I was only four years old when my daddy went away to war, so I only know what my mother and grandparents told me about him, and from reading his letters later as I grew older. Unfortunately, they were destroyed in a fire, so I no longer have them.

My daddy was just an ole farmboy from Missouri, and he loved his family and his country. One letter that my mother got from him, he was telling her about walking through a town seeing little children laying in the streets. He said, "I hate this war, but I am glad it's here and not in the good ole USofA".

He was a machine gunner in his company, and he had received the "sharpshooters" medal. Money was of course really tight; he always sent mother some and his mother some. I know now that he was left with nothing.

I received a package from him one day and it was a stuffed dog. He wrote that all the guys in his unit had chipped in and then signed it, so he could send his little Bonnie a birthday present. In his letter of 22 March 1945 he stated that he didn't think the war could last much longer in Germany, and he was counting the days till he could come home. He was killed on 11 April 1945.

He looked forward also to looking up his brother, who was stationed somewhere in England. Even under combat conditions he thought about his letters not being too interesting, as he didn't know what to write about. His thoughts were always of his family and his little daughter Bonnie.