Letters To Home - August 10, 1951

Hammelburg, Germany
August 10, 1951

We're still waiting for the rest of the 631st Field Artillery to arrive. An advanced party arrived about an hour ago from Mannheim. The outfit trained at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and isn't attached to any particular division as yet. I thought it might be part of the 2nd Armored, but it isn't. It's a 155 m.m. outfit, so now we have two battalions of big guns with us.

Our duties here were to clean up the barracks for the new outfit, set up beds and lockers, and generally get things in order so that they won't have to do too much work when they arrive. Not hard work, really; someone hired a bunch of Germans to do the sweeping and mopping, also the KP while we're here.

I'm a bit nervous about hanging around here too much longer. One of the guys in "A" Battery was in charge of setting up the B.O.Q., which means Batchelor Officer's Quarters. That's where the officers who don't have families with them live. Anyway, he got the bright idea of short-sheeting all the officers' bunks when the detail made up the beds. I don't think I want to be around here when the new outfit arrives, and the officers decide to go to bed. Heads may roll.

Today is the first day with no rain since I've been here. It's still chilly, though. We finished all our work on Wednesday, have been doing nothing much except playing soft ball since then. Eighteen of us are still here, so we have 2 teams, and have had some pretty fair games.

I guess I'll miss most of the latest maneuvers this time. The rest of the battery left last Monday for Wildflecken, are due back on the 14th.

Have you heard anything about the rest of the bunch that went to Fort Dix with me?
I haven't heard a word about them.