Letter from Ingolstadt, 1945 December 22

Creator

Robert D. Davis

Files

Creation Date

12-22-1945

Keywords

letter, correspondence, army, World War II

Subject

World War, 1939-1945; Letter writing; United States. Army

Description

Davis writes about upcoming Christmas celebrations, which according to Runte will be lasting all week. Davis also tells his parents about the gifts "the boys" got for Runte, Ursala, and Sonner. Cpt. Norine got words of praise about Runte from Munich. The night before Davis was involved in an investigation into the location of an arms dump.

Transcription:

22 December 1945

Dear Folks:

Well, today is the last day of work untill after Xmas, and, as Runte has proclaimed, the official celebration of the season begins tonight. Runte never tires of relating that the real holiday will last “Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday,” and that “then we’ll start all over again.” Just as a matter of fact, that is a slight exageration, because we’ll work Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, but it will be a gay 10 days.

Brady was able to get a few specific presents from home for Runte and Ursula and Sonner, and to that the others of us are going to add a huge pool of sweets and soap and various extravaganzas we picked up in the PX, and Hanes is going to throw in picture that he painted, so we’ll have a nice little stack on the table “from the boys”. Just what he’ll get us I don’t know, but I’ve heard that he is having various leather things made.

Major Norins was talking with Munich the other day, and an Officer there volunteered some very high praise of Runte, saying that he was the highest regarded of all the German Officials in Bavaria by the Upper circles of Mil. Government. I asked who the Officer was, and it was a Captain Nevins, who was at a party at Schmuckers when Runte and I visited them the first time. (Remember, when the ex-football player from OU was there?) I got Captain N. in a corner that night, and having noticed that he was an impressionable man, expalained to him the wonderful nature of our city administration and how it worked so smoothly. He was immensely impressed, and of course Runte himself makes a terrific personal hit whenever he meets anybody, because he is Personality Plus.

Last night we investigated the location of an arms dump, and took a slight detour to go to the home of farmer HEINRICH in Weichering, who stuffed us with fresh fried eggs, fresh milk, and all kinds of delicious wurst. As a Christmas Box, I gave him three packs of cigarettes, and some candy adn some ladies soap for the wife and daughter. You have no idea what a tremendous hit something like that makes on people who have never seen much of it. Runte himself, keeps constantly in American cigarettes, and Sonner too, due to their American contacts, and these contacts are not limited to us, by any means. When the 60th Regt. needed furniture for the GI’s and Officers, a great big gangling Cpl., really a big business man from Los Angeles with a 300 Taxicab business was put in charge of getting the stuff. He couldn’t get a hold of anything, so in desperation he came to Runte; Runte lead him to a hidden cache of furniture, hidden by a Nazi Furniture Storeowner, who had lost his business, and decided to evade the law; and Runte turned it over to the Regt. It was enough for 30 rooms of furniture! The Cpl. Has showered cigarettes, candy, soap, etc on the Runtes ever since. And Sonner, who, for instance, 5 days ago, found the stolen pistol of an GI, who would have other-wise been court-martialed for losing it, and gave it back to him before the Col. of the Regt. found out about it; also recovered several cartons of cigarettes stolen in the same deal, which the grateful GI’s turned over to him, as a small reward for helping the, when the chips were down.

I’ll write up the last reports now, and then be finished for four days. I certainly hope that you have a wonderful, glorious and lazy Christmas.

Love and kisses, Bob