comes – regardless of the job – we’ll go. Furthermore, I could be separated from the outfit at any time and come home with another.

There were 12 letters for the whole battalion yesterday – but that’s a sign the APO is straightened out and that any day now our mail will start to flow. One of the 12 letters was for me, dear – from Lawrence. I feel sad every time I hear from him. It was written en route to the Coast – at Ogden, Utah. He seemed to be enjoying the trip. But I still think he did wrong and that he was very inconsiderate of his family. I wrote him last night – and of course I didn’t tell him how I felt. I merely wished him luck.

Meanwhile – here – we know definitely that we’ll move to Nancy on Monday, the 25th. Hq, Baker and Charlie Batteries will be in Nancy, and Able and Dog go to Metz. That means I’ll be seeing Pete again. It’ll be nice having at least half of the officers together again. Nancy is supposed to be a rather nice city – of about 100,000. I hope there are some tennis courts there – as it seems that will be the only outlet for any energy I have and the only way of keeping in shape. All these cities, including Reims, are very crowded and congested – but I hope we manage to get reasonably good quarters.

Reims to Nancy, France

I should stop writing right now, darling, since I have several things to take care of here today – but I just feel like sitting here and writing all day. Say – I was glad to hear that Les White is coming along all right and that the doctors give him good hope of having a good arm. That’s swell. Have you seen him at all? Does he wear his arm in a sling?

Yes – it was thoughtful of Mary to send Lawrence a medal. I hope he got it, for her sake. You know, dear, I still have the one she sent me.

Sweetheart – they’ve just come for me. I’ve got to run down to the hospital and find out about a fellow I sent in last night. He had an acute abdomen and I want to find out whether or not they operated.

And so for a little while, dear, so long. Maybe today I’ll hear from you. There’s quite a few letters missing from the latter part of May and early June. I’ll take them all!! I want to read that you love me, darling. I like to read that as much as I love to tell you –

Love to the folks, sweetheart, and

All my sincerest, deepest love –

Greg

21 June 1945

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 513 % Postmaster, N.Y.

21 June, 1945      0830

Reims, France

Wilma, darling –

The first day of summer – and it’s hot here. I wonder what kind of summer you’re having back home. I wonder how you are, your folks, my folks, Ruth, Lawrence – hell, I feel lost and out of contact, just at a time when I need contact. But we’re just going to have to wait for our mail and there’s not a damn thing we could do about it. But last night – there was. Our lockers – trunks – were picked up at Soissons and delivered to us. I had practically emptied mine when we turned them in – but I found 3 sets of khaki trousers, and a whole stack of letters from you, darling, written when I was in England. I read quite a bunch of them and really enjoyed it. But they don’t quite take the place of up to date letters. You’ve been loving me a long time now, sweetheart, without getting material love back – and I know it must be tough and discouraging. But I’m giving all the love and devotion I can while I’m away from you, dear, and I hope that helps some.

The foot lockers, by the way, were pretty well scuffed about and beat up – but I think mine will be able to make the trip home. I now have the task of transferring everything in my duffle bag – to the trunk – the point being that when we move home we’ll probably be allowed the same as when we came – a locker, val-a-pac, and bedding roll. I’d like to know that everything is ready. I’ll try to send home everything in excess.

Today is the second day of the outfit’s course in M.P. work. It runs until Sunday (this is Thursday) and presumably we take off for Nancy on Monday or Tuesday next. We’ll have the same APO number. We may know a bit more about what the set-up will be by this evening. The Colonel and our S-3 went to Nancy today to see what it’s about.

I’ve just re-read your letter of 5 June – the last letter I received from you at Leipzig. You were a bit upset at what I had written about going to London or the Riviera. I apparently had left the wrong impression, darling, about the time being deducted from our Leave in the States. It isn’t. It all seems like a long time since we had those Leaves available. We probably won’t hear anymore about it now that we’re service troops – and I’m not very interested anyway. But a Leave here has no connection whatsoever with a Leave at home. That’s definite.

As for the implication that the giving of furloughs and Leaves means being here a long time – there’s no connection at all. The fact is they’ve got a bunch of troops here and they’ve just got to keep them busy.

Yes – a week at the Cape with the Fines would be nice – but it seems a bit unattainable – from here, sweetheart. But an MP officer who was here yesterday – said all this training etc – didn’t mean we would necessarily have to stay long. When our time came – we’d go – regardless of our assignment. Where I’d fit with it, I don’t know – but each day makes me feel more positive I won’t have to go the Pacific – and that sweetheart – is all-important to both of us.

I’ll have to close now, sweetheart. Although I run sick-call early these days and before I write you, there’s always a couple of guys who show up late. There’s a couple of ‘em waiting for me now. Gee, darling, I do hope I hear from you soon. Send my love to the folks and remember, dear, that I love you dearly and that I’ll always be –

Yours alone

Greg

* TIDBIT *

about The Civilian Impact of The Battle of Okinawa


Location of Okinawa in Relation to Japan's mainland

From Wikipedia comes this:

On Okinawa, the last remnants of Japanese resistance in the 82-day battle fell on 21 June 1945. The battle resulted in the highest number of casualties in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Japan lost over 100,000 soldiers, who were either killed, captured or committed suicide, and the Allies suffered more than 65,000 casualties of all kinds. Simultaneously, tens of thousands of local civilians were killed, wounded, or committed suicide.

At some battles, such as at Battle of Iwo Jima, there had been no civilians involved, but Okinawa had a large indigenous civilian population and, according to various estimates, somewhere between one tenth and one third of them died during the battle. Okinawan civilian losses in the campaign were estimated to be between 42,000 and 150,000 dead (more than 100,000 according to Okinawa Prefecture. The U.S. Army figures for the campaign showed a total figure of 142,058 civilian casualties, including those who were pressed into service by the Japanese Imperial Army.

During the battle, U.S. soldiers found it difficult to distinguish civilians from soldiers. It became routine for U.S. soldiers to shoot at Okinawan houses, as one infantryman wrote,

There was some return fire from a few of the houses, but the others were probably occupied by civilians – and we didn't care. It was a terrible thing not to distinguish between the enemy and women and children. Americans always had great compassion, especially for children. Now we fired indiscriminately.

In its history of the war, the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum presents Okinawa as being caught in the fighting between America and Japan. During the 1945 battle, the Japanese Army showed indifference to Okinawa's defense and safety, and the Japanese soldiers used civilians as human shields against the Americans. Japanese military confiscated food from the Okinawans and executed those who hid it, leading to a mass starvation among the population, and forced civilians out of their shelters. Japanese soldiers also killed about 1,000 Okinawans who spoke in a different local dialect in order to suppress spying. The museum writes

some were blown apart by shells, some finding themselves in a hopeless situation were driven to suicide, some died of starvation, some succumbed to malaria, while others fell victim to the retreating Japanese troops.

With the impending victory of American troops, civilians often committed mass suicide, urged on by the Japanese soldiers who told locals that victorious American soldiers would go on a rampage of killing and raping. Ryukyu Shimpo, one of the two major Okinawan newspapers, wrote in 2007: "There are many Okinawans who have testified that the Japanese Army directed them to commit suicide. There are also people who have testified that they were handed grenades by Japanese soldiers" to blow themselves up. Some of the civilians, having been induced by Japanese propaganda to believe that U.S. soldiers were barbarians who committed horrible atrocities, killed their families and themselves to avoid capture. Some of them threw themselves and their family members from the cliffs where the Peace Museum now resides.

However, despite being told by the Japanese military that they would suffer rape, torture and murder at the hands of the Americans, Okinawans "were often surprised at the comparatively humane treatment they received from the American enemy." According to Islands of Discontent: Okinawan Responses to Japanese and American Power by Mark Selden, the Americans "did not pursue a policy of torture, rape, and murder of civilians as Japanese military officials had warned." Military Intelligence combat translator Teruto Tsubota — a U.S. Marine born in Hawaii — convinced hundreds of civilians not to kill themselves and thus saved their lives.

Civilians and historians report that soldiers on both sides had raped Okinawan civilians during the battle. Rape by Japanese troops "became common" in June, after it became clear that the Japanese Army had been defeated. The New York Times reported in 2000 that in the village of Katsuyama, civilians formed a vigilante group to ambush and kill a group of black American soldiers whom they claimed frequently raped the local girls there. Marine Corps officials in Okinawa and Washington have stated that they "knew of no rapes by American servicemen in Okinawa at the end of the war, and their records do not list war crimes committed by Marines in Okinawa". Journalist George Feifer, however, writes that rape in Okinawa was "another dirty secret of the campaign" in which "American military chronicles ignore [the] crimes." Few Okinawans revealed their pregnancies, as

stress and bad diet ... rendered most Okinawan women infertile. Many who did become pregnant managed to abort before their husbands and fathers returned. A smaller number of newborn infants fathered by Americans were suffocated.

In the aftermath of the battle, ninety percent of the buildings on the island were destroyed, and the tropical landscape was turned into "a vast field of mud, lead, decay and maggots". The military value of Okinawa "exceeded all hope." Okinawa provided a fleet anchorage, troop staging areas, and airfields in close proximity to Japan. The U.S. cleared the surrounding waters of mines in Operation Zebra, occupied Okinawa, and set up the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands, a form of military government, after the battle.

Significant U.S. forces remain garrisoned there, and Kadena remains the largest U.S. air base in Asia. In all, 14 U.S. bases cover 90 square miles (233 square kilometres), occupying 18% of the main island. According to a 2007 Okinawa Times poll, 85% of Okinawans opposed the presence of the U.S. military, due to noise pollution from military drills, the risk of aircraft accidents, environmental degradation, and extra crowding from the number of personnel there. In another poll conducted in May 2010, 43% of the population wanted the complete closure of the U.S. bases, 42% wanted reduction and 11% wanted the maintenance of the status quo.

CLICK TO ENLARGE
U.S. military bases in Okinawa

Some military historians believe that the Okinawa campaign led directly to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as a means of avoiding the planned ground invasion of the Japanese mainland. Victor Davis Hanson explains his view in Ripples of Battle:

...because the Japanese on Okinawa... were so fierce in their defense (even when cut off, and without supplies), and because casualties were so appalling, many American strategists looked for an alternative means to subdue mainland Japan, other than a direct invasion. This means presented itself, with the advent of atomic bombs, which worked admirably in convincing the Japanese to sue for peace [unconditionally], without American casualties. Ironically, the American conventional fire-bombing of major Japanese cities (which had been going on for months before Okinawa) was far more effective at killing civilians than the atomic bombs and, had the Americans simply continued, or expanded this, the Japanese would likely have surrendered anyway.

In 1995, the Okinawa government erected a memorial named "Cornerstone of Peace" in Mabuni, the site of the last fighting in southeastern Okinawa. The memorial lists all the known names of those who died in the battle, civilian and military, Japanese and foreign. As of June 2008, it contains 240,734 names.

Cornerstone of Peace Memorial in Okinawa

20 June 1945

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 513 % Postmaster, N.Y.

20 June, 1945      0900

Reims, France

Dearest darling Wilma –

It’s another fine sunny day here – and France is supposed to have lots of them. But I’d gladly take New England’s uncertain weather if I could have all that goes with New England. But I’d better not start getting blue again. Yesterday was a low day for me and I’m trying to feel better today. Of course – the fact that our mail situation is all fouled up – doesn’t help one bit. The mail orderly implied we might not get anything for a couple of weeks. I sure hope he’s wrong.

I can see already that things are going to be pretty tough for us – or me now. Oh – the life will be easier and the food better – and all that – but with the war over and no real incentive – time is really going to drag. I’ll just have to keep telling myself that despite our continued separation – I’m – we’re still better off than if I were on my way to the Pacific. Perhaps I’m fooling myself; maybe I’ll have to go anyway. No one has the slightest idea over here. I’m just trying to do it by common sense. There must be enough MC’s in the States and enough over here with little time in service to cover the needs of the Pacific.

I don’t know what you’re thinking about all this, sweetheart, – but I can imagine that “impatient” is putting it mildly. I can understand it – what with the build-up given you by the radio and press. It must have been an awful let-down and everyone in this outfit – at any rate – feels very badly about the reaction of his family – because all reacted in the same way. I read yesterday that the 86th Division had arrived in New York and received a tremendous reception. It makes a guy kind of mad. They were over only about 7 or 8 months and they didn’t even go into action until after the Rhine crossing when there was little close fighting to do and the Germans were always falling back. And an outfit like that gets the reception – while one like the First Division, which is still in Czechoslovakia by the way, sweats it out. By the time they get back, people will be a little fed up with returning troops – and they really fought the war – with outfits like the 4th, 9th, 3rd Armored and a good many others. At any rate – the 86th will go right to the Pacific – and they can have it.

Another thing that makes us kind of mad is to see how much better rations the troops back here get. You read in the Stars and Stripes that everything goes to the combat troops and you believe it. But it isn’t true. We’re seeing for ourselves. And to top off everything we find that the troops in Reims were awarded the Campaign star – Battle of the Rhineland! We couldn’t believe it. It means that they got a star and 5 points for being here and we got the same. The only difference is – we had to sweat out the mud and the incoming artillery, and they didn’t.

Well, darling, this is a sort of “bitchy” type of letter – but the views I’ve expressed are pretty typical. Everybody here is all dressed up, clean and smart and they walk around as if they just got thru winning the war. Our Colonel says it was the same after the last war. The rear areas really had a time for themselves.

Last nite, dear, still in our combat clothes – because we have no facilities for getting dressed up – a few of us went down town. There was a U.S.O. show – with Grace Moore and Nino Mantini – in person. We got in at the tail end and heard a couple of numbers – well done. We then found an officer’s club where they had cokes and we had a couple – and then we came back to our bivouac area – sat around and went to bed. Today – the battalion starts its 5 day M.P. school – which ends Sunday next. How soon after that we’ll move to Nancy – I don’t know – but I believe soon after.

Meanwhile I’m just aching to hear from you, darling, and to see how you’ve reacted to all this. I’ve been worked up to a pitch these last several weeks and I know you have too. All I know is that I love you no matter where I am or what the situation is. You must remember that always, sweetheart. And someday, somehow – I’ll be coming back and telling you and showing you what I mean.

So long until tomorrow dear. Love to the folks.

All my everlasting love

Greg

* TIDBIT *

USO Performers Grace Moore and Nino Martini


Grace Moore (1898 - 1947)

Mary Willie ‘Grace’ Moore, the internationally famous star of the Metropolitan Opera, Broadway, motion pictures, radio and recordings, was born 5 December 1898, in the community of Slabtown (now considered part of Del Rio) near Newport, Tennessee. Her family moved to Jellico, Tennessee when she was a young girl. She attended Jellico High School where she was captain of the girls basketball team in 19l6.

Grace Moore's first Broadway appearance was in 1920 in the musical Hitchy-Koo, by Jerome Kern. In 1922 and 1923 she appeared in the second and third of Irving Berlin's series of four Music Box Revues. In the 1923 edition she and John Steel introduced Berlin's song "What'll I Do". When Moore sang "An Orange Grove in California," orange blossom perfume was wafted through the theater.

After training in France, Moore made her operatic debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City on 7 February 1928, singing the role of Mimì in Giacomo Puccini's La bohème. She debuted at the Opera-Comique in Paris on 29 September 1928 in the same role, which she also performed in a royal command performance at Covent Garden in London on 6 June 1935.

In the 1930s and 1940s she gave concert performances throughout the United States and Europe, performing a repertoire of operatic selections and other songs in German, French, Italian, Spanish, and English. During World War II she was active in the USO, entertaining American troops abroad. Moore was at one point chosen by Florenz Ziegfeld of Ziegfeld Follies as one of the ten mostbeautiful women in the world. In 1935 she was nominated for an Academy Award for her motion picture, "One Night of Love".

Grace Moore was a "rebel" of her time. She broke many rules of convention and sometimes even shocked the small town she grew up in. She left her mark on the world, and such a mark it was that Elvis is said to have named his beloved Graceland after her. She was widely criticized in December 1938 when, in Cannes, she curtsied to Wallis, The Duchess of Windsor (who was not royalty, and therefore not entitled to a curtsy). Upon her return to the United States , Moore defended her curtsy, saying:

She would have been a royal duchess long ago if she had not been an American. After all, she gave happiness and the courage of his convictions to one man, which is more than most women can do. She deserves a curtsy for that alone.

On 26 January 1947, Moore died tragically in an airplane crash in Copenhagen Airport, at the height of her career. She boarded a KLM DC3 to fly to Stockholm. The aircraft taxied out to the runway and was cleared to takeoff. The aircraft rotated and climbed to an altitude of about 150 feet. The aircraft stalled, crashed to the ground and exploded. On the evening before her death, Grace Moore had sung to a packed audience of more than 4000 people in a concert which ended in a standingovation and countless encores. Among the other plane crash victims was Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, who was at the time second in line to the Swedish throne and who was the father of the present King of Sweden, King Carl XVI Gustaf.

Moore's life story was made into a movie, So This is Love, in 1953, in which Kathryn Grayson portrayed the "Tennessee Nightingale", as Grace was called.

Here is a YouTube recording of Grace Moore singing Vissi d'arte
live at the New York's Metropolitan Opera in 1946:






Nino Martini (1905 - 1976)

Nino Martini was an Italian operatic tenor and actor. He began his career as an opera singer in Italy before moving to the United States to pursue an acting career in films. He appeared in several Hollywood movies during the 1930s and 1940s while simultaneously working as a leading tenor at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.Martini possessed a warm lyric tenor voice that had a wide range and considerable amount of coloratura facility.

In 1925 he made his professional opera debut in Milan. Shortly thereafter he toured Europe as a concert artist appearing in many of the continent's major music centers. While in Paris he was discovered by the film producer Jesse Louis Lasky who engaged him for several Italian language speaking roles in short films.

In 1929, under the influence of Lasky, Martini immigrated to the United States to pursue a film career. His first appearance was in the all-star revue film Paramount on Parade (1930). Further forays into film were postponed, however, as Martini decided to continue to pursue an opera career. He made his U.S. opera debut in 1931 in Philadelphia. This was followed by several broadcasts of opera for radio. In 1933 Martini joined the roster at the Metropolitan Opera, making his debut on 28 December. He appeared in several more productions at the Met over the next thirteen years. His last performance at the Met was as Count Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville) on 20 April 1946.

While performing at the Met, Martini occasionally returned to Hollywood to appear in films, mostly appearing in pictures directed by Lasky. His film credits include Here's to Romance (1935), Music for Madame (1937), and The Gay Desperado (1936). The latter film featured Ida Lupino as his co-star. His last film appearance was in One Night With You in 1948.

In the late 1940s and 1950s Martini continued to perform as a singer mostly on the radio. He eventually returned to Italy where he lived in Verona until his death in 1976.