Encoded for the Veterans History Project, September 23, 2021.
All letters in the Henry Walker McIver collection were digitized.
The following letters were transcribed from the handwritten originals by Veterans History Project staff. No alterations to this transcription has been made, although spelling errors are indicated with [sic]. Any special emphasis (i.e. underlining) is presented *between asterisks*.
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[[At the top of this page is a detailed city scene, likely in France. In the background there are storefronts with French written on them; in the middle of the illustration traffic, consisting of streetcars, trucks, cars, and bicycles, can be seen traveling both ways. The streetcar is colored a reddish-orange, the only part of the illustration in color. The foreground focuses on people on a sidewalk beside the road, including a woman walking a poodle, a solider having a drink, and a pair of two people, one of whom appears to be bumming a cigarette off of a solider, standing under a lamppost with an arrow reading "ABRI". The people in the illustration are a mixture of soldiers and civilians and from a mixture of countries based on their dress.]]
Feb 12 - 1945
Dear Folks -
In reply to your frequent comments on the crowded busses at home - there's a transportation problem over here too!! And in almost all points relative dimensions, appearance, and passengers, this is a true picture ... a photo wouldn't show much different. It's funny to watch the trolleys and busses back in town ... as they continually carry a surplus above capacity! Although the trolleys look like copies of the old [Touneville?] model - I've seen some nice trolley-busses - which are very smooth in their pick ups - fast - and much more modern in appearance. Like the
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street cars though, they operate with doors always open - and aside from having the insides jammed as at home, they carry any one else who can hang on outside - either on steps, bumpers - grapsing window ledges - all strictly in violation of our accustomed city safety laws. Mounting and dismounting is also pretty much at the discretion of the individual - governed only by their respective agility. It's not unusual to see a couple of people chasing a bus or trolley fullspeed [sic.] down the middle of the road and making a great leap to snare a door rail and pull themselves in.
The bicyclists come in for their share of hitchhiking too - every bus + truck seems to have one or two holding onto the side for a tow. That practice is also prevalent in the country as they risk their necks shooting along at 60 kms per h.
Late this afternoon the spell was finally broken. For more than a week I hadn't had as much as one letter ... and today I got - one! I hope that speaks of a
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change of fortun [sic.]. The one was from Aunt May - Jan 24. Old man Winter pulled a dirty trick when he picked out this year to deluge you with such a season! Beyond your discriptions [sic.] I was reading in the current S + S's that NY State got hit again Their [sic.] doesn't seem to be any letup [sic.] does there.
The radio's going now. It's on a German Station - and they've been playing a bunch of US swing - just finished "Chatanooga [sic.] Choo-Choo" - it's evidently for domestique [sic.] consumption for the announcements are all in kraut - there was a short interruption [sic.] for news ... or at least I think that's what it was - as a lot of place-names were mentioned (it couldn't have been very cheerful for them at present) Right now, they've reverted to a regular Prussian style [omph-bah?] and clarinet version of "The man on the Flying Trapeze" - and it's being sung in Deutsch. The old program, of "Sally" .... the Tedeschi's propoganda [sic.] aimed at us - still comes in, though I haven't heard it in some time. That's mostly US records being spun - with the honey-voiced Sally telling the Yanks
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how the British are double dealing them - how they're putting everthing [sic.] over against us behind our backs at [Aoun?]. Then she'll greet outfits by name and give her guesses as to what they'll be doing next. But the US + British stations give it right back - what they've got to say, I'll never know - but they often switch over to German. Heard a news broadcast the other night given in Dutch - and it seemed just beyond understandable. It's similar to German - but simpler -
Saw a Russian movie the night - produced in the Soviet - but the sound track switched so that the characters still mouthed Russian but sounded English - and the "sous-titles" were in French. It's about what I expected - the partisan Russians turning back the bestial bums. Although it probably contains a high element of truth, I, and most all other Americans, look on such obvious flag-wavers and all with great distrust.
That is a strange point - for soon after we were in France there was a US picture brought in "Joe Smith, American" made before Dec 7 '41, when this defense plant worker was picked up by Axis
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agents, tortured , and finally escaped back to his family in the suburbs amidst a lot of quotations to his wife + son + captors etc. 100% hooey as it was shown at home - but as I questioned a couple of French about it after, their reaction was much different. It struck them as a fun, logical picture! For one thing most of them have seen the Gestapo operate - and atrocity stories that I'd always believed 95% propag. - are fact to them. They've seen people hanged - known others who've been "questioned" in whatever dubious building was the local Gestapo headquarters. One man I've met, who wore gloves, had been questioned with pliers concerning some under ground.
Very sorry to hear of George's accident, getting burned could easily be worse than picking up a bullet. I'd never heard from him since he went out to the Pacific
The letter just mentioned Dad speaking to, I imagin [sic.], Bob Howe, as he's about the only one who'd fill those
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qualifications. Bob left us just before we [hit?] for France under rather sudden circumstances - and we never had a chance to see him or know he was going home
Well, once again - that's the story from here -
So long for a while,
love Hank
Cpl H W McIver 12130759
6828 Signal Detachment
APO 758 c/o Pm NEW YORK
Mrs Henry W McIver
202 MILBURN STREET
ROCHESTER 7, NEW YORK