"Nov 1 1944
My dear Ellen,
In order to return to the good graces of the fold I am writing again, the second time in four days. For me that is real good. As usual; things are the same as usual with no changes worth mentioning. One note though. I haven't received a letter from you for about a week. I hope your two jobs haven't got you pinned down too much. By the way how is the new job coming along anyway? My work here is tapering off some but we are still rushed. It seems to be coming in spasms. It will soon slow up again I hope. I got rid of my sore throat and mouth trouble and am feeling kind of fit again.
I still miss you as usually the case and will see you this weekend. I'm going to try to be home Saturday AM but I will be home. Well I've got to go to chow now so take it slow.
My love always John"
"Nov. 4, 1944
Dear Ma
How goes the battle? How's all the gang" Are they still scrapping as usual? It wouldn't be right if they weren't.
Well we have been sitting still for a few days and I like it. After the long trip we had it is a pleasure to stay in one spot. I guess from the letters I wrote you Hannie and Peggy you have about all the news I can tell you.
One of the fellows caught a parrot the other day and he is trying to tame it. It is a couple of different shades of red and it stinks. I guess it is a young one although it is as big as a pidgeon.
We can go ashore every other day but after I went twice I don't bother going any more except to go to church. There's nothing on the beach for amusement. There is no town there just a place the CB's made although its like a small city with a church and hospital a few ships services which are never open when I get there.
We have movies every night since we've been here out on the deck of the ship. It is nice at night and usually there is a breeze. It gets pretty hot during the day. It is the rainy season here and it rains every day.
I am OK but longing for some good old home cooked meals and a cool place to sleep. I weigh a hundred forty-eight pounds now. I have lost a few pounds but that is to be expected.
We are anchored about a mile offshore.
I went swimming last Sunday and the water was swell. It is very warm compared to beaches at home even at their warmest and much cleaner. You can look way down into the water. The beach was kind of rocky and weeds grew here and there. Every time I stood up I stood on a rock or a shell or in weeds. Some places it was fairly sandy.
Hannie said in her letter that she came near being moved from her job in Falmouth to Framingham but it was changed at the last minute. I guess she was glad she wasn't moved. Would she still have to live away from home. Tell her not to join the Waves, I meant to tell her that when I wrote to her - never mind I'll tell her in my next letter to her.
How does Bert seem to be getting along. I hope she is ok. I worry about her quite a bit. I am glad you go up to see her.
I had to laugh when she wrote and told me about the curtains. I'll bet you nearly died when you took them out of the wash tub.
Well I guess that is all for now. Take care and don't worry about me - there is no need to.
Love
Jim
PS How do ya like my long envelopes? Ha Ha. They remind me of bills.
James P Keohane M3/c"
"Sunday
My dearest Ellen,
What a hectic affair. I guess you must have been praying or looking out for my spiritual welfare. I was all set to go home Friday night in fact I had left the base and was killing some time waiting for my train when one of the sailors at the station told me and another sailor that we were needed back at the station and that we were to be called to work Saturday morning.
It seems they have a plane here that is a very high priority job as it's going to be used as a trainer for pilots and it has to be out Monday. After getting the word I came back to the base and my station leader gave me the story. This was all Friday nite. I came back to the base at 10 oclock. As it turned out at 06:30 in the morning the section got the word to muster at 8 with the duty section. I'm glad the sailor gave me the word otherwise I would now be rotting in the brig. As it was we only had a little work on the plane but it was necessary. The plane is set to go now already. This afternoon I'm going upstate I guess with my coal mining buddy. I don't know how this thing will work out if I'll get extra liberty or not but here's hoping.
It's really cold out around here now. I think it's about right for snow.
I hope you got my telegram as I didn't know what to do I was so mad & confused but that's the war. Going home they say is a privilege. Well I'll be home two weeks from now even if I walk.
Love always
John"
"Nov. 12, 1944
Dear Ma,
How's the kid? I hope everybody is OK and not getting too cold. I am roasting right now and getting this writing paper all wet with perspiration. Its lousy paper any way.
I got three letters from Bert today and the latest one tells me you and she received some mail from me finally. Bert was tickled pink I guess to get the letters. She seems to be doing alright from her letters so I guess I don't have to worry about her so much as I have been.
She tells me how you go up to see her and it seems to me you are always doing curtains for her. Almost every time she says you have been up there there were curtains mixed up in it some way. Maybe its my imagination. Anyway thanks lot for every thing you have been doing for her.
Bert says she guesses you will never get over Virginia Robbins.
Air mail certainly does a good job of getting the mail out here and back but the other mail isn't worth a damn. Bert has sent me packages as far back as Sept 8th and I haven't received one yet. Nobody else has got any yet either.
The parrot we had had to be gotten rid of. One of his feet got paralyzed and the doctor said he should be disposed of. I'll bet that will make Peggy feel bad. He should have been left on the beach.
We have a baseball league on the ship now and I am going to play on the team for our division. Our first game is tomorrow night.
The next time you see John Reardon tell him for me he ought to thank his lucky stars he didn't go in the CB's that time. Some of them have been out here two years and it doesn't look very promising for them to get home now. I am glad I am in the navy and on a ship, its a lot better. I don't know how long we are going to be here.
Well there is nothing much of any thing to write so I close now. Take care of yourself and give my love to the kids.
Love
Jim
PS Get Henry Walsh's address and send it to me will you. I'd like to write to him - how is he doing and where is he any way.
James P Keohane M2/c"
What happened to my mother's close friend, Virginia Robbins?
Do you remember that John Reardon was my grandfather, John Keohane's first cousin who came out to my grandfather from Kinsale?
Henry Walsh was the son of Jeremiah Walsh and Ma's oldest sister, Mary Moriarty - Jim's first cousin.
"Saturday
My dearest Ellen,
Another week has gone by and things here at last slowed down for awhile. -- I hope. Things are going according to plan - whose plan I don't know. I got a couple of letters from you this past few days and they were indeed welcome. My spirits are now high again. As for the election it looked bad about a month before but around election day it seemed quite certain Roosevelt would win as win he did. It was a good race though. Down here they are strict Republicans but he carried the state by a good margin. I can't understand it the Republicans win in the state elections yet a democrat sweeps the presidential campaigns. I guess that's politics.
Well last Sunday I went upstate as planned and had a fair time - it was sort of dead being Sunday and due to the fact Notre Dame lost to Navy. I'd like to see their faces when they see the Notre-Dame-Army score. Its quite a place this coal region. Everyone is as friendly as one could possibly wish and they like you to come around and see them. The life is dull there but they find plenty of amusement in bingo and shooting matches. They bet thousands and thousands of dollars on a guy betting for or against his chances of killing a bird with a shot from a shotgun. They aren't any slouches at bingo either. Every weekend they run a lottery at ten cents a chance and the prize is always over a thousand dollars. You should see them gamble. Well they work hard and earn the money so why can't they spend it as they wish. The thing that got me was all the women folk going to confession and Communion. The men folk - well they are like the old days - they run the taprooms and argue over a glass of beer. Its out of these regions that some of the best football baseball & basket ball players emanate. They are all sports crazy here besides being gambling crazy.
I got word today the kid I go up with his uncle was killed in an accident last night. Too bad he was a nice guy from nice folks.
Well honey I'll be home this weekend. If I have to walk so I love you & take care.
Love always. John"
"Sunday, Nov 19, 1944
Dear Ma
Well I got to church today, I went to the 6:30 Mass on the beach. I wasn't able to go last Sunday because the section I am in had the duty.
The priest there has been holding confirmation classes for the men and they were supposed to be confirmed last week but the bishop didn't show up and the chaplain doesn't know why or he didn't know when he will show up now. Also there is another bishop going to visit here this week for Archbishop Spellman as he can't get here.
I thought you might be interested in that.
Things are going the same here. I am enjoying good health and etc. Remember how I used to have trouble with my nose using a pile of handkerchiefs all the time - well now I don't have that trouble at all. I don't use a handkerchief all day now. I guess it must be on account of the continuous warm weather.
I received your Vmail letter last Wednesday and I am glad to know that all are ok back home. You are swell to pay so much attention to Bert. I don't worry so much about her now. I can tell from her letters also that she is feeling good.
Bert likes Peggy a lot. She always says in her letters what a swell kid she is. She says when somebody wants a nice girl to marry they'll pick Peggy. Kind of soon for thinking about Peggy to get married but I know what she means.
We had a beer party during the week and I had a lot of fun. We went hunting for ivory nuts and shells to make souvenirs out of. Ivory nuts are hard white nuts covered with a green shell and looks something like a pineapple about as big as a baseball. They grow at the top of high trees in the swampy part of the jungle. The fellows make rings & etc out of them. There all kinds of sea shells you can imagine and they make necklaces and bracelets with them.
What's new in the neighborhood around there? How are the Callahans? Has Benny got home yet? How is Mrs Furtack/Fustack is she feeling better these days?
I got a letter from Hannie a few days ago.
I guess I haven't any more news to tell you. I guess we are going to stay here a while more.
Well I'll sign off now. Take care.
Love
Jim
James P Keohane M3/c"
We know the Callahans live downstairs on Green Street. Benny was Jim's best friend, but I don't know his last name. I don't know who Mrs Furtak was, but in the 1940 US Census she had a son named Benjamin Baldwin although he was several years older than Jim. So I don't know if he was Jim's Benny or not.
November 20 Adolph Hitler left his war time headquarters in Rastenberg in East Prussia for Berlin where he would soon establish himself in the bunker - he would never return to headquarters.
November 24 the first B-29s raided Tokyo from the Marianas.
November 25 the USS Intrepid was hit by kamikazes for the third time; other American ships were heavily damaged.
"Nov. 26 1944
My dearest Ellen,
Late again I guess but I'll catch up sometime I guess. I got back all right as you can readily see but a little the worse for wear. No fault of yours though. I ran into difficulty when I left the train in Philly. I got off and left my bag aboard. I didn't lose much though so my loss was slight. As for my wash it turned out to be huge. I fixed things up with my section leader and from 3:30 till 8:00 pm Monday afternoon and evening I scrubbed and scrubbed. What a wash. I thought I was in competition with Gordon Supply (where my mother worked) but not quite. That held me over till now but I'm getting myself piled up again.
Well Thanksgiving has come and gone. I'd like to have been home for it but I tried my best to make the best of it. I went to Allentown as we had the afternoon off. I saw the high school football game with Bethlehem and it was really good. The bands they had was enough to see. Each high school had at least a 90 piece band and they were really good. The game itself was hard fought and hard played but Allentown won 12-0. We hung around the town till about midnite and came home. It wasn't bad but well - home on Thanksgiving - that's all brother. I got three letters from you this week including the one you mailed last week that worried you. I also got the one with the ad for your literary club in it. I'll have to dig up a few of those books. They seem to be interesting enough. Lots of jealous women etc to make it click.
I saw the picture 'Dough girls' Thursday also. It's a good picture if your in the mood. The dialogue is the whole show.
Well today I'm a good boy again. I went to confession and Communion this ayem so I'm on the righteous path. It's unusual tho. Last nite they sneaked a watch over on me and after a stunt like that I'm usually mean. Not now. Well honey I miss you still and love you even more if it's possible but I gotta close now as I have a dinner date at or with the chow hall.
Love always and always
John"
It's interesting that the Doughgirls was a comedic film released November 25, 1944 - my father was writing the next day! Did the military get advanced copies of films?
I find it interesting that both my father and Jim write home about Mass and Communion. It was a different time then - I wonder if they went to Mass every Sunday before enlisting?
November 28 Heinrich Himmler ordered the crematoriums and gas chambers of Auschwitz II-Birkenau dismantled and blown up. Below is a picture from US Holocaust Memorial Museum of one of the destroyed crematoriums taken immediately after liberation of the camp. Seems to be covered in snow.
On that same day the MGM musical 'Meet Me In St Louis' opened in New York City - it starred Judy Garland with Margaret O'Brien. I've always loved the Trolley Song and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas from this movie.
Here's a link to Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CreWsnhQwzY
"Wednesday, Nov. 29, 1944
Dear Hannie,
I received a letter form you today and I got a couple of laughs from it. It's just like something you'd do when you got to Falmouth and no buses were running back. You didn't say how you got out there.
Thanks for the stamps. I can use them.
I am going to send you a picture of the natives from this place and I am having another laugh on you. Did you expect them to be like Jon Hall with a heavy sun tan? Ha Ha. Will you send this picture to Bert when you get thru with it or send it to Ma and she can give it to Bert.
Well we are still in the same place and yes I wish we were moving around. I'd like to see more of this part of the world.
That sailor that said he was going to have the pleasure of being a shellback pretty soon is crazy as a bed bug. Its no pleasure becoming a shellback!!!!He'll find out.
The movies we have here are pretty old usually. Tonight 'The Mummy's ghost' is on tap.
Maybe Rita will try that burned hand alibi on me. What a kid.
We are going to have our Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow.
The last few days I have been working on an old PT boat. It is used as a taxi around here. I like working on these boats very much.
There is a nice fellow here you ought to meet. His name is Crossman and he's a second class quartermaster. He's from Mass. I am always running short of clean clothes and I wear his. He's a sketch and a good kid.
I have a dozen skivvy shirts but the work I do is dirty sometimes and I have to change twice a day sometimes, and we only get our laundry done once a week. Yesterday I got covered with white lead working on the bottom of the PT boat.
Well its time for the movies to start so I'll secure. (There's more navy talk for you.) Take care of yourself.
Love
Jim
P.S. Thanks for the can of nuts, they were delicious and I am not kidding. I get all the cigarettes I want for 5 cents a pack - no shortage. I smoke a pipe most of the time anyway. I got Ma's Christmas package a couple of days ago.
Jim
James P Keohane M2/c"
I had never heard of Jon Hall but he was an actor in the 1930s and 40s. Below is a picture of Jon Hall and Hedy Lamar in The Hurricane.
The Mummy's Ghost was a 1944 horror movie.
"Sunday Dec. 3 1944
Dear Ma
I was glad to get your letter the other day. I am feeling fine and happy that all are there too.
Its getting pretty hot around here lately, the last two or three days have been scorchers.
I got a letter from Jennings Co today. They have slowed down quite a bit I guess.
I have already written to Bert about the Christening quite a while ago and she will take care of it alright. The trouble is I can't think of anybody for a Godfather that we both know. I would like to have it someone we both know. There is a lot of perspective god-mothers. I suggested Peggy to Bert and I think that will be alright with her.
Well it's the same old story around here. We haven't moved yet and I don't know when we will. We are still doing a lot of work on the ship and we stay pretty busy.
I finally got that letter from Rita, did you have to tie her down to a chair to make her write it.
I wish I had more to tell you. I got to church alright today. I went to the 6:30 Mass as its the only one we can get to. A boat takes us over and back. I got a little souvenir of the place or rather church which I will send you. I don't know if I ever told you what the church is like. It's nothing but a roof of palm leaves and a board floor with benches and no sides. The priest has a lot of novenas there. There seems to be one going on all the time. Of course I can't get to them.
I guess that is about all I have to say so I will close for now. Take care of yourself and don't take any back talk from that brat of a Rita. Tell her I will write soon.
Love
Jim
James P Keohane M2/c"
The Jennings Company was where Jim was working when he registered for the draft in July 1941. The company was located at 36 Pleasant Street in Watertown; they manufactured light equipment.
On the same day, December 3, 1944, the British Home Guard stood down.
"Dec. 6 1944
My dearest Ellen
Well I'm late again as usual. I guess I'll have to hire me a secretary to keep up my correspondence. Well honey things are really confused around here now. The whole place is being reorganized and I've wound up in the hole again. I am now working for the same boss I had when I first came down here & in the same unit also. Gone forever are the happy days at Willow Grove. I don't intend doing much unless I am all but forced to do so. Another thing, this is on the good side of the ledger, I may be able to get Christmas off and be home for it also. We got the word today but I'll have to wait till tomorrow to find out for sure. In this Navy they say one thing one day and the direct opposite the following day but this I am sure is almost certain. Keep your fingers crossed and say a prayer. We got the word today bad news for you that we will be shipped out right after or around the first of the year. I won't say anymore about it but it will turn out all right just wait and see. I've been expecting it and since this change over has gone into effect I'm all for it. I just missed getting aboard a carrier last Friday. We drew lots, three of us and my buddy won. He's been after since we were at Quonset. He was really glad to go. Well.
Well honey I went up to the coal region last weekend again and had a good time among good people. If I go up any oftener I'll be another one of the family. Aleo and I both went up with my buddy Canavan a coal region Irishman. It's the finest place on earth. Well honey hoping you will forgive my tardiness in writing I'll close for now. I missed you honey honest and I love you as much as ever not any more, I couldn't. I got to scram and write another letter to Joe who finally wrote to me. He's still going strong.
My love always
John."
I wonder where in the coal mining region, Canavan lived?
On December 7, 1944 Franklin Delano Roosevelt won an unprecedented fourth term as US President. He chose Harry Truman, a seasoned Democrat, as his running mate. Thomas Dewey was the Republican nominee - he was a moderate Republican who did agree with FDR's New Deal policies.
December 10 V-2 rockets continued to hit Britain - about 8 per day. The Nazis had developed the first long range guided ballistic missiles to take revenge on Allied cities for Allied bombings of German cities.
December 12 US fighters wiped out a Japanese convoy consisting of 6 destroyers, 4 transports, and 8,000 troops.
"Dec ? 1944
My dearest Ellen:
Thanx
I wrote yesterday
All my Love John"
"Dec 11 1944
My dearest Ellen,
Well by now you should have received my previous letter. Immediately, almost immediately, after I wrote my letter you sent your self addressed joke here. You should have that also.
Well honey things are still confused around here but I can't afford to cause any fuss until after the holidays otherwise I'd only be cutting my own throat. I expect to leave here around February sometime so I really don't give a hoot. Day in day out that's the way its going from here on in. I'm right back where I started from around here so its time for a change. That don't mean immediate sea duty as I may lay around some receiving ship for about three months or more and then get shipped to some joint about a thousand miles from the ocean. Maybe even Chicago. If there is another navy joint any father away from the ocean than Chicago then I don't know it.
Well I've still got my fingers crossed over Christmas holiday. It's still the same. I'll be home - until further notice. I have this weekend coming off also but I haven't made up my mind as to whether go home or stay. If I go home this weekend I'll be home the next weekend also and I'll be a we bit financially embarrassed. As it stands now I'll stay down here this weekend and go home Christmas for four days. How's that? As it is I'm low now but my train fare home would deeply dent me. If I change my mind I'll let you know. Say a prayer for Christmas holidays.
Well I got a letter from Joe but none from Tom. Joe has seven (7) months in the South Pacific now and has about a year before relief hits him. He says he don't mind it though. Well honey I have to close now so take it easy.
All my love always
John"
Sounds like maybe my mother sent a self addressed envelope to my father to encourage him to write?
On December 15, bandleader Glenn Miller, a US Army major, was lost in a single-engine plane flight over the English Channel en route to Paris. Trombonist Glenn Miller boarded a single-engine C-64 Norseman in England for a flight to France, where he was to make arrangements for a Christmas broadcast. The plane never reached France and no trace of it or its occupants was ever found. Iowa-born Glenn Miller became a professional musician after graduating from high school. By the time he volunteered for military service in 1942, the Glenn Miller Orchestra was world famous and had appeared in two motion pictures. Miller persuaded the U.S. Army to accept his service to "put a little more spring into the feet of our marching men and a little more joy into their hearts." For the next 18 months, Miller's 50-member band stayed busy with morale-building concerts and radio broadcasts. No cause has ever been established for the loss of Miller's aircraft, but the Norseman did not have de-icing equipment on board and it is likely that icy weather forced the plane down in the English Channel.
December 16 the Germans mounted a major surprise counterattack in the Ardennes Forest in Belgium. As the center of the Allied line fell back, it created a bulge, leading to the name -- the Battle of the Bulge. Hitler hoped to cripple the advance of the Allies by breaking through their lines to destroy fuel supplies and lines of communication. The striking force (the Fifth and Sixth Panzer Armies) amounted to 24 divisions, 10 of them armored. The German attack achieved total surprise, but slowed by the end of December due to German supply problems and Allied resistance. Between January 8-16, in the face of a fierce Allied counteroffensive, the Germans finally withdrew. By January 21, the Germans had been pushed back to their original line, having lost some 120,000 men in the offensive. The Allies suffered 81,000 casualties including some 19,000 Americans killed.
"December 17, 1944, Sunday.
Dear Ma -
I received two letters from you this week and I am glad to hear that everything is going fine and all are OK.
Well, I looked into that matter you asked about and have started the wheels turning. I think you will be able to get it alright. I went to the yeoman who has charge of that stuff and he is going to send my application in. He says that when it gets back to the States they will send you the papers to fill out and the claim will be investigated. He says they usually send someone around to ask the neighbors or somebody who knows you. I had to give an estimate of your monthly income and I said it was a hundred dollars. I didn't know for sure how much it was for sure and had to give an estimate and that was as near as I could figure. They understand it is only an estimate. I hope it comes thru alright God knows you need it.
2
I don't understand how Henry Walsh went to his commanding officer like that. Here if we want to see him on a matter first you ask your chief he asks the division officer, the division officer asks the repair division officer, the repair division officer asks the executive officer and usually it stops there, but if it doesn't he tells the captain or commanding officer and if its ok by him it comes all the way back down the line and the chief says 'OK you can go see the captain.' What do you think of that.
Well things are going the same here except it gets hotter. Yesterday it was 104 degrees in the shade and there was no breeze blowing. Wow!
I had a cold last week but it is all gone now and I am feeling fine again. This is a terrible place to catch a cold but it is not very easy to get one.
Thanks for your cooperation in getting the roses for Bert for me. She was tickled pink to get them. I haven't let her catch on to how she got them so don't say anything and we'll keep her guessing. I am glad you got the radio fixed - I'd like to hear a few of those records now. A couple of polkas would help fix me up.
I can't help worrying about Bert. I will be glad when the baby comes and then I will only have to worry about coming home. - which won't be soon.
I write to you every Sunday but I don't know how regular you receive the letters.
I got to Mass OK this morning at the base hospital. The priest told us how he went on a retreat over to another island and there is two missionarys there. One has been there 36 years and the other 9 years. Our priest said he had volunteered for missionary duty when he was back in his parish in New York State but he said he would never volunteer again because he knows he could never take the life these missionaries live. They eat sleep and live with the natives and give them as much medical care as they can. Our priest says that when he was home he used to take up the collection for the missions and never thought much about it but now he says his eyes have been opened but wide. The priest that has been here 36 years is going to come over to the base Wednesday and talk to the fellows. I wish I could be there to hear him. Since the war his supplies have been practically stopped and our priest said we could bring some stuff if we wanted to for the missionary. Not money but other stuff - cigarettes, knife, & etc. They need medical supplies badly but of course we can't bring them, but I hope the navy and army gives some.
Well, I guess that is all for now so I'll knock off till next Sunday.
Love to all
Jim
James P Keohane M2/c"
"Dec 20 1944
My dearest Ellen
Long time I know write but now I've solved the puzzle. Hold your hat cause I've got good and bad news here all rolled into one. Remember I told you I'd be home for Christmas as I was due to go after New Years well cancel both counts. It seems the Navy Bureau of Aeronautics or Personnel saw that there were too many men involved so they cancelled the order. As things now stand I won't be home for Christmas after all but New Years and to continue I won't be shipping out until after March 31st 1945. I stayed around for the weekend contemplating my Christmas leave to fall on schedule when wham yesterday they gave the word. As it so happens I am now in Sick Bay with a sore throat. This is my second day here.
According to your letters you've done all your Xmas shopping, where did you get the ambition? I tried it - that's all. Down here you have to wait in line on the streets to get in. There seems to be a shortage of everything except ten cent articles selling for two dollars etc. What robbers. I've received a couple of letters two in fact, yesterday which is all right keep it up. Well I've got to sign off now so relax - the doctors coming
My love always
John"
December 22 the battle for Bastogne is at its height, with soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division running low on ammunition, food and other vital supplies. Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe's famous "Nuts!" reply is sent to German commanders at Bastogne demanding surrender; the news of the message serves to bolster morale of the Allied troops.
December 23 the skies clear over the Ardennes, permitting Allied aircraft to begin their attacks on the German offensive, the one factor that Hitler feared in his planning.
December 24 the American counter-attack at the "Bulge" begins.
"Dec 24 1944 Sunday
Dear Ma
I received two letters and a Christmas card from you this week and I am glad to get them.
So Benny had a lot of stripes and ribbons on his uniform - well, well. I guess he deserves them tho. There are two ribbons I can wear now.
Yes, the nuts that Hannie sent were swell and they were nice and fresh.
I got a letter from Mrs Turtak (I couldn't find any Turtak in Watertown - only Furtak) this week too.
You're letters take from 7 to 15 days to get here.
I suppose by the time you get this letter the baby will be here. It ought to be here now I guess. That is all I can think about these days. I wish I was home for the occasion.
Thanks for Henry Walsh's address. I will write to him.
Yesterday I went to Confession the first chance I have had in 3 1/2 months and went to Communion this morning. I went to the 6:30 Mass and the priest said that Mass for Bert. I asked him yesterday.
There is a midnight Mass tonite and a bunch of us are going. I never thought there would be a midnite Mass out here.
It doesn't seem much like Christmas because it is so hot.
I got a letter from Hannie this week also.
I am going to take a course in air conditioning engineering thru the Navy. It is a college course. I signed up for it today. It doesn't cost much and the navy pays half. I hope I can make good at it.
I signed the papers for your allowance the other day. They told me to be sure and tell you to fill out the form that is sent to you and send it in or you won't get the allowance.
Well I guess that is all for now so take care of yourself.
Love
Jim
PS. Thank Rita for the Christmas card she sent me.
James P Keohane M2/c"
Also on December 24 Adolf Eichmann fled Hungary to Austria as Soviet troops encircled Budapest. He left orders for German forces to massacre all the Jews in Budapest. German Gen. August Schmidthuber, assigned to oversee the mass execution, cancelled the operation after receiving word from Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg that the impending carnage would mark him as a war criminal.
December 26 in the Battle of the Bulge, the embattled U.S. 101st Airborne Division was relieved by units of the 4th Armored Division. The Battle of the Bulge was the final major German counter-offensive of the war and thrust deep into allied territory in N & E Belgium and Luxembourg. US Gen Patton's tanks repulsed the Germans.
"December 27 1944
My dearest Ellen
I hope you received my previous letter before Christmas explaining my delay. I had hoped for the best but it didn't turn out so good. I received a letter Monday that was mailed last Wednesday. I guess it must have come by way of Texas it took so long. Well I guess the mails were really heavy over Christmas thus the delay. I really don't mind the delay as long as I get it sometime.
Well honey how did you enjoy the Yuletide? Well I only hope you enjoyed it a hell of a lot better than me. As is getting to be the rule I spent a very quiet boring time again as was the case last year here in Sick Bay, laid up with an infected throat. Its all swell now though and I'll be home for New Years unless I drop dead, which I don't anticipate.
I had a few visitors all from the American Legion bearing glad tidings and joy plus gifts which I did honestly appreciate. All I have really been doing is reading eating and sleeping when possible. I got so tired of laying down I couldn't sleep when I wanted to. In the last few days I have read four books and about six magazines. The books: Last man off Wake Island - Singapore is silent - Fall in the Saddle - Chicken every Sunday - were really good although Singapore is to full of details. Chicken every Sunday is really good and is my pick of the bunch. This is my tenth day in here now so I'm getting used to it. The guy beside me has the same thing but he ain't getting out till way after New Years so he'll miss his New Years leave. Well I'll be home Saturday so keep your chins up.
Love always
John"
So as we are nearing the end of 2022, we close out what life was like for my father and Jim in 1944 - 78 years ago!!
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