I was struggling to find a good #stampoftheday for today when I realized that May 8 is the 75th anniversary of V-E Day, the end of WW 2 in Europe. My father’s collection doesn’t include any of the stamps marking this, mainly because most of those stamps were issued after he stopped being an active (and/or an organized) collector.

But his albums included one full of postmarked envelopes, including many of the letters he sent my mother, his parents, and a few other people from Europe, where he was a radioman in a reconnaissance vehicle from fall 1944 until the end of the war. And a few of those envelopes still had the letters inside them, including this one, thanking one sent to one of my mother’s uncles. Dated May 10, 1945, it reads as follows:

Dear Uncle

I’ve been meaning to write to you for some time…But V-E Day minus one, I got 3 lbs. of chocolate from you and Uncle Jack and on V-E Day, I got another 3 lbs. That and a little “schnapps” we had made up our celebration. I thank you and so do all the fellows, captain included, in troop headquarters. That candy was delicious.

The war over her is through but we’re still on the job. At least there’s no more artillery and snipers to worry about. We’re all wondering what’s next. About all I know is that I want to be home in the near future. I only hope, optimist that I am, I’m not Pacific bound.

Give my best to everyone. I’d like to write Uncle Jack but I lost his address, so say hello to him for me and thank him for the candy too. Thanks [torn off] to you.

Sincerely
Ben