Letter from Clarence Williams to Gretchen Williams, Feburary 1, 1945

Gee honey am I happy, I received a letter form you last night after we got back from town. That is my second since arriving here so you can imagine how hungry I was for mail from you. It was postmarked the 17th and I can’t figure out what happened to our mail from the 5th to the 17th. Anyway I’m keeping my fingers crossed in hopes they all arrive shortly.

Day before yesterday four of we boys from Personnel started out to gather wood and wound up hiking about ten or twelve miles. I was really tired when we returned but surely enjoyed the scenery. That is one way to see old France and take your time looking things over. We saw several villa’s, an old chateau, an air field, quite a lot of old German equipment and what looked to be an old German Command Post with bomb shelter, pill boxes and underground trenches connecting same. All this was surrounded by barbed wire entanglements. We also saw several old German shells or rather the cases and some new rocket shells that hadn’t been fired. We visited a small city, about 3000 I think, and while there had quite a chat with some old French lady who could speak Italian. One of the boys with us could speak Italian so he acted as interpreter for the group. She told us about many of the German atrocities and what they did to combat them. On our way back   we walked through the grounds of one of our large Army Hospitals. I think it had originally been a Sanatorium and it was really a beautiful place.

Yesterday, Mr. Tollefson took the gang from Personnel into town. There were ten of us and he secured a vehicle for us and away we went. We really had a grand time and all of us managed to get pretty tight on cognac and wine. You cant buy whiskey over here at all. I am inclosing the program from one of the places we visited. They had a floor show there (I mean a girl sang a few songs) including Paper Doll and Shoo’ Shoo’ Baby. We had a chance to get in some of the stores but their assortment is pitiful. I looked all over trying to find some thing for you for our anniversary and finally found a dickie. I couldn’t converse with the clerk so don’t know about size or anything else. If you can’t wear it thro[?] it back as a remembrance of France. The prices they have on every thing are enormous and most every thing in the line of clothing requires points. One bar we were in charged 435 Franc’s for one round of drinks or approximately $9.00 and the drinks are very small. I did find a very nice pipe at a store for 150 Francc’s. It had a nice filter which is some thing almost extinct in the States. The French Cognac is quite similar to our whiskey in fact it tastes very much the same at some bars. Other places it resembles the kind that should have been poured back in the   horse. There is plenty of perfume available but they gyp the hell out of the G.I.’s on it if they don’t know what they are getting. Every place you go they try to buy cigarettes or chocolates from you. I hear one fellow say he was offered 400 Franc’s for a bar of chocolate so if true you can see how badly they want it. Apparently the only things they have plenty of is drinks which in my estimation aren’t too good. There beer is very very flat and tasteless. They have big cement pillboxes built at the main intersection with underground entrances. When you see the food stores here you readily realize how fortunate people in the U.S. are even with rationing. Our food here in camp has really been delicious in fact you wonder how they manage to get the type we have. We even had butter today for dinner which I never expected to see over here.

Honey I am sending you 1487 Franc’s by P.T.A so you should receive a check for $30.00 perhaps even before you get this letter. Take it and buy yourself an anniversary gift or new dress or some thing you would like.

Well sweet that’s about all the news for now. Keep your chin up and I’ll be ever thinking of you.