<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<?oxygen RNGSchema="http://digitalhumanities.unl.edu/resources/schemas/tei/TEIP5.4.0.0/tei_all.rng" type="xml"?>

<TEI xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0" xml:id="soh.sto002.00099">

<teiHeader>
<fileDesc>
<titleStmt>
<title>Letter from Clarence Williams to Gretchen Williams, May 7, 1945</title>
<principal xml:id="bd">Dotan, Lisabeth</principal>
<principal>Kohen, Ari</principal>
<respStmt>
<resp>Transcription and encoding</resp>
<name xml:id="lar">Roberts, Lindsay A.</name>
<name xml:id="est">Tylski, Ethan S.</name>
<name xml:id="lkw">Weakly, Laura K.</name>
<name xml:id="kmb">Bergantzel, Katrina</name>
</respStmt>
</titleStmt>

<editionStmt>
<edition>
<date>2020</date>
</edition>
</editionStmt>

<publicationStmt>
<authority>Nebraska Stories of Humanity</authority>
<publisher>University of Nebraska-Lincoln</publisher>
<distributor>
<name>Center for Digital Research in the Humanities</name>
<address>
<addrLine>319 Love Library</addrLine>
<addrLine>University of Nebraska–Lincoln</addrLine>
<addrLine>Lincoln, NE 68588-4100</addrLine>
<addrLine>cdrh@unl.edu</addrLine>
</address>
</distributor>
<idno type="project">soh.sto002.00099</idno>
<availability>
<licence>http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/</licence>
<p>Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Derivatives must be credited to Nebraska Stories of Humanity, made available non-commercially, and distributed under the same terms. Requests for permission for commercial publication or other use should be emailed to the project team.</p>
</availability>
</publicationStmt>

<sourceDesc>
<bibl>
<title level="a">Letter from Clarence Williams to Gretchen Williams</title>
<date when="1945-05-07">May 7, 1945</date>
</bibl>
<msDesc>
<msIdentifier>
<repository>Institute for Holocaust Education</repository>
<collection>Clarence Williams Collection</collection>
<idno>Folder 11, Item a</idno>
</msIdentifier>
</msDesc>
</sourceDesc>

</fileDesc>

<profileDesc>

<langUsage>
<language ident="en">English</language>
</langUsage>

<textClass>
<keywords scheme="original" n="type">
<term>Stories</term>
</keywords>
<keywords scheme="original" n="subtype">
<term>Clarence Williams</term>
</keywords>       
<keywords scheme="viaf" n="people">
<term>Burress</term>
<term>Mann, Frank</term>
<term>Everett</term>
<term>Cooper, Irv</term>
</keywords>
<keywords scheme="geonames" n="places">
<term>Germany</term>
<term>Muskogee, Oklahoma</term>
</keywords>
<keywords scheme="original" n="keywords">
<term>Stars and Stripes</term>
</keywords>
</textClass>

<correspDesc>
<correspAction type="sentBy">
<persName>Williams, Clarence</persName>
<placeName></placeName>
<date type="dateline" when="1945-05-07"/>
<date type="postmark" when="1945-05-10"/>
</correspAction>
<correspAction type="deliveredTo">
<persName>Williams, Gretchen</persName>
<placeName>Omaha, Nebraska</placeName>
<date type="received" when="1945-05-28"/>
</correspAction>
<correspContext><ptr prev="soh.sto002.00098"/><ptr next="soh.sto002.00100"/></correspContext>
</correspDesc>

</profileDesc>

<revisionDesc>
<change when="2022-04-07" who="lar">Encoding</change>
<change when="2021-07-30" who="lkw">Review</change>
<change when="2020-08-14" who="est">Transcription and initial encoding</change>
<change when="2021-09-07" who="kmb">Tag cleanup</change>
</revisionDesc>
</teiHeader>

<text>

<body>

<div1 xml:lang="en" type="letter">

<pb facs="soh.sto002.00099.001"/>

<opener><dateline>Monday<lb/>
7 May 45.<lb/>
</dateline>

<salute>Dearest Gretchen &#8212;</salute></opener>

<p>I didn’t get to write you again last
night so will try and drop a few lines
now. I received your letter of the 24th last
night also a V-Mail from Dr Burress dated
Mar 6th. Took exactly two months to the day
to arrive and still they try and sell us on
the idea of using it. Heard officially today
that the war in this entire theatre is over
at midnight tomorrow night so the end
would be on May 9th. The chaplain was here
this afternoon holding Peace services in
thanks for the divine guidance and progress
of this war. Its a funny thing but no one
seems hilarious over here regarding its ending,
in fact it seems no different than
any other time. There was no yelling or screaming
and no celebrating with drinks or otherwise. 
I can imagine the big celebrations
that will take place in many cities in the
states but most of those people aren’t sweating
and out shipment to C.B.I. or another conflict.
I only wish some of the people who have
never been affected in any way by the
war could have the privilege of seeing some
of the things we have seen first hand. Even
tho winning we have still lost plenty.</p>

<pb facs="soh.sto002.00099.002"/>

<p>I read in our Stars and Stripes about
the tornado in Muskogee, it must have been
pretty bad. The article stated there were 14 killed
and many wounded. I am so sorry to hear
of Frank’s return to the hospital and I can
see how it would cause any one to crack up
after the period of time he has been over there.
We have had a picnic in comparison to
what the boys in that theatre have gone 
through. The trouble there is the fact there
are numerous enemies besides the Japs
including all the tropical diseases. I only
hope Russia will now turn toward the
Jap war and help to finish that up in
short order. It certainly didn’t take long
here once everyone got rolling on both
sides of Germany and I cant believe the
Japs can last too long now that our entire 
resources can be turned in that direction. </p>

<p>Honey please don’t bother to run all
over the country to find sardines for me 
as it isn't that important. They make
a swell lunch and I like them very much
but I didn’t realize they were so hard to find.
I have eaten the Vienna sausages both warm
and cold but when the weather was so 
cold they tasted so much better after heating
a bit. We are getting regular rations again
now for awhile so don’t need so much else.</p>

<pb facs="soh.sto002.00099.003"/>

<p>I received a nice box of Whitman’s 
Sampler chocolates from Everett a couple 
days ago. They came through in perfect
shape and weren’t even packed in a heavy
cardboard box. I could hardly believe it.</p>

<p>Sgt. Cooper received a cablegram from
his wife last night telling him he is
now a papa. Its a boy - 8 lbs 2 oz and he
is smiles all over. I don’t blame him.</p>

<p>Honey it doesn’t take a picture to remind
there is some one writing over there,
I think about it all the time. Regardless, I’ll
be very happy to have the picture and very
pleased and proud to show it as an example
of the most wonderful little girl in the world
and I’m not kidding.</p>

<p>Some of we fellows got a German lady
to do our laundry today. It gets tiresome
doing our own all the time and after all
its their fault we’re over here.</p>

<p>Well darling thats about all for today
but hope to hear from you again tonite.
Give my regards to the folks.</p>

<closer><salute>Loving you forever</salute>
<signed>Clarence.</signed></closer>

</div1>

<div1 xml:lang="en" type="envelope">
    
<pb facs="soh.sto002.00099.004"/>

<ab>AFTER 5 DAYS RETURN TO</ab>

<ab type="return">
<address>
<addrLine>Pfc. C. O. Williams 37738878</addrLine>
<addrLine>Co A - 122 Med Bn - A.P.O. 411</addrLine>
<addrLine>c/o P.M. New York, N. Y.</addrLine>
</address>
</ab>

<note>Rec'd 5-28-45</note>

<ab type="postmark">U.S. Army Postal Service MAY 10 1945</ab>

<ab type="postage"><figure></figure></ab>
<ab>VIA AIR MAIL</ab>

<ab type="address">
<address>
<addrLine>Mrs. C. O. Williams</addrLine>
<addrLine><del>1303 Avenue B.</del>302 Service Life Bldg.</addrLine>
<addrLine><del>Council Bluffs,
Iowa.</del>Omaha, Nebr.</addrLine>
</address>
</ab>

<note>May 7.</note>

<ab type="censor">Passed by US Army Examiner 50819 Capt <unclear/></ab>

<note>99</note>

</div1>

</body>
</text>

</TEI>
