My sister Katie and I have memories of being at the kitchen table during dinner with Armand, and him gently nudging one of us and saying "would you please pas the habib?". This is what he called pepper. The name Habib in Arabic means "beloved". He certainly loved his pepper. One day while visiting him on Gordon Street, he showed me some photographs of him during the war, including the photo of him with his friend "Habib". This, of course, confused me. "But habib is pepper!" I wish now that I could remember if he told me a story connected with this man. Thankfully, we have this heartfelt letter from him, which speaks to what must have been an instant friendship between these two men during the invasion of North Africa. Kindness is a wonderful thing, and in this uncertain world it is good to have reminders that no matter what differences we have in race, religion, etc, we are all human beings trying to live our lives with kindness and grace. I hope you enjoy this letter as much as I did. I want to thank Sean's friend Carly, who kindly gave us a lovely translation. The parenthetical notes are hers. Click on "comments" above to add your thoughts and/or memories! January 19 1946 My dear Armand, (mon cher Armand/ it is a term of endearment, my very good friend…) It is with great joy that I received your wonderful/thoughtful letter yesterday morning dated December 20th. I never expected to hear from you (une telle missive??? I can’t read it) after such a long time since you were stationed in my house (chez moi could mean actually in his house or in his country..) in November the month of the American landing in North Africa. I too won’t stop thinking about it and I will think about it for a very longtime ( I assume in the letter to Habib, Armand talked about his experience of the war…). We were so happy to see you (Armand et the Americans) arrive and deliver us from German occupation/control, our happiness was immeasurable/we were overcome with joy, I’m sure you must have noticed (our joy). For the moment, my entire family and I are doing very well and we wish, with all our hearts that all is going well for you. However/only, I would like to, before closing this letter, tell you that my children are “Presque nus”= almost naked / so are without clothing/have almost nothing. If you could by any chance send me, which I would reimburse, some clothes for them, you would be doing me the most generous favor in the world. As you know, I have a 13-year-old son, a 9 year old (son) and a 6 year old (son) (I wanted to remind you..) so that you would have an idea of the range of clothing that you could send/ that need to be sent. Please do not forget to say hello to all of your comrades (the soldiers in your squad..) who were with you at my house. Here, it is still the same, there is still misery but we are managing/getting along in order to fight against (le sort! )death/our situation/the evil powers here! If in passing, you need/would like anything, dates or something else (fruit…maybe), do not forget to tell me/don’t hesitate to let me know. It would give me great pleasure to send these things to you. If by any chance you have collector stamps, would you mind sending them to me because I have a collection and I thank you in advance. Having nothing more to tell you/say, I leave you shaking your hand (it means with “my finest compliments” “all of my respect”) and always keeping you in my thoughts! You remain in my thoughts. Habib
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A wintry scene from Wisconsin, with a sweet note from Hugo. Antonetta must have enjoyed receiving this! Click on "comments" above to add your thoughts and/or memories! Pvt. H. Santomasso
ASN 31274243 2nd EWG. BN. Co B. APO 2 Camp McCoy Wisconsin How do you like this scene? It's nicer than this now. Feeling fine. Hope you are the same. Hugo The last letter we have from Edmund, and perhaps the last letter anyone ever received from him. It happened by chance that this post crops up just before Veteran's Day, and I'm glad that it has. Edmund was eager to fight for his country. When he writes in this letter about being delayed in leaving for their destination, he says; "I guess you’ll take this as good news, but it’s a disappointment to me." When we find ourselves sad that Edmund was taken from us so young with so much life before him, it helps to remember that he was eager and willing to fight for our country, like so many other brave soldiers. Like Hugo, and Armand, and many others. Men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for us... They were all part of the Greatest Generation, of which we are proud. Click on "comments" above to add your thoughts and/or memories! June 8, ’44
Hello Folks, Surprised? Well, so am I - to find myself back here at El Centro. No doubt you thought I was well on my way, which I would have been, had we not run into a delay. Before shoving out, our planes have to stand an acceptance check at a certain station here on the coast. It resulted in our being grounded. It seems that we are equipped with a certain make gas tank, which has to be replaced by another make. When? We get the new cells, it will be several weeks before they are all installed. It looks like I’ll be around for awhile yet, though I don’t know whether we’ll do the job here, or at some other station. The rest of our squadron should be at our destination by now, as it’s weeks since they left. It’s my guess, that we won’t be seeing them for 4 months. We should be ready to start out again in about a month, but it will be some time before we catch them. All that are here, are flight crews; the rest are gone. Even my sea-bag is out there, waiting. I guess you’ll take this as good news, but it’s a disappointment to me. I’m sorry if you were worried not hearing from me, but now that I’m back here, there is no restriction. I received the money order the very next day after I called. The day after that we left to have the planes checked, and I couldn’t write to thank you. It’s going to have to last me a long time because heaven only knows when I’ll be paid again. I don’t have any need for money right now, so there’s no need to worry, unless we stay here for quite a while. once I get out of the States, I certainly won’t need any. That’s why I signed over my pay to go home. I don’t know when you’ll receive the first check, probably not for months, as I told you when I phoned. I don’t guess they’ll send the regular allotment either. It will probably be all at once. I see by the paper that the Allies have been making splendid progress in Italy, and have gained a foothold in France. The invasion of France is the beginning of the end of Germany. Victory in the war of Europe is not many months away, and I hope and join in your prayers for the safety of Armand and Hugo. Regards to the folks. Love, Ed P.S. You may continue writing to me here, although some of my letters have been forwarded to the F.P.O., and so long as I’m here, I can grab them. P.S. Jr. Ted Wiesenthal and I took some pictures, which Ted’s brother in law is developing in New York. He has your address and will mail you a set. This is the second to last letter I have from Edmund. This week he mentions that he is likely "on his way" in the very near future. It is hard to read this letter without being overwhelmed by the foreshadowing of what's to come. When you put the solemnity of that aside, it is easy to see that the essence of this letter is the love that our family shared. The packages, the letters, the connection between these people show that through the miles they were always together in spirit. And probably still are, up there somewhere... Click on "comments" above to add your thoughts and/or memories! May 14, 1944 Hello Mom, Rose, It’s been several days since I last wrote, during which I received the package of blades, cigarettes and toilet articles, and also the overcoat. Thanks very much for all the useful things contained in the package. They will certainly be needed in a little while. Tomorrow, I’m sending home a package of a few more things I won’t be needing for awhile. Last week I heard from Ida, Rose, Hugo, and Armand. Hugo received my last letter, but Armand wrote his before my letter got to him. Both boys told me that everything is OK, and in good health. Hugo did a little jumping didn’t he? He says he likes England better than his last station. I wrote a letter to Olga last week, and I told her if I had liberty, I would go to L.A., and get on that program that she listens to. Sorry, Olga, but all I had was one day off that weekend, which isn’t time enough to make for Los Angeles. I can’t say much about activities right now. I can say, that before the week is up, I’ll be on my way. Give my regards to all at home, and I’ll be seeing you again. Love, Ed EXTRA! EXTRA! Here is a grocery list, written on the back of the envelope. I don't know about you, but I get a kick out of it. See if you can make out the last thing listed... It would take awhile for someone who isn't Italian. :) |
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