Plain Jane Plain Talk
Journals from the road, trails and at sea
Category: 1944 Letters
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Dear Willard and Grace: I am enclosing a letter to give to Mom. Thought I just as well might enclose it with yours. Things are not going so bad right now; all the fellows here are about like those at Ft. Niagara except that they seem much easier to become acquainted with. Probably because we’re…
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New York City, NY Dear Helen and Wilson: Well, I’ve finally been drafted. Yes, that’s the feeling I get now after being at Niagara so long. There’s quite a bit of confusion trying to get settled and organized, but they’ll do it eventually. I’m not doing anything at all except waiting around right now. Eats…
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Dear Willard, Grace and all: This will let you know that I have arrived here safe and well. The trip was interesting, but uneventful. I have seen a little of the English country-side and it was quite picturesque. It’s neatness would knock your eye out. I know you would be interested in these dinky railroads.…
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Dear Wilson, Helen and all: This letter has my latest address. I’m feeling fine and being fed better than I ever expected I would be fed over here. The eats are really good. Spring is coming here and trees are beginning to show the beginning of new leaves. It isn’t cold but it does drizzle…
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Note: In this letter, Russell discovers that his next oldest brother (Howard, who is 10 years older than Russell) has been drafted into the war. Russell is not happy that his older brother was drafted – as Howard was in a serious accident in the late 1930’s where his arm was severely injured, and a…
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Dear Helen and Wilson and all, I’m starting one of those letters in which I can’t think of very much to write about. I feel as well as ever, and my mail seems to be coming through in fair shape right now. It takes anywhere from ten to twelve days. I haven’t gotten enough air…
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Dear Howard: I got a letter from Mildred and Ralph this morning and your address was included in it. So here goes. As you already know, I am over here in “jolly old England” but I think it is anything but jolly in my estimation. One of my first problems after arriving here was how…
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I’ll send you an Air Mail letter with my account number over my signature, and you can deposit it at Endicott Trust Co. I saw a funny incident down town the other night. I rounded a corner and happened to be looking out at the bus stand. There stood a woman bent over holding the…
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(the day before the invasion of Normandy – written from Winchester Cathedral) Dear Willard, Grace and all; I answered a letter I received from you around a week ago. This morning I received 3 more which you wrote at about the same time, one when you went for groceries. On reading them over, I find…
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Dear Elizabeth: Well how are you and Grant doing? I suppose Mildred’s keeping you up on the latest dope about myself. I had a letter from Howard quite some time ago, and wrote him one just about the time he arrived here. I wrote Mildred a while back that I had seen Coventry. Did you…
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Dear Willard and Grace: Thanks for the razor blades. I’ve got a pretty good supply now. Don’t suppose you have received my mail that I wrote prior to D-Day, but I guess it is starting to go through again by now. I wrote a letter (V-Mail) to Jack about the 8th. It’ll probably catch him…
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Dear Willard and Grace: Just a few lines for this time as I noticed a couple of clippings in the paper and am enclosing them. Apparently some of my mail hasn’t gotten through. I had a letter from Mildred dated the 14th, but some of mine must be held up somewhere as I haven’t seen…
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Dear Willard and Grace; I’m C Q this noon so thought I’d take time out and drop you a short one. Don’t believe that I have written you since I have been billeted in a private home over here — or have I? Well, anyway, I am, and it is quite a nice experience. The…
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Dear Helen and Wilson: I received a package from you this morning in good condition. You’ve certainly covered my needs for the present. I never expected to get Gillette Blue Blades though. How did you mange to get these? I was pleased with everything and can get caught up on some reading too. I’m billeted…
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Dear Howard: Well, since I last wrote to you, I’ve had a considerable change in my way of living in that I have since been billeted in a couple of English homes, and I must say that the people really treat us swell. The people I am with now are just the average over here,…
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Dear Willard and Grace; Thought I’d take a break and drop you a line as I believe I’m probably a little behind in writing to you. I’ve been pretty busy and just haven’t taken much time to write any detailed letters lately. Anyway, I may have thanked Helen and Wilson for the goodies in the…
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International Business Machines Corporation590 Madison AvenueNew York 22, NY Office of the President Corp. Russell F WadsworthG-2 European Civil Affairs Div.APO 658, c/o PostmasterNew York, NY Dear Corporal Wadsworth: I have been keeping in as close touch as possible with the movements of the IBM men and women in the Armed Forces and have enjoyed…
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Dear Willard and Grace; Have received your letter of the 25th OK and was certainly surprised to know that you have not received any mail from me dated after May the 7th. I certainly can’t figure that one out. I would say that you should have around a half dozen since then. This is the…
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Dear Willard and Grace: Just received your letters in the mail this afternoon and since I just wrote to you yesterday or the day before, thought I’d clear up some little points. First, I’m glad to hear that you are now hearing from me again as I cannot understand the reason for the delay on…
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Dear Willard and Grace; Received your letter of the 25th today and therefore answering it right off the bat while I have a spare moment today. Just take a note of my address and leave off “FWD EOH” in the future. Thanks for your efforts in trying to get those magazines. If I don’t them,…
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Dear Helen and Wilson; I have two of your letters in front of me now and am trying to figure out whether there is some question I haven’t answered. Incidentally your letter of July 27 was very hard to read as it didn’t photograph well at all. Do you suppose it is the ink you…
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Dear Helen and Wilson and Bob: Well, I hardly know just how to start this letter as it was just a few days ago that I received word of Richard’s passing. I was really shocked when I read about it. You three have my deepest sympathy. But it still makes it hard for me to…
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Dear Willard and Grace; Thought I’d take advantage of this little lull and bat out a letter to you as I think I’m a little behind. Yes, I was sorry to hear about Richard, but I’ve been hardened to a lot of things especially since I came into the Army I know it’s just one…
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Dear Helen and Wilson; Well you can see now that I’m in another country. And so far it has been quite an experience. Have certainly seen fresh results of war. Saw the City of St Lo which was totally destroyed. You can’t imagine it. You may have seen newsreels of it by this time. People…
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Dear Willard and Grace; This is the first chance that I have had to bat out a letter to you since I got over here. You can see now that I will have to try to pick up a little French. The few French I have had occasion to meet, couldn’t understand me nor I…
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Dear Willard and Grace; I have received the pictures — about 5 or 6 different letters. Don’t send any more though, because I should have liked to have had them while I was in ___. So hold back for a while. As for Christmas package – I’ll tell you how I feel about. First, I…
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Dear Elizabeth; Well, what do you think of where I am now. It sure was some experience coming here though. I saw a lot of stuff. If I could write every detail as I saw it I could probably write a book, but there’s a lot you can’t write, and eventually I’ll probably forget some…
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Dear Willard and Grace; Thought I’d better get this letter out to you while I think about it. It’s to let you know that reverse lease-lend is at work. Yes I’ve sent a package addressed to you, and if and when it comes, here’s how I would like you to dispose of it. There’s a…
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#2Dear Willard and Grace; Now that I have told you what to do with the package, I’ll give some of the latest dope. Am not in the same place where I wrote to you from the last time. We’re in a place that was once used by the Germans. Might just as well be in…
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Dear Howard; Now after you read this letter, why don’t you sit down and drop me a line and let me know just what the hell you are doing. The only way I find out anything about you is when your wife writes to me. Yeah, I got a letter from her today, and in…
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Dear Willard and Grace: I now have your V-Mails of 5 and 21 Oct and needless to say I was glad to receive both. One I received yesterday, and the other today. There seems to be some delay in the mail somewhere along the line or else most of my customers are not writing. I…
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Dear Helen and Wilson; What a country this is. All people are strangers. You can’t speak with them, nor they with you. About all you can do is gesticulate. At least it was that way when I first got here. Each town has its narrow winding streets with portions of most buildings overhanging same to…
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Dear Willard and Grace; Have your V-Mail letter of the 11th. You apparently haven’t received the package I sent to you nor the letter explaining how the contents should be distributed. Anyway, both are on the way somewhere. Have been away from here about a week, having been in four more countries — Belgium, Holland,…
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Dear Willard and Grace; I received your 2 V-Mail letters of the 28th of November, and they were the fastest mail that I have received from the states in some time. No, I haven’t received any letter from Willard at this writing. I’m glad to hear that the package arrived and in good condition. The…
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Dear Romayne; It seems to me that I got a letter from you a long time ago and never answered it. So I thought I’d drop you this line today. We’re having floods on this side of the ocean right now and it’s pretty sloppy. The water has been higher than at any time in…
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Dear Willard and Grace: Just thought I’d drop you a line and tell you that yesterday I received the first copy of the Saturday Evening Post. The date of the copy was Nov 18. Glad to get it at last. Got a letter from Mildred this A.M. and she told me it was sort of…
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Russell Wadsworth (left)Judd Lewis (right)Camped near the Chateau, Southwest of Paris
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(left to right)Bob Barker, Russell Wadsworth, Judd LewisHeadquarters ECAD (European Civil Affairs Division)Troyes, France 1944
Plain Jane Plain Talk 