Link to Family Tree to understand family relationships.
Today we have a letter from soldier Harry Lowell to his sister Eva Goldsmith in San Francisco.
Philippines
June 3, 1945Dear Sis,
I am writing this letter from a little restaurant near town. I have chosen this spot because I don’t want to be disturbed or influenced by the monotony of my usual army environment. Here it goes – a letter from your escapist brother.
First of all I’d better apologize again for my laxness. To come to think of it, I haven’t even congratulated you on your marriage and, believe me, I have begun to consider myself an inconsiderate, heartless scoundrel of the highest caliber. On May 5 I suddenly remembered your birthday but could do nothing about it, save be with you in thought. I am trying to convince you that I have not forgotten you or anybody else even if I hadn’t written for some time. In my spare time I turn philosopher and as such cannot force myself to sit down and write letters. I appeal to your good heart again and ask your forgiveness. Granted? Thank you. (I don’t imagine your husband has a high opinion of me; I leave it to you to tell him that I am not as bad as I seem to be – oh yeah?) So much for that.
I guess you know how I felt when I received Tillie’s telegram; from it I perceived that all was well. I thought so until I found out from one of your letters that all wasn’t as well as it should be. I trust that all is well now. My mind is full of plans for the future and I can hardly wait for the day of our reunion. It has been a long time.
I know you are doing all you can and I feel helpless over here. As far as ever getting a furlough is concerned, I may as well forget all about it. No way. Another close friend of mine in my unit applied for an emergency leave because his mother had been given only a few months to live. After one month of red tape he received a negative reply signed by some second lieutenant in supreme headquarters. You can see how easy it is to get home; count me out for another two years. (For your information, I have only 54 points as of today.) I have submitted myself to fate. C’est la guerre et c’est la vie!
Well, I might as well tell you about our odyssey. We left New Guinea in an overloaded Liberty and roamed the sea for over thirty days; the journey was spiced with rumors, plenty of cussing, and poker games.
I have seen quite a bit of Manila and found nothing but debris; from the looks of the ruins, Manila must have been a pretty city at one time. Many towns have been burnt to the ground; passing through these places the first time I felt a feeling of guilt for being a member of civilization that has permitted wars to cause such destruction. America is lucky not to feel the immediate blows of war.
I hope the world will wake up this time and prevent wars in the future. Some people say that wars cannot be prevented and that there will always be wars (according to the Bible). I still maintain that wars can be prevented; that is our problem from now on. (I am still the unshakeable idealist.) I haven’t read any of your opinions on the subject in your letters lately. I’d better cut short my idealistic doubletalk and proceed with the description of my travels. Passing through a lot of towns our little convoy was greeted by all junior members of the population. Their battle cry was “Victory, Joe”; variations of that battle cry are: “H’llo Joe, gimme a cigarette; Victory Joe, chewing gum, chocolate;” etc. Some of these kids are quite cute and I always grow softhearted and play Santa Claus giving my candy rations away.….
I am getting my fill of bananas, pineapples, mangoes, and other tropical fruit which are not known in the states. In spite of all these tropical delicacies, I’d still settle for a T-bone steak and a baked potato (and apple pie, maybe).
Incidentally, how has married life affected your cooking? Don’t be surprised if I barge in on you one of these years and I won’t want to be disappointed then. You know my preferences; and don’t forget that gallon of milk!
Well old girl, that is enough for today. Give my best regards to all and announce to everybody that I have emerged from my epistolary hibernation and that I will start a new season of vigorous correspondence. Amen.
Love,
HarryP.S. Tell your spouse that I think, he should have taken me in consideration before he married you. Or does he believe in taking the bad with the good?
A lot has happened in 1945 while Harry was serving in the South Pacific. His sister got married on his birthday in January. A few months later, they learned that their mother had been released from Ravensbrück and was now in Istanbul and needed financial assistance to join her family in California. In the May 17 post, we saw that Harry gave Eva power of attorney and access to money to help. He feels powerless so far away and sees no likelihood of getting home soon. He mentions having 54 points. According to an article on the National WWII Museum in New Orleans website, a soldier needed 85 points to be allowed to return home.
Harry describes his journey from New Guinea to the Philippines on a Liberty Ship. One of the last remaining Liberty Ships, the Jeremiah O’Brien, is docked at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco.
As I read Harry’s description of the ruins of Manila, I wonder how much he was thinking of how his own home in Vienna had been affected by the war. No wonder he was so empathetic.