28 Aug August 28, 1945

Letter
from: A. Shonkwiler
to: PFC George W. Shonkwiler
August 28, 1945, Tuesday just before midnight
Noteworthy: Mom and Dad’s wedding date: Aug 28, 1943

My darling,

It is now very near the end of our anniversary again.  Just think it’s
our second, and we’re still thousands of miles apart.  I sincerely hope
that this will be the last anniversary spent this way and not only that,
we’ll just have to celebrate twice as much for the next few years to make
up for it.  I hope the time will never come that we’ll not celebrate at
all, because to me, that

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would be a sure sign that we regretted it.

I sent you a cablegram, and this time I hope you get it, as it seems I’ve
had such poor luck sending them previously.  It’s funny they can charge
all that money and not guarantee delivery at all.  Well, all I can say is
that I tried to get a message through on this special...  Anyway, I’d very
much like to have sent you a gift, but I couldn’t think of a thing.  But
if there is anything you would like, will you tell

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me so I can send it?

Believe it or not, but I got your pistol yesterday, and it was stamped
"U.S. Customs", but evidently hadn’t been opened.  I guess the three-cent
stamp must have deceived them as to the valuable contents.  I guess you’re
pretty lucky to get it through.  What kind of pistol is it?  Murray and
Jim wanted to know if it was a Luger.

On top of this, I got my anniversary gifts today too.  Imagine them coming
on the exact date.  That is what might be called

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perfect timing.  They were sent August 2nd, so that means it took only 26
days, not bad.

I gave Martha and Marge their choice of Chanel powder or perfume.  Martha
already had some Chanel perfume, so she decided on the Chanel powder. Marge
took a bottle of perfume as her brother had sent her some Chanel powder.
I kept the darker shade of powder, and if you get any more for me, get

a suntan shade, as I’m pretty brown.  I used

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some last night, and I like it very much.  I kept the Prince Machiabelli
perfume and Chanel and the bottle with the eagle. All very nice and thanks
so much. The little basket, ashtray and shoes and <? mortar>  were darling
too.  I hope, however, that you aren’t spending a fortune for these things
and going without things you might need. I’m going to need a curio cabinet
for sure now to put all these souvenirs in.  Any little what-nots you can
pick up will always be a

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welcome, as they always look so cute on what-nots shelves or in a cabinet.
Francis got some cute silver and some bronze horses, dogs and so on from
Al that are cute, also little lamps, vases and so on. She has a little
mortar like the one you sent me, only engraved with the number of his

station hospital.

The pistol was not the least bit rusty.  And I’ll watch it to see that it
doesn’t and oil it once in a while if necessary.

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I mailed you a package today containing cookies and candy but was unable
to get much in the cans.  I had another can of cookies and candy but had
to leave them out. Maybe I can mail another box in a day or two and include
them. How long has it been taking lately for my boxes to arrive?  Am I
foolish baking cookies or are they in good shape when they get there? You’d
better watch to see if they’re wormy before

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you eat them. Of course when you consider package cookies in a store being
sold weeks after they’re baked, they really should come out okay. Let me
know if they spoil as I hate to think that you’re throwing them out.

The Holmes and Tastis picked me up at 5.30 tonight.  Mrs. Page gave Ronnie
his dinner and put him to bed for me.  He was so brave about my leaving.
I explained that he’d have dinner

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 upstairs and so on and he said, well Mommy where are you going? Then I

told him about Jim, Martha, Murray, and Marge taking me out because Daddy
was away and asked him if I could go and he replied okay you can go Mommy
if you hurry back. He insisted on opening the door for me when I went and
he waived goodbye and didn’t cry at all.  Isn’t he a big man? Of course
if anyone had mentioned S-H-O-W that would have been

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a different matter as then he’d have insisted on going along.

We went to Vogel’s restaurant to eat. Murray had T-bone steak, Marge and
Jim Perch, and Martha and I, frog legs. With these we got french fries,
coleslaw, cottage cheese, pickles, rye white bread, and butter and coffee.
I had a Manhattan and Martha a Martini but I let her drink mine too.
Murray had his tongue hanging out for it but I still gave it to her as I
figured he could have

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ordered a drink on his own if he weren’t so tight.  Jim had a beer but
Marge and Murray had nothing.

The dinners were a $1.75 and $2.00 a piece and when I asked when we were
going to get our dessert Murray said "Well it doesn’t come with the dinner
but you can have some if you wish".  No one else ordered dessert so I
didn’t either altho I did want it.  In fact the fellows didn’t suggest
drinks but Martha did so for spite I had one.

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Gosh honey I hope you and I never get so tight that we quibble over a few
extra pennies when taking a guest out for dinner.

I really shouldn’t complain however as it was a nice gesture and I still
give Marge and Martha all the credit for it.

When we left the restaurant Marge asked what we should do now as it was
only 7:45 and Murray said "I want to go home to bed". He certainly is
an exceedingly well mannered person.

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isn’t he?  At our (Martha, Marge and I’s) insistance we did go to the State
theater.  We saw "Murder, He Says" with Fred MacMurray and "Counter Attack"
with Paul Muni (very good). The first one was rather silly but funny too in

spots.

When I got home I discovered I had forgotten my keys and the Pages were
 asleep.  With Jim’s help I managed to crawl in a window. He said afterwards

someone seeing us could very

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easily have shot us as intruders, which is true. The Pages didn’t even
hear us and Judy of course knew me and didn’t put up a fuss.

It’s getting late so I’ll close for tonight. So until tomorrow good night
and I hope that you were as lonesome as I today in spite of being with the
kids at dinner and so on.  It just wasn’t a celebration without you.
Maybe you should write the Holmes and Tastis and say thanks. I think they’d
like that.

Love forever,
Mom and Ronnie.