St. Paul, Minn.
September 30th, 1943
PFC George Knoll
Scott Field, Ill.
Dear George,
Your very welcome letter received and noted
with pleasure the PFC before your name. Congratulations. I
am sure your mother wept no tears when you didn't make the grade as pilot.
Radio men are just as important anyway. In fact, so important that
Thatch and twenty of the officers were sent over here to go to school for
possibly six months. The course at Fort Monmouth will be finished
in November and then he will go to Florida for another course of some kind.
I'm wondering if he will get a captaincy when he finishes. Because
of the ten years he was in the reserves and a lot of other reasons, he
now draws a captains pay and will get a majors pay if he is made a captain.
Not bad, eh? The first of each month a check for $125.00 comes
in the mail and is banked here for him. Last week two bonds for $100.00
each came registered mail and the day before yesterday one for $50.00 came.
The first two were bought in the 3rd War loan drive and the last was deducted
from his salary every month. He
should have a neat sum to his credit when the war is over. Ever
since he has been in the U S Army the $125.00 has been coming and been
banked for him. George, who is now a sergeant, banks most of his
money too. Had two letters from him last week and he is now on his
new job. He has charge of keeping all the records of supplies and
ammunition at the headquarters where he is stationed and he says he doesn't
have as much free time during working hours as he used to have when he
was the colonel's secretary. He doesn't get as many letters written
as he used to. I will give you both of their addresses at the end
of this letter. George had a furlough on which he went to Scotland
and stayed at a castle-like home of a man who runs a health resort.
He had a wonderful time and it cost him free. A number of people
who have had their children evacuated to this US of ours have banded together
and call themselves "The Friends", and in appreciation of what the people
in this country have done for their children they take in, feed, house
and do all they can free or charge for all Yanks on furlough who care to
make their homes their headquarters while they are in Scotland. Didn't
I hear sometime that the Scotch were stingy? I am sure George can
attest to the untruthfulness of that statement. He had a wonderful
time where he stayed. I think our boys are going to have a different
opinion of the Scotch and British after this war is over.
Yours for a speedy Victory,
Mrs. M.
PS--Just called to check up on Myron's address and was told he is now
a sergeant. Congratulations, Mike. Can't keep a good man down can
they?
I suppose you are anxious to hear about my
new daughter-in-law. Well I can truthfully say she is a very sweet
person and we are all very fond of her. She has that cultured reserve
about her, but is always ready for a good time and enjoys a joke as much
as anyone. She is witty in her own way, too. In fact we have
some very enjoyable times together. I still can't understand everything
she says to me and I sometimes have to ask her three times what she has
said before I get the drift of what she is talking about. She takes
it all in good humor and we get on fine. The food here is so different
than in England. She never saw cob corn till she saw it here.
She eats it but likes it best without butter. Turnips in England
are called "Swedes" and they and parsnips are put into stew over there,
something I wouldn't like. They fry all tomatoes even the canned
ones and I am unable to see how the latter can be fried when they are nine
tenths water. They never put salt into anything, but use the salt
shaker at the table. I know Thatch is going to have a great time
teaching Eve some of our American ways of cooking. She is anxious
to learn and is an apt pupil. She says she can cook macaroni and
cheese and make fudge now, so Thatch won't exactly starve to death.
We kid her a lot and she seems to enjoy it. Like driving on the left
side of the street, the English eat with the fork in the left hand and
use the knife all the time in helping keep the food on the fork.
Of course our way of doing everything looks just as strange to her.
The first time Eve did a bit of washing, Bob said to me, "Now she is going
to ask you where the pegs are and when she does she means the clothes pins.
She is very fond of coffee and I wonder if it is for the same reason that
visitors to England stick to tea after they have sampled the English coffee.
She only eats beets hot or cold that are put into vinegar. Butter
doesn't seem
to be used much over there for enchancing the goodness of vegetables.
Mary O'D always says everything I make always tastes so good because I
use so much butter, but my new daughter-in-law thinks things are better
without butter.
Funny thing, Eh? Evelyn and Jake at the drug store are pretty
good friends since she buys so many stamps there. He knows her and
he kids her about all the letters she mails. She likes to go to the
store with me and is getting aquainted with all the trades people around
here. Since last Sunday Evelyn has been out to Hamlitons and has
been having a fine time for herself. Bowling at the Officer's Club
at Fort Snelling, lunch at Charlie the Finn's in Minneapolis, the show
and such have been a few of her diversions since she went to Irene's.
I expect her back Saturday. She and Gerry would go to the show every
night of the week if they could. Gerry started to St. Catherlne's
College last Monday, so she won't be as free as she was to go to shows
during the week now. Evelyn said it was quite a sight to her when
she reached this country to see the towns all lighted up at night.
Her young brother, who is ten, cannot remember ever seeing the streets
lighted up at night. She said the employees where she worked were
given an afternoon off once because a bomb which had landed on the property
had failed to explode and they were sent home when the removal of the bomb
was taking place. They often had to go down into the bomb shelters
during working hours when an alarm sounded warning them of Jerrys approaching.
Eve has a cousin in the coast guard in the East. Bob spent last week-end
with Eve's uncle and aunt in Brooklyn and had a glorious time. Several
cards received yesterday told of the good time he had over the week end.
Tuesday evening Evelyn and the girls and I
are invited over to Ellingson's, Mrs. Ellingson having called me yesterday
and extending the invitation. I asked Myron's sister to the
reception we had at Hamilton's for Eve and Bob and asked her to extend
the invitation to the family for me and she said she would but none of
them went out to Hamilton's. Myron's sister at Schunemann's said
she would look up the address in the phone book so I thought sure some
of them would go but they didn't. Bob and Eve went to Johnny's to
see your mother (who by the way was a bit hard to locate) and they then
went to see Mrs. Ellingson. Evelyn liked the two ladies very much.
Since starting this letter I have had a happy
thought to save myself a lot of time. It is this: I wonder if I enclose
the postage would you send this letter on to Myron and save me writing
the same thing all over again? Next time I will write to Myron and
he can forward the letter to you. That is the way I used to do when
the two boys were in England. It was at their suggestion I did it
and it worked out fine. I will have to close now and will write again
when I have any news or interest to both of you. I am always glad
to hear from both of you when you have the time to write. Bob's address
is Lt. Edward L. Martin Jr, O B M T Area, Fort Monmouth, New Jersey.
George's is Sergeant Geo. V. Martin #37278388, Hqtrs. Sqd. VIII AFSC,
APO 633, Postmaster New York City, NY. Bob's serial number is Q-299847.
Hoping you are both fine and enjoying this war, I will say "So Long"
for the time being.