Below is an exact transcription of a V-Mail my grandfather wrote while deployed in England during WWII. It's something my family has cherished and I just wanted to share it with the people I care about. I attached pictures of the original letter below.
December 25, 1943
Dear Brother,
Last night X-mas eve a soldier strolled into the Red Cross building in town. He was alone.
He looked around and saw the clock on the wall, it was five minutes to midnight. All was quiet though there were 50 soldiers or more. One soldier was near the radio phonograph he was playing "White X-mas." The solider who had just walked in smiled a grim smile and seated himself alongside of one of his buddies and waited till midnight.
He looked up and noticed the hands of the clock together signified midnight. At that moment he rose and wished his buddie a "Merry Christmas" with this he slowly walked out again into the night.
The night was dark, darkest he had ever seen. It wasn't cold however, though he was well clothed.
He wore his overcoat and his ever present scarf. As he trecked the streets of this English town, still his mind was four thousand miles away. He thought of the christmas before and awaited anxiously for the x-mas when he could be together again with the ones he loves. He found some consolation however, in his pipe which he smoked throughout his walk back to camp. As he walked he passed merry makers singing and laughing, he was somewhat bewildered and couldn't understand. Nevertheless he kept walking. His walk took him through the town and into the country. There, all was quiet outside of his own footsteps. He passed huge shadows with ugly forms that seemed to mock him, a sharp contrast to what he was accostomed to back home. These shadows were of tress who stood boldly out as if to challenge him, but fear wasn't in his heart for there was no room for it. Nevertheless his shoes kept clicking away into the night till finally this soldier found himself in the barrack which he now calls his home. There huddled around the stove he saw two soldiers. They slowly raised their heads and wished him a merry x-mas, he replied weakly, "the same to you." He walked up to his bunk and hanged his coat. While he was hanging his coat he spied an envelope and grasped it eagerly for inside that envelope were some snapshots of the people he was thinking about. After satisfying his eyes he proceeded to go to bed. It was one O'clock then and with the thought of his loved ones in mind he went to sleep.
That soldier if you already don't know was
Your brother,
Paul
P.S. Please excuse me for being so sentimental.
Merry Christmas, everyone. Hope you got to spend it with those you love.
-Ken
