Nov. 2, 1958. From Bob to his sister, Ruth

In this candid letter from November 1958, a young serviceman overseas writes to his sister, Ruth, sharing his thoughts on cars, cold-weather field exercises, and the complicated charm of local girls all with warmth, wit, and a touch of longing for home.

Nov. 2, 1958

Dear Ruth,

Those new cars look pretty nice, don’t they? I’d seen some of them before you sent those pictures. Maybe you’ll have one of them for me to drive around when & if I come home next year. You know the old saying, “you can’t take it with you.”

Nancy mentioned in her letter that you were thinking of getting me a record player. Thanks, but no thanks. There’s really no place to keep it over here and I’m cramped for space now, and it would get banged around & everything.

They have some of the latest songs over here in the juke boxes, you’d be surprised. A lot of them are old ones too.

We went out in the field, or rather the woods early Tuesday morning & came back Thursday night. It was pretty cold out there but we had warm clothes so it wasn’t too bad.

Have you been using my .22 rifle any? Keep it well oiled & don’t let it get rusty. You don’t have to leave a lot of oil on it but just keep it clean.

You should see some of the females that hang around these joints over here. Some of them are enough to make your stomach turn. I’m thinking of one in particular when I say that. There are some nice girls over here though but you won’t find them in those GI places, and they won’t be able to speak any English. A lot of them are real nice looking girls.

I’ve got my sights on one waitress who works in a restaurant. I don’t mean to be conceited or anything but I think she likes me. One of these days when I know enough German…

I won’t get my hopes up too high though because some of those girls over here won’t have anything to do with Americans.

Bye for now. Tell mother I’ll take my cod liver oil pills & that I’m fine and not to worry.

Love, Bob