#80
Pvt. E. Cowley 42025054
1st Bn. Hg Co 301st Inf. A.P.O. 94
c/o Postmaster N.Y, N.Y.
The Cowleys
35 Woodside Ave.
Buffalo 20 N.Y.
Sept. 2nd, 1944
Somewhere in England
Dear Mom,
Received 4 letters from you yesterday but got into a card game & didn’t have time to answer until today. You mentioned the feast of the assumption in one of your letters & I want to let you know that I got to mass that day. Just happened to run into the chaplain & he was going to say mass outside (as there isn’t any church) so Carack & I both attended. Have been cutting up all my photographs so they can be small enough to carry in my wallet. Have of small picture of just about everyone. Its been raining continuously over here for 3 or 4 days now, typical Buffalo weather hey. Thought that letter that you, Dad, Peg & Ann wrote was very nice. You don’t have to bother sending Doug’s address! So Clint Bueliman told you all about the invasion of southern France, hope he’l be telling us all the right time again very soon & the way we got them going it wouldn’t surprise me one bit. Wasn’t able to make London as I should have but I’m not very interested in it anyhow. A big batch of mail just came so I’m hoping for a letter or two & maybe my So. Buffalo News. Received that toilet paper & I intent to make use of it & I’m not just kidding. Well, school should be starting by the time you receive this, Peggy’s second year at So. Park. Hope she does as well this year as she did last. Know she will. Guess I’ll be able to get through school for free and I know I’ll have the required two years in or more. Glad to hear Doug was able to cable Connie & Lil, bet that it really gave them a thrill. You never mentioned Bob Humphries address, haven’t you been able to get it as yet? Would like to drop him a letter if I could. Well, have to get busy on my equipment & believe me I’ve really got plenty of it. As usual I feel fine & hope everyone at home feels likewise. Write soon & often
Love to all,
Eddie
P.S. Tell Peg to meet me at McGees after the war!
Letter # 81
Pvt. E. Cowley 42025054
1st Bn. Hg. Co.301st Inf. A.P.O. 94
c/o Postmaster N.Y, N.Y.
The Cowleys
35 Woodside Ave.
Buffalo 20 N.Y.
Sept. 8Th, 1944
Somewhere in France
Dear folks,
Sorry I haven’t been able to write lately & might not be able to write again for quite a some time but I don’t want you to worry about me. Can’t say much about where I am or what I’m doing but I’ll have lots to tell you when I get home which can’t be too soon. I’ve tasted the French wine and as a matter of fact I’ve got my canteen full of it right now. They say its better & safer to drink the wine than any milk or water so I’m not going to argue with them. Went to communion before embarking for France which I know will make you feel a lot better, I’ll never forget that break I had in seeing the family before I left. Guess I’m pretty lucky. Have been thinking that school opens next week. Looks like I won’t be able to make it this year. Next year I should be back if all goes well. It rains continuously over here but its fairly warm so I feel pretty good. Say hello to everyone be at home & I’m thinking of you always. Take good care of yourselves & I know St. Jude will take care of me. Write soon & often.
Love to all, Eddie
P.S. Enclosed something for your book!
Letter # 82
Pvt. E. Cowley 42025054
1st Bn. Hgts.Co. 301st Inf.
A.P.O. 94 c/o PM N.Y. N.Y.
The Cowleys
35 Woodside Ave.
Buffalo 20 N.Y.
Sept. 20, 1944
In France
Dear Mom, Dad & Peggy,
Well, I’m still resting, if you want to call it that. We do more work when we’re resting than when we’re in action. Father Janko, the Catholic Chaplin, held services for us yesterday. Wasn’t able to go to communion as I had broken my fast eating some candy. However I think I told you before that I went to communion just before I left England so religiously I’m pretty well fixed. Know you’d be pleased to hear that we get the opportunity to attend mass occasionally. I’m enclosing a sloppy little sketch of a part of our temporary camp in England. It isn’t any good at all but its something I thought you might enjoy a little. Also am sending a check for 20$. Intend to send home from 25$ to 50$ per month as long as I’m over here. Want you to bank most of it for me unless you need it for something special. There’s one thing I want you to do with it every month, about 5$ I mean. Would like Peggy Lou to start going to the Evlanger to see the stage shows. Was always sorry I didn’t start going when I was younger. Anyhow I’d like Peggy to go up as often as she wants & perhaps she’l be able to see all the shows this winter. Also if she’d like to take any of the girls or best of all you & Dad I’d really like you to use my money. I know just what your thinking mother, that you’l put it all away for me but it would give me great satisfaction to have someone making good use of some of that dough. Hope you understand what I mean, think those shows are educational & tend to create a fine background. Tell Peggy she can spend as much as she wants for good seats, carfare & maybe a couple Hamburgers without onions afterwards. Know she’l enjoy it a lot and I want her to write and tell me how she liked the plays. Will you do that for me seriously?
Wrote a letter to the gang up at school a couple days or weeks ago. Never had time to really finish it though. Are you still spending your Sat. night out at Elmers? He’s quite a character. Tell him we’ll have a big celebration out there when the Dragons all come home. Harry thought he was a card. How do the Crowleys like living next to the Cowleys on good ole Woodside? There’s really a couple swell neighbors for you. We had a radio going out here today and they were playing that bar room music which reminded me so much of Curlys etc. & me drinking all that root beer & eating all the pretzels in the place. I’ll be drinking beers with you & Dad, and still trying to get all the pretzels when its over. Lost a little weight in the past couple weeks so I’m looking pretty trim at the present. How’s Dad doing with all his, he looked pretty rugged in that photo. Got a letter from a very cute little blond I met in Winona Miss. She’s the one that intends studying music at Rochester so I’ll keep right on writing. Incidentally you can write on both sides of the paper as your mail isn’t censored. Will make it that much lighter & you can say more. Guess that's all for now. Will write again soon.
Love to all, Eddie
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September 1944 Hit Song: Till Then by the Mills Brothers
1 comment:
Ole Woodside is the same st. Tim Russert grew up on. A good Irish community! Aunt Peggy never did go to the theater- all the money was waiting for Dad when he got home. He is still aggrevated about it , but admits it doesn't do much good to fuss over it at this point.
He was positioned at St. Nazaire France, Reading the last letters you may have noticed his brave front. By the time he wrote this last letter he had already been wounded, shrapnel in the knee, refused a purple heart because he didn't want his family to worry. The military would send a letter home saying that you were wounded (he thinks they were delivered to the family's home by a member of the military), but the recipient didn't know if you were dead or wounded until they read the letter , so he didn't want to "get involved" with that. What a good son!
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