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| Camp McCoy Enlisted Men's Barracks |
March 17, 1943
Dear Mother,
Gee, I'm sorry for I know you'll be looking for a letter. Here's the answer. The other night when I was going to write you we were having a real old fashion ice storm. The funny thing it was lightning and thundering like heck. I never saw anything like it before. Saturday and Sunday were good days. I felt spring was coming but have changed my mind. Then the lights went out. When they came on it was after 9 o'clock so they went right out. The last two days I've been sick. That old goat meat with all the gravy. Guess goat meat would be ok if cooked right. I'm feeling good to-night. Gosh, what a wind blowing outside.
Flavilla (sister) sent me a box with a lot of things to eat. I'm going to have a nice lunch a little later on. I once gave a lot away. Then I found that some of the fellows always would eat but when they got a box they saved it. So I dish out a little and save some for myself now.
The old boys came back from Watersmeet, Michigan, yesterday. I got 18 letters and three packages. Was glad to get some mail.
If you have to pay anything on the car take it out of what I left home. Eugene (brother) is doing all he can. Oh yes, before I forget it. What size sweater does Eugene take? If you have to use more than five dollars go ahead. All I want to do is get home. Then I can start over. I just want enough money on hand to start home in a minute if I have a chance for a furlough.
I got the pictures o.k. I'm going to keep them all. Guess I got all your mail. I've checked on the dates.
Head Herds-man E.R. Knight. Boy, I bet thats right down his line. He'll be a farmer before it's over. I bet the barn looks good. (He's writing about his brother again. Eugene will, in fact, become a farmer. Milking his own cows morning and evening. Cutting acres of hay in the summer. His daughter and one of her sons are still in the farming business.)
So Helen (sister) is going to have one jump on Joey (fiancé). I think that's great. After all it's the little things like shining those pennies and the small things we do that makes life happy. It's the small things that count, not the big. That is what I always said. What may seem foolish to us may be fun for the two concerned. The little things that Helen Ladd use to do for me were the ones that made me happy.
If I need any money, I'll send home for some. Keep some on hand. I guess Eugene is doing his part without me. Ask him for anything. I'll go without first.
O.K., Dad; keep your old Ford tractor. These jeeps won't climb up a Pine tree. How well I remember that day. But, Dad, I'm going to have one of these new little rifles we have. They're new and never been used before. Caliber 30 and what a gun, weighs 5 and 1/2 pounds. Now, Dad, don't tell me you'll still take the old shot gun to go deer hunting with, Ha! Ha! Hey, Mom, get after Dad and tell him he's old fashion.
Hey, Mom, I saw a nice pillow top in La Crosse but didn't buy it. It had Mother on it. Can you guess why I didn't buy it? I bet you can.
So much for to-night. I've got to buy some ink. It's too cold to go out to-night. Will write later.
Love to Mother, Dad,
Eugene & Mrs. Borek
Charles
P.S. Soon I'll have to put Joey on the end.
^^Mar 15
Red Army evacuates Kharkov in the Ukraine. The Third Battle of
Kharkov was a series of battles on the Eastern Front of World War II,
undertaken by the German Army Group South against the Red Army,
around the city of Kharkov between 19 February and 15 March 1943.
More
information
https://www.thoughtco.com/third-battle-of-kharkov-2361480
^^Mar
16 Ships Elin K (Norway) and Zaanland (Netherlands) torpedoed by
German U-boats and sink.
^^Mar
17 Physician Willem J Kolff performs the world's first 'hemodialysis'
using his artificial kidney machine, however the treatment is
unsuccessful and the patient dies, in the Netherlands.
^^Mar 17 Alderamin (Netherlands) & Fort Cedar Lake (British) torpedoed & sink.
*Source 1 https://www.thoughtco.com/world-war-ii-battles-2361453
*Source 2 https://americasbesthistory.com/timeline2ndworldwar1943.html for major battles
**Source 3 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1943_in_the_United_States
^^Source 4 https://www.onthisday.com/events/date/1943
##Source 5 https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/us-home-front-during-world-war-ii
Copyright of letters and any original material Peter Lagasse
