Mrs. Cordie's Soldier Son: A World War II Saga

First Snow

FIRST SNOW On November 9, 1944, Clervaux got its first snow. It was a snow that got heavier with time. The staff soldiers were glad they were not in the field and knew how fortunate they were. They did not realize that northern Europe was about to experience one of its worst winters in decades. Shortly after this, D.C. got a pass for a two-day trip. Their French officer took members of the unit to Paris for a “night on the town”: Bet you can’t imagine such a trip but I did. I really saw it good this time & was entertained royally by a French Lt. now attached to my Det. Can very easily see why Paris is known as “Gay Paree.” Ate in very nice place when there was also floor show & etc. Had time of my life. Rode subways for miles also. (First time) My friend & I really looked funny in Paris, we had steel helmets , leggins, guns, & etc &, the boys in Paris (stationed there) wear just what I use to in the States. Man that was a cold trip & a long one but really enjoyed it after I got there. The soldiers went to restaurants and nightclubs, and the French officer did not allow them to pay for anything, perhaps in his excitement over the recent liberation of Paris. The men in D.C.’s detachment knew the evening was expensive, and they felt very awkward at such overt First Snow 79 generosity, but these feelings went away a few days later when they learned that the officer had a royal title and was actually quite wealthy. The men really appreciated the officer’s generous hospitality. Periodically D.C. also had access to a jeep, which was one of the benefits of being in a civil affairs detachment. He wrote that this amazing quarter-ton vehicle had “four wheel drive” and that it was nearly impossible to get it stuck, even off road. It seemed like the perfect vehicle for those roads in Rockwall and Kaufman counties back in Texas. If it were not too expensive, D.C. told his parents, he was going to buy one after the war. My father had a similar appreciation of the jeep. He later acquired one and painted it red. However, he did not keep it long after having his first child. D.C. did not mention whether the jeep he used in Luxembourg still carried the name Susie. As the holidays approached, D.C.’s parents asked him what he wanted for Christmas. He responded: In your letter (last one) you asked me to tell you what I’d like for Christmas. Well I had to think about spending a Christmas here, & your letters is [sic] a Christmas present for me. Depression set in on the troops, even those who regularly received letters . They did not want to spend another Christmas away from home. The memories (and letters) kept them as close to home as possible. Stella, the girlfriend that D.C. had left at Camp Wolters, still wrote every day. However, his affection for her was not the same as before. In a letter to his parents, D.C. wrote the following: I still receive a letter a day from Stella, she’ll probably slow up a bit because I haven’t written her in 2 weeks. I lose interest in writing anyone except you. Wrote & told her once that I guess the letters I’d sent her must have been sunk. Even with D.C.’s letters “sunk,” Stella still wrote. It is difficult to say what might have happened if D.C. had not been so far away or if he had not been distracted by the circumstances. The war was hard on 80 Mrs. Cordie’s Soldier Son everyone, and emotions and commitments were unpredictable. One popular radio commentator at the time was Gabriel Heater. His programs were extremely optimistic, to the point that the soldiers generally discounted what he had to say. He frequently began his broadcast with, “Ah, there’s good news tonight . . .” Once D.C. commented that he and the boys in his detachment all wondered how long ago Gabriel Heater had won the war. The boys were anxious to go home. In the postscript to one of his letters D.C. expressed his frustration and homesickness: P.S.: Heard from Ted. He’s in France...