Spitball Army

plastic-coated fear engorgement running sideways train compartment wishing twenty feather sequins after spoonfuls dressing penguins

Best overheard word of the day: coronated. As in, “When Queen Elizabeth was coronated.”

[Letter addressed to Cpl. Harry V. C., 33428766, 1409^th A.A.F. Base Unit, European Div. A.F.B., A.P.O. – 741, c/o P.M., U.S. Army.  Return addressed to Mrs. Harry V. C., c/o Mrs. W., 20 Black Street, Dundee, Scotland.]

c/o Webster,
20, Black Street,
Dundee,
Scotland.

2^nd. February 1945.

To
My Own Dearest Darling

Here I am again with more news to you darling. I am so terribly sorry that I couldn’t write to you last night as I really meant to.

Well darling I will tell you all you news I have to tell you, then tomorrow morning about three o’clock I will answer the two letters that I received last night. I also got the Yank & Stars & Stripes.

Here goes then darling. Yesterday I went to the dentist with Anna, and I wasn’t to long there, then we went for coffee.

Darling Anna & I went to the dancing last night. I asked Anna to go with me. Why I went darling was that I was hoping that I would meet Rod or Walter & Betty, but to my disappointed none of them were there. Anna & I were browned off, but I got plenty of dances, but we left before ten and we only went in at eight o’clock. Darling if I had of been there myself I wouldn’t have stayed so long as that. I went up stairs to see if Rod or any of them were there, but no such luck. Darling as soon as I got up I look to see, but I came down quicker than I went up. I remember that we were married two months by date, and it was up stairs that we met each other, and darling I just look at the very place you were standing and I just felt my heart coming up to my throat and choke me. I even felt the tears in my eyes. When I went down again Anna asked what the hec was the matter. (smile) Dont laugh darling but she did see the tear in my eye.

I got home about ten o’clock, and I went straight to bed, and prayed that you would be here soon, also that you would not be transferred any other place away from Britain. Oh Harry I pray every night hoping that you so also.

Darling I just said something to Anna that made the crew laugh. You see darling Anna is off just now for a three hour rest off duty and she came back to the Ops room with the case she has with her for me to keep beside me. Unconsciously I said to her “Are you sleeping?” I ment was she going up stairs to sleep, and she answered back “Yes,” but the way the rest of the crew took it was “Are you sleeping” and Anna saying “Yes” asked her if she was walking in her sleep. (smile) Does that make sense to you darling. (smile)

The night before last, Wednesday, I went home off duty at ten o’clock. I went to Mes. Fotheringhams, Margaret’s Aunt, as mums was in there. When I got in darling there was another lady in, one that reads the future out of your cup. Gee darling you ought to have heard mine. You know our usual subject & problem, when she told me darling that we were to have five of a family I think I nearly fell through the floor. (smile) Darling can you imagin us with five kids. Dont worry darling if you want six, we’ll have six. (smile) Darling if you like telling the stork to bring more, well we wont be able to stop it will we (smile). Gee darling the thought of us having five or six or even four kids sounds wonderful to me, what do you think darling, do you think its just too much. We dont always need to have kids do we, we have gone so far without any already haven’t we darling (smile). Dont think me terrible will you, but I wish you were here right now. I wouldn’t say no, to that, as long as you, well just skip that will you darling use your own imagination. (smile)

Darling I hope it isn’t to long before you get up again. I will watch you nor I will sleep, at all when you are here (smile).

Darling I wonder if we will have five of a family, you know things can happen even though one trys to prevent anything cant it. (smile) It would be terrible if we landed with ten or even more of a family wouldn’t it. They would be coming like wholesale then. (smile)

Gee darling I am away on to the old subject again. I think the stork would be a bit tired would it (smile). That might be referring to you a little my precious one. (smile) Thats sarcasm of course (smile again).

Well to-day darling I was on duty at one until four then I was off again until ten o’clock. I was coming down Tally Street with Anna and crossed right to Draffens. I was crossing the street again to meet mum when I saw Rod. Gee darling he will think me nuts running up to him and standing talking to him until mum came off the tram.

I introduced Anna, to him. I expect he told you all we talked about did he? (smile) We weren’t talking to each other for very long. I do hope he didn’t think me silly.

Well darling I was to meet mums & Jimmy to go to Mrs. Crosbies, but before we went Mum & Anna, Jimmy & I went down to Wilsons for coffee, it about after five when we got up there. After tea I washed Christiens hair, and had supper and left at ten after nine, got home about twenty to ten and had to rush to get back to the R.O.L. at, and to be in the Op’s room at five to ten.

It is now twelve thirty my darling, and I do feel a bit sleepy. I will just go straight home at seven and hop right to bed (smile) and sleep until it is time to get up to start at four to morrow afternoon.

Well darling I think I have told you all the news I had to tell you and now instead off waiting until three I will answer the two letters I got just now.

I am answering the letter you wrote you on 26^th. No, I have not received any more letters mums yet.

Darling what did I say and talk about that you said not to talk about when you are up here the next time. I just cant remember what it was. Please remind me will you darling. I have said so many things to you that I cant remember which it could be.

Darling you would certainly not catch up on the kisses I send to you, as I really could send more to you then you wouldn’t get caught on them. (smile)

Please forgive me darling for being so jealous, about the other girls picture. When ever you let me see the picture I think if you remember I practically kissed you that was to push the lump in my throat down. I am so terribly jealous my darling. I know you love me and that you always will and that you wont look at any other girl darling. Gosh I still am jealous even though I know that Darling I love you ever so much, and you know that, dont you?

Darling all my kisses all of them are for my own precious husband, and darling they are all yours and always will be. I wish you were here just now to hold me tight, as Anna is off to bed with the travelling rug and it is getting very cold in here, and I wish you were here to make up for all those kisses. (smile)

Darling I liked the very much that you wrote or should I say sketched in my two letters I got from you. The were just one thing wrong it looks darling as if it were to be five darling. (smile) Never mind we’ll make it six will we darling, or ten. What do you think would be best. (smile)

Well darling I think that is about all I can write to you in answer to that letter written on the 26^th inst. And I will now answer the one written on the 27^th.

Darling I would not like to be back at Draffens, I certainly would not. I like this work a lot better. I was in to much of a hurry. Tell Johnny that it was the surprise of seeing him up here that made me look as if I was freezing. I never dream’t that I might see him, and yet I maybe was a little bit cold darling (smile)

Darling the weather here is terrible mucky, but tonight it has gone frosty, but I do not know what like it will be by to-morrow morning, my love.

You are right when you say that you wish we had some warm weather. Darling if you came up here on leave some time we might be able to go swimming in the summer, what do you say Harry darling.

By the way my darling what do you mean when you say, you are not to promise me anything now. Tell me exactly what you mean by saying that will you my darling love. Never mind the censors (smile.)

Well darling it is now 200 hours and I think Anna and the rest of the crew ought to be back, on duty to let this half off duty.

There is an R.O.C. dance up at Aberfeldy about sixty mile from Dundee here, and some of 37 Group are away to it tonight. They ought to get back into Dundee about three in the morning. Good luck to them I say. I wouldn’t like to be them away out there is this kind of weather I think that it is cold here in Dundee, and I think it would be an awful lot colder up there, in the North, don’t you, Harry.

Well darling I think I will have to close now as I will be going off duty just now as the crew has started to come back one at a time.

I will say Cheerio and God Bless you my darling.

All my Love & Kisses
I am yours now & always forever
I love you darling
with all my Heart,
Your loving & lonely
Wife
Mary.

I love
you
Harry

you.
me
(smile)
five.

The dialogue in Deadwood sounds like Shakespeare being dragged behind a stagecoach driven by George Carlin.

Nineteenth of 20 watercolor picture/postcards from the postcard book titled: “Official View Book, A CENTURY OF PROGRESS EXHIBITION, Chicago, 1933.”

This card pictures “The Walgreen Building, with its revolving tower” at the 1933 World’s Fair held in Chicago, Illinois.

The accordion-style postcard book’s cover:

The Five-Year Engagement (2012): In which two grown women have an argument in front of the kids, using the voices of Elmo & Cookie Monster.

[Letter addressed to Cpl. Harry V. C., 33428766, 1409^th A.A.F. Base Unit, European Div. A.F.B., A.P.O. – 741, c/o P.M., U.S. Army.  Return addressed to Mrs. Harry V. C., c/o Mrs. W., 20 Black Street, Dundee, Scotland.]

c/o Webster
20, Black Street
Dundee
Scotland

1^st February 1945

To
My Dearest Husband,

Here I am again, but I am afraid this letter wont be very big darling as we are very busy to day, as there is plenty of planes flying.

Well Harry darling I am going out with Anna this after noon, to the dentist again and she asked if I would go with her, so I am going out with her (smile).

I will try very hard to write more to you darling later on.

We quit work here today at one o’clock, and that is us finished until tomorrow at one o’clock. We work all night to morrow until seven o’clock in the morning.

Please excuse me my precious but we are to busy and I will have to get the work done first.

Well darling here I am again and I am so sorry I will have to quit writting, so darling I wont send this letter to you today as it is such a small letter, but I start tomorrow at one until four, then start at ten until seven in the morning. I will be able to write a lovely big letter to you darling to morrow. (smile)

I will have to close just now.

All my Love darling
Your Lonely Wife
xxxxx Mary xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Across the Bridge (1957): A crooked financier running from the law assumes another man’s identity. Twist? The other guy’s a wanted murderer.

I would tell you another element joke, but all the good ones Argon.

[Letter addressed to Mrs. Harry V. C., c/o Mrs. J. W., 20 Block Street, Dundee, Scotland.  Return addressed to Cpl. Harry V. C., 33428766, 1409^th A.A.F. Base Unit, E.D.A.T.C. A.P.O. 741 c/o P.M., U.S. Army.]

Copenhagen
Denmark
Feb. 3. 1946

My Own Precious Darling:

Just a few lines tonight Mary Darling to let you know that I am well and getting along allright.  Mary I pray that you are getting along O.K. and feeling allright.

Darling please forgive me for not writing to you yesterday.  I am awful sorry about it, but I just could not help it.  I got up early yesterday morning for a change.  The fellows that were going home were up about 6 o’clock and they were sure making some racket.  I guess about 250 or 300 fellows left.  I went to the hangar the same as ever at 8:30 and they said that the plane was taking off for our base at 9 o’clock.  Well Darling I had to do a little fast traveling.  I went and got the jeep driver out of the office and made a quick trip to the barracks for my things.  I guess I got every thing but my writing paper Darling.  I just borrowed this from one of the fellows.  Mary when we went out to the plan they had never changed our things from the other one yet, so it was 10:30 before we were ready to take off.  Darling it was sure a nice trip up here.  It only took 3 hours and 25 minutes.  We went over a few of the German towns that were bombed.  I never saw such a place wrecked so much before.  Darling some of the houses were flattened out and most of the other ones were only the walls.  I think Bremen was one of them.

The first thing we done after we got here was go and eat, then went back to the field to the office, “We eat about 2 miles from the field and about 1/8 of a mile farther are [where] we live in a school house.  It is a nice place to live.  There are 12 of us in this room.”  Well Darling after we eat we went back to the field and picked up our things and come to the school house to get our place to stay and our meal tickets so we could eat.  There are 5 of us here from the base at Orly, besides the Lt.

We went out to look at the place and then came back and eat supper. Darling I never saw such a place to eat before in my life.  We have steak and I don’t know what all almost every meal, and all the milk we can drink!

Mary Darling I believe I would start to fatten up if I was here long.  I drink a quart or more every meal, and we have ice cream for dessert.  We went to town last evening on the bus to see what the place was like.  Mary Darling it is a lot cleaner place than Paris and most of the people speak English.  Darling over here is the place to sell cigarettes.  I think they pay almost 10 shillings a pack.

Before I left the base at Orly I got 100 kroner.  I took five pack of cigarettes along to town and when I came back I had about 135., so that is not so bad.  I still have 3 cartons to get rid of.  We did not stay very long.  I think it was about 11:30.

Mary Darling I only wish I was back over there with you.  I love you so awful much and Mary I miss you so awful much.  I pray that we are together very soon.  Darling I am thinking of you every second.  I can hardly write about what all happened or what I am doing.  I got up this morning about the same time as ever.  We got the jeep and the 4 of us went to breakfast.  After breakfast we went on to the field and preflighted 3 planes then went around the field about a mile to the place we are fixing up and went to work.  Two of us fixed up one engine today, while the other two was putting rivets in the nose where it was smashed.  We worked all day then before we quit they ran it up in the hangar and what a noise it made.  Darling you know what they sound like outside, well inside it is a lot worse.  We came back and took the Lt. in to where he could catch a street car to town, then came back and eat supper, and then came back to the school house.  Darling I believe I done more work today than I have for a long time.  I know I feel kind of tired tonight.

Two of the fellows went to town and the three of us that stayed here played cards a while and then I read a while.  I borrowed this paper and started to write to you, my own Darling wife.

Mary Darling I don’t know when I will get to mail this but I promised I would try to write every day.  We can’t mail any letters from here but I will try to send it back if any one goes.

I guess tomorrow the P.X. will open so I will have to see about rations and see if I can get some writing paper of my own.

Please Mary Darling, try not to worry about me so much.  I am taking very good care of my self, and Darling I am yours forever.  I love you so awful much.  I pray every night that you are all right and we can be together very soon.

I love you with all my heart Darling.

Your Loving and very lonely husband
Harry