Letter from Clarence Williams to Gretchen Williams, April 2, 1945

How’s my honey by now? We have been moving so fast the past few days I havn’t had a chance to write. We are now deep in Germany, crossed the Rhine some time back on a pontoon bridge. Since I couldn’t write yesterday, I’ll wish you a happy Easter now and hope we never spend another separated. I know for one thing, that was one Easter I will never forget. Moving up I saw some of the biggest equipment I have yet seen. Miles and miles of vehicles, I can realize now what the shipping problem must have been. Our first night out we slept on beds in a hotel (Inside our sacks of course) the first time since I can remember and with real mattresses too. Yesterday we moved into a town before it had been cleaned out by the infantry in fact we watched them go through. Many of the houses were still burning and the inhabitants were moving out their belongings in carts or wagons or anything else they could find. There were dead Heinies laying all around the field by our station and one of them was laying in our front yard all day. Later in the day some civilians came around with a wagon and picked up a load of them. Most of them are young kids some I know couldn’t be more than fifteen or sixteen at the most. In the afternoon a Heinie plane   came over and we ran like hell for the cellar. The ack ack guns opened up on him and chased him away. From all the noise I thought they were shelling us with artillery or mortars. One thing I am glad for is the fact all these houses have good cellars many of them bombproof. Another thing I noticed while moving up was the refuge prisoners released and walking back. They were all very happy and would cheer and wave as we passed them. There were French, Poles, Russians and Greeks. This afternoon a Danish refugee stopped here and picked up a team of horses and a wagon for his long trip home. The German civilians here raised hell but he took them any way. One of our boys who can speak Dane talked with him and he explained the Germans took his team and wagon, shot the horses and burned the wagon. He was a young fellow and had a girl with him who was his fiance. I think she was Polish. Some of the boys gave them cigarettes and we all cheered as they drove off down the road. Perhaps a few of those deals may teach the Germans a lesson. Well darling it is now past bed time so must close. Will be dreaming of you.