Dekalb County AlArchives History Records.....Driskill, Herman Charles 1944 ww2 - Letters multiple ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/al/alfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Charles Kevin Driskill ckdriskill@tds.net March 6, 2005, 9:33 pm WWII Letters Home Pvt. Herman C. Driskill Service Btry. 69th A.F.A. Bn. April 5, 1944 Dear Mother, I received another one of your letters yesterday with the picture. I was very glad to hear that all of you were getting along O.K. and to get the picture. Mother, I still don't understand why you think I am not getting your letters because every time I write to you I tell you about receiving your letters and another thing, you have the wrong idea about all of your letters being censored they are not censored so you see you can write anything you wish. Yes, I know you would be glad to send anything I would request, but there is not anything that you could send me that I would need. I am getting plenty to eat, or so I reckon I must be because I am gaining weight all the time. I even get more candy than I want and I also get plenty of chewing gum. I got a letter from Clyde R. yesterday. Don't worry about me. I am O.K. Love, Herman Pvt. Herman C. Driskill Serv. Btry, 69th A.F.A. Bn April 12, 1944 Dear Home folks, I have just finished eating breakfast even if the sun is two hours high. I can sleep as late as I want to every morning. I received your letter yesterday of March 30 and, of course I was glad to hear from you. I am still getting along fine. I am glad to hear about Barney being deferred to farm. I'll bet Raines and Clyde will be in the service soon or at least I'm afraid they will. I just wonder if C.B. is still working at the Goodyear. I guess Papa is proud of his colt. I am sure it is a fine one. Yes, I guess Harvell could make more money working in some defense plant than he could farming. I hope Verlon and Kenneth will help all they can in the field and of course, I hope they will help you, mother, all they can too. Love, Herman Italy Pvt. Herman C. Driskill Serv. Btry, 69th A.F.A. Bn Sunday, June 18, 1944 Dear home folks, I hope this finds all of you well. I am O.K. I am not marching very much now and I am not in combat. I got a letter from Raines yesterday. He writes like he likes the Navy. I am glad Papa has pretty cotton and I hope the boys will help all lthey can in the crop this time. I suppose you all have already received my cablegram that I sent a few days. Mother, you said in your letter that you would like to know Eugene's address. Well here it is. Cpl. Eugene Oliver Service Co. 15th Tank Bn. APO I56 c/o Postmaster New York, New York Love, Herman Italy Pvt. Herman C. Driskill Serv. Btry, 69th A.F.A. Bn Sunday, June 25, 1944 Dear C.B., You can't imagine how glad I was to hear. Just hope all of you at home are O.K. I am getting along just fine, but I'm a little tired. I've been cutting hair about all day. I even cut the colonel's hair today. I fired a German rifle some today and I didn't do bad with it and I also fired a Jerry pistol a few days ago. I am back in combat now, but I don't mind it. I am in a safe place. I haven't heard a German shell in several days. I got a letter from Clyde Kuykendall a few days ago. He is back at Ft. Bliss, Texas. Be good and help Mama and Papa work all you can. Love, Herman Italy Pvt. Herman C. Driskill Serv. Btry, 69th A.F.A. Bn June 27, 1944 Dear Home Folks, I hope this finds all of you O.K. I'm am getting along fine. I have just finished my days work. I am still getting by without doing very much work, but I do have to do some more than I did when I was at Anzio, because we are moving faster now. Grady Taylor came here yesterday and spent about an hour with me, and of course I was sure glad to see him. He said that I was the first person that he had seen in three years that he ever knew in civilian life. And I also saw Bill Hulgan a few days ago, but I didn't get to talk with him. He was riding in a truck and I never got him to see me. As usual, no news, so I will say so long for this time. Love, Herman Italy Pvt. Herman C. Driskill Serv. Btry, 69th A.F.A. Bn June 28, 1944 Dear Mother, Just a few lines to let you know that I am O.K. I hope all of you are getting along alright. I received your letter today and I also got Clarice's letter yesterday. Mother, you said in your letter that you worried about me and that you knew I was in a lot of danger. You are mistaken. I am not in very much danger. I have only heard one enemy shell in the last month. The only time the Germans has made life miserable for me was when I was at Anzio. You said in your letter that you all received my check. Was you meaning the money order I sent or the $25.00 allotment the government deducted from my pay every month? Love, Herman Pvt. Herman C. Driskill Serv. Btry, 69th A.F.A. Bn. Sunday, July 23, 1944 Dear Home Folks, I hope you are all O.K. I am alright. Mother, I received you and Forestine's letter today. I sent you all a cablegram about three weeks ago but I guess you didn't get it or you would have said something about it in your letters. I've received three copies of the Fort Payne Journal in the last few days and I always read the Adamsburg news and usually see some of your names in it. I just wonder if Bernice, Clyde, and Joe went home with Clarice. If they did, I know that all of you were glad to see them. I guess Papa and the boys are working hard in the fields trying to finish their crop. Love, Herman Pvt. Herman C. Driskill Serv. Btry, 69th A.F.A. Bn. Sunday, July 23, 1944 Dear Mother, Just a few lines to let you know that I am O.K. and I received your letter of July 12. I am very glad to hear that all of you are getting along alright. Yes, I am sure you enjoyed your visit to Sand Mountain and too, I know that you were tickled for Grandpapa and mother and Aunt Maud and Cleo to visit you all. I am sorry that you did not get the flower that I sent you, They told me when I put in an order for it that there was a possibility of you never getting it. Of course you might get it yet. You know how slow the Army or government is sometimes. Well, the chow whistle is blowing, so I had better go and eat. P.S. I have been getting the Fort Payne paper regular. Love, Herman Pvt. Herman C. Driskill Serv. Btry, 69th A.F.A. Bn. Saturday, Aug. 19, 1944 Dear Home Folks, Just a few lines to let you know that I am O.K. Hope all of you are alright. I am now somewhere in southern France. I like this country fairly well. The people here are very nice to American soldiers, and they and appear to be a better class of people than the Italians. I haven't received any mail in several days, but it is caused from the moving. Well I will close for this time I will write again soon. Don't worry about me, I am doing alright. Love, Herman Somewhere in Germany Pvt. Herman C. Driskill Co.B, 823 T.D. Bn. Dec. 6th, 1944 Dear Sis, I guess you thought I wasn't going to write any more. I have been moving around so much that I haven't had time to write. I am now permanently attached to this outfit. I like it here alright. The boys seem to be a nice bunch of fellows. I am with the Ninth Army. The next time you see any of Uncle Jess's folks, find out if Carl is with the Ninth Army and if he is, get his address and send it to me. I have an idea that he is here somewhere near me. I never did tell you I was with the Seventh Army, but I was and I am sending you a Seventh Army patch with this letter. You may not understand why this patch represents the Seventh Army, but you will when you count the steps on one side of it. Tell Harvell that the outfit he was with is over here in combat not far from me. I've been around and seen a lot of country since I left my old outfit. I spent a few days in Belgium and I've also been in Holland and I think Holland is the best country I've seen since I left U.S.A. Most of all the houses in Holland are modern and beautiful and the people here are nice and clean. This is a good country here, of course it is torn up pretty bad by the war. There isn't but very few civilian people here. Most of them were evacuated before the Americans came in. what few German people there are here very seldom have anything to say to the Americans. Of course we don't mind that. I wrote Jim a letter yesterday. I haven't received any mail in the last month, but my mail should catch up with me now before long since I won't be moving around so much. I am with a Tank Destroyer outfit in case you don't know by looking at my address. Answer when you can and, too, let the folks at home know that you heard from me. Love, Herman Additional Comments: These letters were kept by Herman's sister, Clarice Driskill. When I bought her house, I found the letters in a cardboard box in a shed behind the house. Also in the box were school books that Clarice and Herman had shared. Both graduated from Geraldine High School in 1932. Their names were written in the inside covers of the books. Photo: http://www.usgwarchives.net/al/dekalb/photos/gmt73driskill.jpg File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/al/dekalb/history/letters/gmt73driskill.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/alfiles/ File size: 9.6 Kb