December 16-18 1944

 A special guest appearance! A VMail to his little sisters, Herbie and Nene (aka Neva and Anita)! 

Dec 16 1944

Dear Neva & Anita,

I ought to get busy and write you kids a letter so I can get some more from you.

I got a couple of letters from little Jim so will have to answer them soon. He didn't write much of course he doesn't love me, just wants to keep in good with the family.

I guess, from what you and Ma write, you kids are doing ok in your school work. May be I should say that about the men folk too. I want you to be good and not forget little Jim also the navy [?].

Ma wrote saying I got some pretty good pictures on the color film, I sure hope they get here soon. Maybe they will about the time we get ready to leave here to come home.

Well answer soon

Jack. 

Dec 17 1944

Dear Ma

Seeing how I recived some old Vmail from you and the Kids I'll try to answer it. When I say old I mean old it was dated from Oct 15-18. Its meant letters so I was happy to get them even then. 

It warmed up some last night infact quit a bit. I hope it stays this way a while longer.

Say not reciving any mail from you I don't know if you are reciving mine. Thats the big reason for writing Vmail this time. I thought maybe the air mail wasn't getting through so am hoping this will. I wrote you a short letter yesterday and put a cuple of pictures in it so we will see which gets there first. 

There was another big bunch of pacages came in to day but none for me. 

Well will close now

Jack. 

This next one was so delicate. It's on thin typing paper and his pen was quite short of ink. His letters are difficult to decipher on the best of days! 

Dec 17 1944

Dear Ma

I will proceed to write and tell you I recived a package from you today. It was one that was addressed to my old A.P.O. it was the one that had the candy & cookies in. Thanks a lot for sending it. 

I recived 2 letters from Little Jim, one yesterday and one today. He propably wrote you evey thing he wrote me and then some. I'll have to get busy and answer them tonight. 

I went back to London yesterday, you see I had a 48 hour pass. I didn't do much of any thing while there just killed time. We took in a couple of movies but they weren't any thing to brag about. We did here a buzz bomb go off, but it sounded quite a ways off. 

I got the pictures we took while in London the last time but they aren't too good. It wasn't very good weater to take pictures in and then we were taking them out of the back of a taxi. I'll put them in a envelope and mail them to you.

I guess the mail will start comming in one of these days, no one seems to be getting much of any thing. I hope you are getting my mail a little better than I am getting yours. 

Well I cant think of any more to write so will close. 

Hope you got the money order Jack

The same day he writes to Margaret. As a reminder, in his last letter to her, written a week before, he popped the question! 

Dec 17 1944

Dear Margaret

I will try to write you a letter, but don't know how it will come out. It's so darn hard to write when I don't get any mail, also when I don't do any thing to write about. 

I went to London again the other day but didn't do any thing but take in a couple of movies. I can't even rember the names of them. We did hear a V-2 buzz bomb go off, but it must have been a couple of miles off, at least it didn't hit me. I started to jump but stoped to think I had heard it not felt it so went a head eating. I have gotten so when any thing make a sudden noise it scares me. 

It has been rather cold the last few days but did warm up some to day. I just wish it would warm up some more and then stay that way, but this is England. 

The boys have been having some pretty good black jack games of late. They have been playing all night keeping every one awake and then griping about us being in the barracks the next day. Oh well payday just comes twice a month. 

It seems they have stoped giving the D.F.C. the last few fellows that have finished haven't gotten it. I was hoping I could get it but I guess I can figure I wont get it. 

Well I guess I'll close for now so write soon

Love 

Bill

We get the first glimpse of his PTSD. I so wish it was recognized and treated back then. 

D.F.C, as you recall, is the Distinguished Flying Cross. 

Our final letter for now was written the next day: 

Dec 18, 1944

Dear Ma

Seeing how I recived 2 letters and a vmail from you to day I'll try to write you. I am pretty tired to night so if I don't make sense in places just over look it. 

I got the letter with the 3 neg. in it. I showed them to the fellows & they think they are all right. I haven't tried to get a projector to see them with but will in the next few days. I sure hope the rest of them get here soon but suppose it will be some time. 

I read in the paper a while back where some German prisoner escaped & was recaptured his last name was Kruse. I don't know how common the name is but I am not going to look him up either. 

I am sorry you got the wrong impression of the air medal – it just comes as a matter of course. When I finish my tour I should have 5 clusters on it, of course that means 1 silver.

About that other clipping you sent about the 17 flying wild. We had sort of the same experience but didn't bail out, it was funny after we got to thinking about it. Evey thing has been going swell though so don't you worry. 

About sending that clipping to the Blade – I suppose you just spun your wheels there. I made it out to be sent to the blade also.

Well I'll close for tonight will try to write again tomorrow

Jack.

The Blade is newspaper Toledo (Ohio) Blade, published since 1835. We'll never know what news they were sending (maybe about the air medal?), but Ohio is where a lot the Eutslers had settled and where they were still living. 

Kruse is a name most common in Germany, but is not one of the top 100 surnames there. 

Jack had not flown any missions in the week since the last letter I had shared. He did fly Mission 244 on December 18, the date of this letter, but bombs were not dropped due to cloud cover. No enemy air craft were encountered; no flak. "Evey" one returned to base safely. Swell.

November 9, 1944: A trip to London

 In the last batch, Jack had mentioned a planned trip to London. Well........

 

 

November 9 1944

Dear Ma

I guess I hit the jackpot the last couple of days. All of your mail finally caught up with me and it seems I got a few letters. I haven't counted them but I must have gotten around 8 letters from you alone. I got one from Bo, 2 from Nene, 1 from Little Jim also one Vmail from Glady. I had the time sorting them all out so I could get the conection of one to the other. I just hope from now on that it comes in a little better. 

I was glad to hear the color pictures came out pretty good. I was surprised the ones I took even came out. I haven't seen Eaton about if he wants prints but will take this up & let him censor it, and put it down then. I really don't belive he wants prints we just want the slides. If you would put one or two in each letter I suppose they would get here about as fast as any way you could sent them. 

We went to London on our 48 hour pass & tried to take the town in. We went on a tour and saw some of the places London is noted for. The one I really liked was St Pauls Cathedral. 

 

II

 

We also saw London Bridge, Westminster Abbey, Houses of Parliament Buckingham Palace and a whole lot of other places. We also were on Downing St It was all rather interesting. As a whole I don't think too much of London. The business distric is very poor to my notion. Its all so old and such, I guess thats why I didn't like it. Oh yes tell Nene we were at the Piccadilly Circus (its not the kind she thinks either) We took a roll of film and ran out befor we got 1/2 way started I wish we could have had some more but we are planning on going back and see if we can't get some pictures of the windows in the Cathedral & the Abby. They are really very beautiful if the sun would just come out while we were there. It started to rain so I guess its a good thing we ran out or we would have ruined the film. As soon as I get the film developed I send either the negatives or some pictures. 

 

So Bo really raves about her little Bro. Well tell her if he was just 1/2 the guy she thinks he is he woule be a pretty good guy.

Every thing has been going along swell. Infact I think we have one swell crew t seems they have all settled down quite a bit. 

So Bro Smith has been having his share of trouble as well as the rest of them. I suppose they will find the guy but none of the stuff so evey one will be the loser. 

 

III

 

I suppose I should start tapering this off as I have some more letters to write. 

I hadn't heard any thing, until you wrote, about Carol. It's too bad but I guess those things do happen. As soon as I get a hold of his address I'll see if I can get to see him. I may be able to meet him some place on a 48 if he's not too far from here. 

 

You can tell Bo I don't know where her friend is stationed. The A.P.O. no doesn't mean too much, of course if I knew him it would be too much trouble to look him up. 

 

Well I'll close now and write a few more letters

 

Jack. 

 

He mentions talking to Eaton about the promotion and taking the letter to him to be censored. Indeed, the envelope has the censor stamp and F/O Eaton's signature. F/O Donald Eaton, you may recall, was Jack's crew's navigator.  

 

 

 

And he writes to his sister Bo:

 

 

November 9, 1944

The way you write, or at least the impression I get is that I dont write you. Now you know better than that. you know I write you evey day it must be the mail system, you know it wouldn't be me. I guess I'll stop lying & tell you I figure Ma writes to you all I write so I neglect it some times. 

I went to London on my 48 and did the town up. I saw quite a few of the different places of interest. I really enjoyed seeing St. Pauls Cathedral. It is such a large building and is really beautiful. As a whole I didn't care too much about the town, evey thing is so old. I also saw where the blitz hit and also saw where a buzz bomb hit. It sort of blew up a few buildings infact there were quit a few buildings in sort of a dilapadated condition. 

I am resting up from it all today, trying to recuperate. I was writing away not bothering any one and a fellow came in and said we had missed a class. I guess we will catch it about tomorrow or the next day. Oh well all they can do is restrict us and when we can't get a pass we just set around and save our money.

While I am on that subject, if I can manage to get a little cash ahead and sent it to you do you belive you could help me out for Christmas. I wouldn't swear to it, that is about getting ahead of my self so if & when I do Ill leave it up to you from there. 

Don't tell ma but I am up for the air medal, it will probably be a couple of weeks befor I get it though. It will probably come out in the paper at home so don't write or tell her anything about it. I guess I'll have to get the Pilot on the ball and see if I can get another strip in the next 2 or 3 months. Don't get me wrong I am not strip happy just want the old stuff they call money. You see I don't have but about $140 a month but by the time they take it all out I get is about $100 of it. 

Well don't be to mean to your little kids, rember you were yet that were young once your self. 

Well I'll close so write soon

Jack. 

To remind you, the Blitz was an unrelenting air assault from Germany against the whole of Britain from September, 1940 through May, 1941. Here are some photos. 

• 15 Powerful Photos of the Blitz
• and a set of composite then-and-now photos from The Atlantic. 
  

 
A buzz bomb was also known as a V-1 flying bomb, and it was an early type of cruise missile that Germany used against London.

His $140 ($100 net) in pay would be worth $2170 ($1550) today.

 

 

And to my mother he wrote that day:

 

 

November 9 1944

 

Dear Margaret

 

Having recived another letter from you I'll try to answer it while I have a little time. If I don't do it now I probably won't get another chance for a couple of days.

I wrote I was going to London on my 48, well belive it or not I did. We went down and really took in the sights. I had my camera a long so we also got some pictures, the only trouble we had was we ran out of film. The navigator started in and had the roll finished befor we really got started. We took in Westminster Abby, St. Pauls Cathedral, Buckingham Palace and a whole lot of other places. I really enjoyed going in St Pauls, it's really a enormuse place and really beautiful. We are planning on going back and spending a little more time at a few of them. I didn't think much of the business discric but I guess it's all right. You can't buy a thing because evey things rationed. You can't even get a good meal, just take what you get and hope you can make it back to camp. I gave one old man a can of tomatoe juice & you should have seen him he was really happy.

Oh yes I'll really have to start on you. Now are you or aren't you going to have that picture made. I don't know how I could bribe you, but I am going to have to do something. Lets not give excuses and rush right down next Sat afternoon and get it done.You know you can't look at excuses or the like so there too. Is that enough or do I have to really do something to get you to do it. 

I really hit the jackpot as far as letters go, yesterday I got about a dozen of them. I guess my mail is just about to catch up with me I hope. I even got a letter from India, it got here as fast as Moms letters have been. 

I haven't heard from that dear uncle of mine but I guess he still has woman trouble. The last time I wrote him I told him he ought to just go a head and get married and either end all his trouble or start it all over again. He hasn't answered that one. 

I have had a break on the work but will probably start in a day or so. They throw it at us for a few days & then let up. I like the let up part of it. 

Oh yes did I tell you I froze a ear the other day. I didn't know it until the next day, when it started hurting. It seems to be all right now all though it hurts some when it gets cold. 

The weather has turned off cold, infact it froze last night. Its cold enough that I guess I'll have to start wearing my long handles.

I hope you are a good Demo because it looks like Roosevelt has it for another 4 years. I was glad to hear it, mostly because of the war. If it wasn't time of war I wouldn't feel that way.

I am having one big time trying to finish this thing The boys are always pestering. 

Mom never did say why she didn't get to see you while she was in Alb. I don't know how much time they spent there, but I don't' think it was over a couple of days. I guess while I was home I should have left her your address or a Phone no. or some thing. 

I am still going strong on the bike, but it's still pretty hard on me. Just about evey day we take and ride around a little.

Well I guess I'll have to close now so write soon. 

Love 

Bill 

Have you noticed that since his trip to NM, he has been addressing his letters to Margaret instead of Maggie? I wonder if she told him that her preference was Margaret. She once told me that she never much cared for Maggie, a nickname he had bestowed on her. 

Longhandles is a slang term for long underwear. I had never heard it before!

Jack has flown three more missions since his first bunch in late October. 

 

On the morning of Saturday, November 4, they were one of 38 planes who bombed an Oil Refinery in Hamburg during Mission 227. It was a successful, no-casualty, no-damage mission.

They bombed railroad marshaling yards on Mission 228 and another oil refinery on Mission 229 on November 5 and 6. 

From Mighty Eighth War Diary by Roger A. Freeman:

When the bombers returned from Frankfurt on 5 November 1944, deteriorating weather caused some formations to be diverted to coastal airfields in England. Part of the 351st group put down at RAF Beccles in high winds, blowing rain and overcast. When conditions improved the B-17's prepared to take off but the pilots could not understand the instructions from the control tower given by an RAF man with a very pronounced accent. Confusion reigned until the formation leader, Major John Gorham, decided the only thing to be done was to go to the tower himself and handle the radio "American fashion." It was yet another case of two nations divided by a common language.

Gorham was the lead pilot in the formation that Jack and his crew were flying (Kale is Jack's pilot). Images from 351st.org.

Their flight path: