3 Aug 44
France

Dear Marion,

It was great to get a letter from you. Over here in France we sure get a great kick out of letters. We have been here now for two months. Most of the time we have been pumping the big shells at the Germans. Sometimes our regiment has shot as many as 15000 shells a day. Of course the Germans shoot some back and have scared your Uncle Elmer plenty, but we send a lot more over than we get back. Sometimes we live out in the fields and other times we get in old abandoned houses but we always dig holes to get in whenever the shells start coming over. We will soon have the Germans beaten now and by this time next year should be home.

I suppose we will never hear again from your Uncle Jim. I want you always to remember that you had a very brave uncle who gave up his life so that little girls like you could go to school and Sunday School and grow up to be good people when you grow older. It was the big bombs that he dropped on the German factories that made guns and shells that made it possible for my regiment and a lot of other soldiers to get into France without our getting killed on the seashore. So we owe it to Uncle Jim to be good boys and girls don't we.

I have met some very nice little French girls about your age and if you could write French I would tell you to write a letter to Janine Cahagne, Basly, par Than[?], Calvados, France. This little girl is just about your age and used to bring me an odd egg when we were near her home. The house she lived in had all the windows knocked out and had holes in the walls and her father was dead leaving her mother and grandmother and four little girls. They are very poor but they live very simply and manage to get along. My French isn't very good so I had quite a time talking to them. I wish I had studied French harder at school when I got over here.

I hope you visit your Aunt Barbara often. She had her brother killed over here too and he fought very bravely before he was killed. I know she will miss him so much. Well it sure is nice to have a niece write me a letter and I appreciate it a lot. Thank you very much. I think a lot of you and all my nephews and nieces and your mummy and daddy.

Your Uncle Elmer