Letter from Clarence Williams to Gretchen Williams, August 3, 1945

Well honey here I am on C.Q. sitting here listening to the Duffy’s Tavern program on the radio and writing to you. This has been another screwy day with sunshine one minute and rain the next. When bad weather starts around here it stays with us for about three weeks.

Our business has been rushing today with sick call, refractions and dental appointments. I had one casualty this afternoon who accidently shot himself while cleaning a pistol and of all the places through the penis, scrotum and then into the thigh. I think he will no doubt be okay but will be plenty sore for quite some time. Ordinarily there is nothing doing in the afternoon but today they came in steadily all the time. I told Cap’t Martin I believed we were evacuating the entire Div since we had patients from each of the three regiments plus field artillery and Div Hqs.

I have really been missing out on some good entertainment this past week. A few days ago Billy Rose’s Diamond Horseshoe Girls gave a program at Salzburg but our company received only 7 tickets and I wasn’t fortunate enough to receive one. This afternoon Bob Hope and his show played in an open air theater about 10 miles from here and near Salzburg but I was on C.Q. Oh this is a great life. Those are the first big time shows that have been   any where near this vicinity. Perhaps if we continue to stay this near Salzburg, I will again have the privilege of seeing one.

Regarding the saving of stamps don’t worry about the envelope as I think I can get plenty more of them. Any way I am not interested in fact I liberated a few stamp collections and gave them to some of the boys who were saving them.

So Marg and Eddie have a new baby boy. I am glad to hear they are both doing okay and hope he is okay. Has Rance ever improved any or is he still the same? Gee your mention of tuna fish salad and ice tea surely sounded wonderful. We do have ice tea occasionally but of course never have tuna fish.

Honey I am a little worried that the gift I got you from Paris has been waylaid or stolen. I know some of the boys who mailed other packages about that time have had word of their wives receiving same. If it doesn’t get there I am really going to be unhappy. At the time I mailed it I didn’t know it was possible to insure packages but now find that it is.

No darling I didn’t get to see anything of Truman since they were mostly around Berlin and Frankfurt. I am just as happy however as it would mean plenty of spit and polish and dozens of inspections. I am anxiously awaiting the results of the conference as surely Russia will declare herself one way or the other regarding Japan.

We had a swell dinner today, some very good steak and fried onions. Being on C.Q. I ate early chow and had two nice big pieces with plenty of onions. It never tastes as good as that you used to fix at home and we never get that good steak gravy. The only potatoes we can get now are dehydrated and they aren’t nearly as good as the fresh spuds. Perhaps before long we can get some of the new ones from the states. They grow a lot of potatoes over here so perhaps we can get some of their’s and replace them later, I hope.

Well darling I will inclose a copy of our Rainbow Reveille in a separate envelope and sign off for tonite.