17 Oct October 17, 1944

letter
from: Pvt George W. Shonkwiler
to: Mrs. Alice Shonkwiler
England
October 17, 1944
2:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Noteworthy: Dad allows the Army to catch up with him. More talk of infidelity.

Dear Alice and Ronnie,

Here I am on my Instruction detailed job.  Things are a little slow at the
moment due to the heavy downpour outside.  For once the rain is doing me a
favor and you are receiving part of the benefit.  Don’t know how much of this
I will get written but at least a start is better than nothing.  Again I
haven’t much to write about as there has been no mail call yet today hence no
letters.  We usually have mail call around 5 p.m. so before finishing this I
hope to have received at least a dozen letters from some little gal about four
thousand miles away.  I had to be out in the rain just long enough to get
soaked from

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my knees down and since they still don’t know what heat is like over here I am
sitting here shivering -- from my knees down.  If I ever had thought, a year or
so ago[,] that I would have to put up with something some of the things I have
put up with during the last eight months -- boy I think I would have done
something drastic before allowing the army to catch up with me.  Today marks
the end of my 8th month since I first put on that uniform.  It doesn’t seem a
day less than 8 yrs.

This Red Cross building certainly seems strange right now.  It’s a pretty large
three story stone building and usually it’s so damn full of GIs one can hardly
move.  Right now, since training hours are

page 3
still on, there are only about one half dozen of us here and we have the works
to ourselves, you might say.  Someone is playing a piano upstairs, on the
second floor where I am, the radio is on with Gildersleeve doing his stuff.  I
guess it is a rebroadcast.  On the first floor is where we are supposed to be
working that is if it weren’t for the rain.  This Red Cross building is
absolutely the only place of recreation for the entire camp here on the
camp ground.  So you can imagine what a luxury it must be to get it all to
one’s self, almost, for once though it may only be for a short time.  They
serve coffee, tea, cokes, and donuts here during opening hours.  Unfortunately
officially the place isn’t

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open at this hour of the day so I can’t indulge in any of those delicacies.

Has Elinor returned yet?  And has she gone back to work or is she?  I haven’t
heard from you concerning her since she went to the hospital right after Labor
Day.  Certainly hope things are back to normal by this time.  Still haven’t
received a word from Gladys or Dick since arriving here.  Surely would like to
know what happened to both of them.  Have you seen or heard from her lately?

How’s my little Ronnie today and I wonder what mischief he’s into at the
present.  Hope he and you both are well and that you both remain that way all
winter.  You know your health is about the most important thing now.  Take good
care of it.  Charlie  McCarthy is

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on now[,] first time I’ve heard him since going in the army.  He sounds the
same.  Read where Indiana U had won a couple football games.  I would be
interested in hearing who they have beaten so far and what other dope you can

tell me about their team.  All news we get here is always late but better late
than never -- Well, my dear will see you later --  Geo.
6 p.m.

Later and it’s still pouring down rain.  This lousy country and their weather.
They can take the damn place and dump it in the Pacific Ocean.  Regardless of
the rain, I feel very good tonight as I am three nice long letters richer than
I was when I started this letter.  They were dated Sept 26, 27, and 28th.  And
told of Gladys and Dick’s visit in to see you plus many other

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things mmong them being your foolish stunt of papering the bedroom all by
yourself, and in one afternoon.  Seems it doesn’t do much good to tell you to
take things a little easy once in a while.  Now that it is done I hope you are
at least able to sleep better and your shoulder is no worse than you thought.

Sounded like you did have a rather expensive nite for what you got at the
Kungsholm restaurant wherever that is.  Too bad you didn’t enjoy it a little
more.  Of course I know all you needed was some guy like me too help matters
a little.  As for skipping writing[,] well just don’t let it happen too often.

So Dick went to Ft Meade and I suppose by now he is somewhere over here.
Certainly wish I had his address as I would like to find him.  Glad he went to
Ft Meade instead of Ft Ord.  Believe

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he will still get a better deal than Les even though Les was kept for Cadre.
They must have changed their policy at Blanding since I left because I have had
first-hand information that every one of our bunch were shipped out.  In fact
I know where most of us are.  Les will probably go to S. Pacific eventually and
that’s one place I don’t want to go.  Again you mentioned your fear of my doing
too much of the wrong kind of running around over here.  Can’t figure out if
you are just doing some needless worrying, have [you] learned some thing about
Dick or someone else and are [you] comparing me to them or is it that you might
have similar ideas of your own and this is your defense.  All I can say is if
you do have such ideas[,] you had better build a big defense against giving in
to any such ideas.  If I had the slightest idea that you were doing the things
I hear that many of the English wives with

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husbands in the service, are doing over here it would be curtains for you in no
uncertain terms.  However, I am trusting you explicitly and certainly hope you
feel the same towards me.  I can assure you that you have every reason to, as
for as me looking at these English girls and passing an opinion, well my dear,
any time I get to such a stage that I am no longer interested in looking at
women[,] I hardly doubt if you would be very much interested in me either,
right?

[I] think I told you that we do pass our packages around -  what few we get.
Of course the packages are smaller and there are more to pass them around to[,]
but it still helps getting anything from home.  Letters, of course, come first.
After that, anything helps.  It was nice of Jostis to have you out.  Certainly
hope you had a nice time.  Glad to

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hear they received my letter.  Just took a chance not putting an address on it.
As for your old-fashioned ideas about a certain subject, well just keep on
thinking that way, because I too have the same old-fashioned ideas.  Regardless
of what I may have said once in a joking manner.  And if my memory treats me
right I believe I said that I had "heard" it was all the same in the dark, not
was the same.

[I] believe I asked you once before to send me my flashlight also again will

ask for a box of my powders, I’m getting very low.  As for your England and
Scotland argument, let me lend my support.  Scotland is not a part of England,
but is a part of Great Britain and the British Isles.  While a colony such as
Canada is considered a part of the British Empire.  I think in comparison,
Scotland or N. Ireland is the same to Great Britain as Alaska is to the United
States.  Now, where does that put you?  Anyhow, I am very glad to hear Elinor
is back and well enough to do a bit of arguing.  Also glad to hear they are

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finally, fixing our street.  Sounds like a city project so won’t cost me
anything.  Boy, I’ll bet Ronnie and Bobby really are having a field day with
all that activity.  How can the neighbor next door stand it?

Well my dears by the time the censors get through all this they will pass up
all the rest of the letters so I guess it’s past time to quit.  Anyhow, I have
written ten pages which is one more than your nine page letter.  Now you see
where you stand.

Give Ronnie a big hug and kiss for me and I hope you are both feeling 100%.

With all my love to you both.
Daddy