9 February 1945 - Holland

Sgt. Stanley W Safford 39539976

5^th Auxiliary Surgical Group

APO 339

c/o Post Master

New York  New York

Holland

9 February 1945

Dearest Mother:

Received your envelope of pictures yesterday and find some of them very good, others not so wonderful.

Mailed a box this morning containing a statue and some wooden shoes.  The large pair is for myself.  The three souvenir Belgian shoes are for you, Muriel and Nina and the two large ones are for the Chapin children.  Also you will find a wrist watchband sections which I would like to use in getting me a new one.  The sample is merely for width.

Heard from Muriel Oswald.  Very excited as usual.

Well about all for now as I have little time.

All my Love,

Your son,

Stanley

January 23, 1945 - Holland

Sgt. Stanley W Safford 39539976

5^th Auxiliary Surgical Group

APO 339

c/o Post Master

New York  New York

Holland

January 23, 1945

(2 cards enclosed)[1]

My dear Mother:

 Have nothing much to write about this evening but will make a try at a few lines anyway.

Last evening since the play with Catherine Cornell was still playing here I decided to go see it, so started out two and a half hours early so in order to get a seat, but arrived there to find a long line already formed outside and returned home since she is not that good.  I have seen her in the states anyway.  That is the way with all things of that type here.  They are all ruined by the ordeal required in order to see them.

This is the actual pair of  wooden shoes mentioned here

In view of the recent events in Belgium I may tell you that the wooden shoes and lace which I sent were purchased there (Bastogne). This in a way adds something to them.  I have obtained a large pair of wooden shoes for myself and will send them off soon.  I am going to try and get a few more for home.

I was able to get a little sunshine today for a change.  It melted quite a bit of the snow and in a way cleared things up.  We have a small interior court here which would really be nice if fixed up during the summer, now it is covered with snow and the formal design barely visible beneath the snow.

You would enjoy seeing the small children being pulled on little sleds instead of carriages along the frozen sidewalks.  They are usually all bundled up in a small furring and are always pink cheeked from the cold.

Today I helped a little with the inventory and am quite dizzy this evening from seeing figures etc all day so I believe I will attend the show again as that is about all unless I wish to remain here in the noise etc.

Can think of not much else tonight so will close now asking you to take good care of yourself and give my fondest regards to all.

Always

All my Love,

Stanley

(Find two 3¢ stamps)

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[1] Were no longer with the letters as neither are any pictures.  The pictures are pulled from his WWII Photo album or loose pictures found within the album.

3 December 1944 - Germany

Sgt. Stanley W Safford 39539976

5^th Auxiliary Surgical Group

APO 339

c/o Post Master

New York  New York

Germany

3 December 1944

Dearest Mother:

Since my last letter was a V-Mail I will try and make this letter a little more interesting and somewhat longer.

I hope that yesterday being your anniversary was a very enjoyable one for you.  Only wish that I were home and able to do something more for you.

N regards to your question about the bonds.  The last bond you should receive will be for the month of October.  Beginning November 1 then should be the $50 per month allotment.  You should not of course receive the first $50 until about the middle of December or whenever the $25 check has been arriving.  I will, provided the bonds in question do not show up soon, write Ft Sam in regards to them.

Have here before me your letters of Oct 24 & 28 & Nov 13 & 15, all of which have been received during the last week.  So the mail is all off here also.  Also here are one from Nina and Nelson.  Received your Air Mail stamps also.

Your clippings in one of the letters makes me homesick for the rain.  We have had rain here but nothing like at home.  We have had some cold winds and a lot of mud unlike any we ever had.  I can easily see how a huge war machine very easily becomes bogged down.

Received a very nice box from Thelma and will have use for the things she sent.  Also a wonderful box of dried fruit from Jay and a nice one from Miss Mosher.  Perhaps I mean hers has a few more dates etc., in other words a larger selection.  Some of the packages are arriving here all wet and moldy inside.  Hope mine fare better than that.

The new water mains you speak of sound interesting.  I am interested in hearing about the results you receive.

Received a letter from Sgt Rapp now Pvt Rapp.  He is in England at a General Hospital.  He left our unit while we were still in England.  They had quite a fuss and he was taken advantage of.  He is better off where he is now.  He is the same person you have in mind.

Was glad to hear of the dividend check on the telephone stock arriving, as I seem to have lost all tract of that type of thing.  Again upon the accumulation of enough funds and the stock is again at the figure of my last purchase or lower, you buy one for me.  I still want more.  I was never able to find out much on Western Elec Mfg.

Forgot to mention receiving your package containing the stationary, shaving cup etc.  You certainly send useful things and I really want to thank you for them.

The shirt you speak of sounds interesting and you will never know how I long to once again go to the wardrobe and take out some of my clothes hanging there and put them on and wear them.  My clothing selection will very likely increase more than ever before merely as a mania, so be prepared for a change.

I can not say I would feel perhaps the way Tom Miner feels.  He is exceptionally lucky and I would certainly not stay home on account of it.

Enjoyed a lot in receiving the note of Dads on the back of your letter.  Will answer him soon.  Very pleased to hear of the slip which he speaks of.

Very pleased to hear of the perfumes arriving.  The Balloggia[1] I imagined would be liked as well as any.  The GI(s) have just about bought out Paris and what is left is high.  I tried to buy some prints, but the prices were beyond reason and I am not to be taken advantage of.  They are taking advantage of the soldier.

I keep expecting to hear of Muriel becoming engaged or something, but I am always quite surprised at the end of each friendship.  She must have changed a lot.

The calla lily bed on the West has something wrong with it and avoid taking things from there for other places in the garden.

Enclosed you will find fourteen (14) negatives which are some taken of a manor house in England which struck me as being very beautiful and another building there with an exceptionally fine drive.  Others are of Reims Cathedral and of myself in Holland.  There is one of some little wooden shoe wearing boys also.  Have 3 each made of the house and cathedral and other Arc.  The others you may have one of each made.  Send them to me and I will or may have more prints made.

The country here has certainly been a change as the building here told us we were in Germany without knowing it.  They are much worse than anything previously.  The people who are here all stay indoors and there is a penalty of $60 for speaking to any of them.  They would not interest me anyway.  I am not here for a campaign tour of any kind so therefore stay inside our buildings most of the time and tend to my own business.

You will find enclosed our Christmas card which I hope reaches you in time for Xmas and may you all have one of the nicest holiday season ever and my thoughts will be with you all.

Tell me more of Andre Allen changing his entire novel again.

All for now and take care of yourselves.

All my Love,

Stanley

NOTE from the transcriber:  AACHEN

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[1] Bellodgia

24 October 1944 - Holland

Sgt. Stanley W Safford 39539976

5^th Auxiliary Surgical Group

APO 339

c/o Post Master

New York  New York

Holland

24 October 1944

Dearest Mother:

It is now early morning and it has been sometime since last I wrote to you.  A lot has happened and I have seen a lot of new and beautiful country as you see by the above heading.

After moving here we started right to work and we have the twelve hour shift from 8 to 8 and we therefore spend most of our time sleeping during the day when we have the chance.  For myself I never seem to be quite able to get enough and become accustomed to the night work.  It always seems that my waking up in the evening makes things all wrong.

On our way here I had the chance of seeing the famous Albert Canal and the damage which has been done to it during the fighting and they really do make a mess of some bridges etc when they take a notion to destroy one of them.

I have also seen some of the famous Dutch windmills and they are just as they have always been in the pictures which I have seen.

While still in Belgium I was able to buy two pairs of very inexpensive wooden shoes and have already sent one pair to Ann next door and I am sending the other pair to you with two pieces of lace and two little hand painted pitchers.  The wooden shoes I would like to have you wrap up and give to Jon Matson as a Christmas present from me.  The two pieces of lace are for you and the little clay pitchers you can put away for me.  It will serve as part of an anniversary present to you from me.  Enclosed you will find also a small card which you may like. About all I could find in the way of cards.

In a lot of the windows the Belgi(ans) have pictures of King Leopold and his deceased wife Astrid.  They are quite loyal and patriotic.  They or most of them have flags hanging out or in the windows and here in Holland they have larger flags than either France, Belgium or Luxembourg had on display.

On a couple occasions I was over in Luxembourg, but while there never had the chance to see any of the cities etc enough to really see a difference in it from Belgium.

Our teams here have not received any mail for two weeks so I have none of our questions to answer.

The countryside around us here is very beautiful and is certainly peaceful and quiet in appearance and yet in the distance we can hear the bombardment and see the flashes of light after dark.  The people here practically all wear wooden shoes and they are quite picturesque, more so than any I have seen before.  The horses all wear bells and pull larger loads of things on small carts usually with a child or two on top.  I have never seen such clean struts and harness(?) as they have here.  That was one of the first things that I noticed and it impresses me more so each time I see it.  They have in the past prior to the war been quite modern as the electrical stores are quite frequent as well as other appliance stores are.  The towns are still “off limits” to soldiers so have not had the chance to really see much of them.

Had I mentioned before that Rommel had been kept at the Paris hospital where our headquarters was for a while?  He left there on his way to Berlin the last the people there had seen of him.

The war news from here, that is what we hear of it sounds very good but does not promise “White Christmas” at home or any time quite as spectacular for us.  A remark was made the other day here by a party which I have heard several times before “The political situation is the states has something to do with this”.  I wonder, or have you heard the same?  It came as quite a blow to me here of the death of Wilkie and I undertand Aimee McPherson.  All passed on to her reward.  The news was in one of the army papers I got a hold of.  Was her funeral as elaborate as her life?  From the item I imagine that it must have been.

Have you heard from Hazel Easterman?

Well enough for now and it is about bedtime for myself so I will write again soon.

All my Love,

Stanley