Letter from Clarence Williams to Gretchen Williams, March 20, 1945

No mail from you today honey but guess I can’t complain as I have done pretty well the last few days.

The scenery here is getting pretty dull as we have been in one spot for a full day now. It seems unusual not to be packing up and loading up our vehicle.

We had quite an experience this morning. One of our planes crashed into the trees on the hillside and we went over to get the pilot. It had sheared off some pine trees about eighteen inches in diameter and burst into flame. The pilot was burned to a crisp and his legs were burned completely off. The center part of the plane was practically melted away but the tail end was hardly damaged at all. We lifted the pilot out, put him on a blanket and hauled him back. He was wearing a high school class ring dated 1942 so apparently was 20 or 21 years old. His left hand was clutched to a window or ledge of the cockpit as if he had tried to open same to escape. One thing is certain, when they crash land one of those fast planes there is no need for medical attention. A few minutes ago we had two fellows pull up in a jeep with another body. The fellow had been hit in the head with some shrapnel. In his pocket he had a letter from his wife written on Xmas day. Perhaps I am sentimental but   I can’t help but think of the terrible shock it will be when she is notified of his death. The more I see of this damn war the more foolish it seems. Well enough of this for now.

We found an old German rifle and some ammunition so had a little target practice today. Fired mostly at bottles and tin cans. Naturally we aren’t allowed to carry weapons so the only time we can fire is when we find some thing laying around. Got a kick out of it but also have a sore shoulder tonite to show for it.

We had a swell dinner tonite, hamburgers, buttered carrots, buttered peas, french fried potatoes, bread, butter, pickles, jam, and hot doughnuts. How does that sound to you? The boys in the kitchen are really doing a swell job cooking with the items they have available.

There was a big explosion in one town we moved from a couple days ago. The German had time bombed a hotel and railroad station when they left and it exploded this afternoon. Some of the boys who saw it stated the station was just a heap of powder now.

Well darling thats about all the happenings for today. No doubt a lot of this is boring to you but its difficult to find things of interest that we can write.