July 11, 1945
Wabern, Germany
No. 41 (continued)
Dear Folksies,
On the nite of the 6th, when I was Receiving and Medical O.D. came the bombshell or bombshells!! I tried to get ahold of Bret Smart to see a case that was a possible appendicitis and instead I got ahold of Wally Greene on the phone, and he just didn’t make any sense at all. Why? Well, undoubtedly by the time you get this you will know the reason for his state of confusion and why, too, I took some time before believing the line he seemed to be handing out to me. It seems that just a few minutes before, the order had come in by phone for the following men to report to Thionville on the 9th to go by plane to the U.S. Yes, the lucky bums! The men were: Gerbode, Greene, Smart, Bell, Brown, Malone, Stratte, Hodgson, and Waugh.
You can imagine what a mad-house the place was that nite. All those going home were up in the office at some time during the nite trying to send wires to their respective wives to “stay at home.”
Some of those going home had already loaded their equipment into the trucks or trailers that were heading for the 108th the following morning. So they were scampering around trying to get their things out of the vehicles, and, of course, their stuff was always at the bottom of the pile. Then, too, Frank had to wire to Hodgson, who was at school in Paris, to come home immediately. Everyone was afraid that Marv would not make it at all, but it seems that the wire did reach him and he was able to fly down to a field near Ellwangen and was picked up the day before the gang took off for Thionville.
Loads of love,
.
