Pacific Ocean
March 29Dear Eva,
This is my last chance to drop you a few lines and to let you know that I am safe and sound on board a ship. You won’t hear from me for quite a while, for this trip might take some time. As soon as I arrive at my destination I’ll write you all about it.
The ship is overcrowded and I feel like a belligerent sardine; sometimes I am inclined to run amok and throw everyone overboard. (I’d better get ahold of myself, it’s going to be a long journey.)
My new address will be APO 358 c/o Postmaster San Francisco. By the time I get to any destination I’ll probably have a heap of mail waiting for me.
Well, say hello to everybody and tell them that letters will be forthcoming.
Love,
Harry
This letter from Harry to his sister Eva doesn’t have a year on it – I assume it was sent in 1945. Prior to March 1945, Harry sent letters from New Guinea and after that he sent them from the Philippines.
I’m not sure when or where the photo below was taken.
On the back, Harry writes:
"Would you have ever dreamed that I would become a soldier some day?"
In German: Korporal Harry (“Heinrich you're terrifying me..." or “or "Henry! I dread to look on thee" from Goethe’s Faust, a subtle nod to his mother and an acknowledgment from this all-American boy that he and his sister share a past others don’t know about.)