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July 12, 1945

July 12, 1945Wabern, GermanyNo. 41 (continued) Dear Folksies,           The morning of the 7th, all of us unfortunates who were heading for the 108th piled into various vehicles — the men into the trucks and the officers and nurses (9 officers and 11 nurses) piled into my bus.  Away we went!  That was really a […]

July 11, 1945

July 11, 1945Wabern, GermanyNo. 41 (continued) Dear Folksies,          On the nite of the 6th, when I was Receiving and Medical O.D. came the bombshell or bombshells!! I tried to get ahold of Bret Smart to see a case that was a possible appendicitis and instead I got ahold of Wally Greene on the phone, […]

July 10, 1945

July 10, 1945Wabern, GermanyNo. 41 Dear Folksies,        Time certainly flitted by again in a great big hurry and here I am writing now as a member of the 108th Evac. Hospital in the town of Wabern, Germany.   The closest big town is Kassel (about 30km north of here). Confusion is still raining!!! A.P.O is […]

July 9, 1945

On July 9, 1945, while in Ellwangen, Germany, as a nurse with the 59th Evacuation Hospital, First Lieutenant Louise Moon celebrated her 29th birthday. Seventy-five years later, her daughter, Jody reported that she celebrated her 104th birthday on July 9, 2020, in Skillman, New Jersey.   . Next letter… Louise Moon at a party in […]

July 4, 1945

July 4, 1945Ellwangen, GermanyNo. 40 (conclusion) Dear Folksies,        Returned here to find another bomb-shell had dropped!  All members of the 59th, including officers and nurses, who have over 85 points are being transferred out to the 108th Evac. Hospital, and all personnel from that outfit who have under 85 points are being transferred to […]

July 3, 1945

July 3, 1945Ellwangen, GermanyNo. 40 (continued) Dear Folksies,             Some of the men – the high pointers – have already started home. Have had about 12 go already. Losing our key personnel rapidly! The boys that have left so far all had over 110 points.             Some of the officers are in Paris, Rheims, and […]

July 1, 1945

July 1, 1945Ellwangen, GermanyNo. 40 (continued) Dear Folksies,           Had an interesting talk with General Wilson for a short while before supper and then again after supper.  I knew that he had known Lois’ father some years ago, but did not know that he had been at U.C. with him, that he had known Lois […]

June 30, 1945

June 30, 1945Ellwangen, GermanyNo. 40 Dear Folksies,         Golly, an awful lot seems to happen in a few days around here every so often. I got back from Strasbourg night before last already to find some amazing things going on – but again let me annoy you by going at this a little systematically…         […]

June 28, 1945

June 28, 1945Ellwangen, GermanyNo. 39 (continued) Dear Folksies,          The Advance Party consisted of Gil, Gerbode, Chatley (Mess Officer), Eddie Welles, Nelson Bell and myself. Chatley, of course, was in charge of setting up the mess and running the men, Eddie was put in charge of the insides of all the buildings, Bell had charge […]

June 27, 1945

June 27, 1945Ellwangen, GermanyNo. 39 Dear Folksies,             Clint Green, Arnold Klopec and I had quite an adventure down near Salzberg, scouting for and finally locating a bus for transporting members of the 59th. The bus we found is much like a “Greyhound” with a long hood and capable of holding 34 people in it. […]

June 23, 1945

June 23, 1945Dachau Concentration Camp, GermanyNo. 38 (conclusion) Dear Folksies,             If one takes the time, as one frequently does, one can hear any number of stories about Dachau and other similar places throughout Germany and Poland.  Even with the small amount of German that I know, I’ve listened to tales from Poles, Russians and […]

June 19, 1945

June 19, 1945Dachau Concentration Camp, GermanyNo. 38 (continued) Dear Folksies,          The day after we evacuated Allach, the Col. wanted me to go down to Salzburg to pick up some wheels for his car.  Sooo, with Bill Gratopp driving, with Ben Romine, Wy, Heinzerling, and Klopek in the rear, we took off with the weapons-carrier […]

June 15, 1945

June 15, 1945Dachau Concentration Camp, GermanyNo. 38 (continued) Dear Folksies,             On June 8th, as Brown, Bell and Chuck Schwartz took off in the Mercedes for a tour around the country, Roy gave me the job of seeing that the hospital run by Capt. Sugranes was evacuated to the other hospitals, so that Sugranes’ hospital […]

June 11, 1945

June 11, 1945Dachau Concentration Camp, GermanyNo. 38 Dear Folksies,            We’re still the “Dachau Bosses” but are, for the most part, relinquishing our control today and tomorrow. The two Bills [Newsom and Kuzell] are turning over their hospital to the new men today, and Pete and I this morning took a couple of officers around […]

June 10, 1945

The telegram that René sent to his parents on June 10, 1945… He dispatched the telegram as soon as he received the following note from Jeanne Salomons, Yvette‘s aunt, dated May 30: “Dearest René, Just two words to tell you that Yvette just arrived and she is in good condition. We are so, so happy! […]

June 7, 1945

June 7, 1945Dachau Concentration Camp, GermanyNo. 37 (conclusion) Dear Folksies,        Our home, incidentally, consists of two floors. The men live on the ground floor and the officers on the top floor. The kitchen is on the ground floor and the men have a classy dining room right there, while we have a similar one […]

June 6, 1945

June 6, 1945Dachau Concentration Camp, GermanyNo. 37 (continued) Dear Folksies,        ‘Twould be rather difficult to try to describe this place to you or to try and give you an accurate picture of what has been done and what we are now doing.  The camp itself takes in something like 15 square miles, i.e. with […]

June 5, 1945

June 5, 1945Somewhere in GermanyNo. 37 (continued) Dear Folksies,          On the 29th, we arranged all the PX stuff for sale the next day and also did a few odds and ends. May 30th – sold all our goods. May 31st got all the PX goods together to be sold to the gang at our […]

June 4, 1945

June 4, 1945Somewhere in GermanyNo. 37 Dear Folksies,        Since last writing, numerous things have occurred. I shall attempt to give at least some of these in chronological order. Let’s see, my last was written on the nite of May 25th. Fooled around on the 26th, rounding up a few items needed, trying to find […]

May 30, 1945

René doesn’t know it yet, but on May 30, 1945, his second cousin Yvette Baumann Bernard returned to Paris. Sixteen months earlier (on January 28, 1944) she and her husband Jean Guy Bernard, ranking members of the French Resistance, had been arrested by the Gestapo at their apartment in Paris. Yvette spent 3 months in […]

May 25, 1945

May 25, 1945Heidenheim, GermanyNo. 36 (conclusion) Dear Folksies,            Here we are getting bogged down in this swamp and are looking for a better spot, buildings preferred, in this general locale. Last nite the gang had a party, but I did not feel like going – saw “Gaslight” instead, and enjoyed […]

May 24, 1945

May 24, 1945Heidenheim, GermanyNo. 36 Dear Folksies,             Again feel terribly ashamed for having let so many days slip by between letters. I hope that my laxity hasn’t been any cause for worry for you. Guess I just haven’t felt like writing at the times that I have had the opportunity and vice-versa.            Have […]

May 18, 1945

May 18, 1945Heidenheim, GermanyNo. 35 (conclusion) Dear Folksies,          You probably wonder why Bish and the Colonel are both away.  Well, they’ve really got a job on their hands!  They’re not the only ones away — their staff at the moment includes Cohn, Sewell Brown, Nelson Bell, Kuzell, Malone and Schwartz.  They are the bosses […]

May 17, 1945

May 17, 1945Heidenheim, GermanyNo. 35 (continued) Dear Folksies,                 A couple of days ago had to go back up Heidelberg way for PX rations and then the last two days was busy with selling of the rations. Quite a little business, it is. That was also quite a ride back after those rations. We […]

May 16, 1945

May 16, 1945Heidenheim, GermanyNo. 35 Dear Folksies,                     Feel very much ashamed for not having written these last 7 days – gosh, I really slipped, more than I had realized!  Have, however, been kept busy despite the fact that we have been closed.          They made me procurement officer, though on paper Bish has […]

May 10, 1945

Here are some reflections from Dr. Philip Westdahl on May 9, 1945, about the end of the War in Europe. This is from the last entry in my copy of his journal. On Tuesday, May 8, 1945 the “Stars and Stripes” was published with headlines two inches high covering half a page: “ETOWARENDS” So there […]

May 9, 1945

May 9, 1945Heidenheim, GermanyNo. 34 (conclusion) Dear Folksies,                Frank and Roy were in Munich a few days ago and reported that we ain’t seen nothing yet when it comes to wrecked cities.  It’s hard to believe that any city could be more wrecked than some of the large ones we’ve already seen, but […]

May 8, 1945

May 8, 1945Heidenheim, GermanyNo. 34V-E Day Dear Folksies,                     So today is the day which we have all been waiting for so long, and actually now that it has come it sort of is nothing more than an anti-climax and everyone is just sweating out the next few months — the question of whether […]

May 7, 1945

Here – on May 7, 1945 – are some reflections from Dr. Philip Westdahl about awaiting the formal end to the War in Europe. The BBC told of the plans being made in London to celebrate the great announcement — the ringing of bells, the blaring of sirens and the gleam of searchlights. Such celebrations […]

May 6, 1945

May 6, 1945Heidenheim, GermanyNo. 33 (conclusion) Dear Folksies,                      One wonders just where all this is going to end — I don’t see where there can ever be anything but a vicious circle.  This war was partly a result of the feeling in Germany that they had been given a raw deal in the […]

May 5, 1945

May 5, 1945Heidenheim, GermanyNo. 33 (continued) Dear Folksies,                     The trip that the Colonel, Mattie, and Wally took was apparently a most enjoyable one for all, particularly for Mattie.  They visited Jena and Weimar.  Mattie, you see, had gone to school there not so many years ago.  He said he was dismayed when he […]

May 4, 1945

May 4, 1945Heidenheim, GermanyNo. 33 Dear Folksies,                The past few days have certainly been filled with startling changes in the world.  The news has been amazing at almost every turn.  First comes Musso’s demise [April 29] and then the announcement of Hitler’s [April 30], followed rapidly by the capitulation in Italy [May 1] […]

May 1, 1945

Here – on May 1, 1945 – is an excerpt from the journal of Dr. Philip Westdahl … During this period, the usual rumors of the war’s end and the capture or death of Hitler were rife. The United Nations Conference was proceeding in San Francisco and Himler was supposed to have offered unconditional surrender […]

April 29, 1945

April 29, 1945Heidenheim, GermanyNo. 32 (conclusion) Dear Folksies,                    Finally, after getting another load of stuff (the things that we had brought down in the first echelon), the trucks made another trip down here. By that time, in fact the evening before, most of the outside vehicles had arrived so that all headed down […]

April 28, 1945

April 28, 1945Heidenheim, GermanyNo. 32 (continued) Dear Folksies,                  When we got into the town I found that it was darned near impossible to get over to where the main section was — the town was a wreck, and, in fact, was still smoking.  Parked the vehicles in a small field by a grainary […]

April 27, 1945

April 27, 1945Heidenheim, GermanyNo. 32 Dear Folksies,                  Almost a week since last writing and not a chance during all that time to sit down and get even a line off to you.  And strangely enough, only yesterday kept me busy in surgery.  Have, on the other days, been tearing around the […]

April 26, 1945

On April 26, 1945, we hear more from Dr. Philip Westdahl about the unit’s move to Heidenheim… Most of the small villages along the route were flying white flags from a window of every house, as well as the church and city hall, and there was very little evidence of destruction. Here and there, however, […]

April 25, 1945

Today we have an excerpt from the journal of Philip Westdahl, about the 59th Evac. Unit’s journey to Heidenheim around April 25, 1945. Toward the latter part of April, it became evident that the Seventh Army was turning south into the German province of Bavaria, having gone as far east as Nuremberg and captured that […]

April 21, 1945

April 21, 1945Tiefenthal, GermanyNo. 31 (conclusion) Dear Folksies,                     Finally we came down off the hill and went to the “Surgical Clinic” where we were shown around sort of on a tour of inspection, by a Professor Bauer the Head of the Clinic.  It is obviously a relatively new place and has more equipment […]

April 20, 1945

April 20, 1945Tiefenthal, GermanyNo. 31 (continued) Dear Folksies,                 Heidelberg was, as far as damage was concerned, just about the direct opposite of Mannheim.  The only damage done there had been done by the Krauts themselves, and that consisted merely of blowing up of the bridges which spanned the Neckar.  As papers have depicted […]

April 19, 1945

April 19, 1945Tiefenthal, GermanyNo. 31 Dear Folksies,                 The evening of the day that Mattie and Phil returned, Wally got up enough nerve to ask the Col. if, since the “Gang-Greene” was off duty the next day, it would be possible to visit Heidelberg.  To Wally’s surprise the Old Man agreed that it would […]

April 18, 1945

April 18, 1945Tiefenthal, GermanyNo. 30 Dear Folksies,                As the old saying goes, “If it hasn’t happened to the 59th, then it just couldn’t have happened.”  Well, here’s one for the publicity fiends, for Hollywood, or just for Dr. Kildare Westdahl and Dr. Gillespie Mathewson. As Phil said, for him it could be entitled, […]

April 17, 1945

Here, on April 17, 1945, is Part Two of the entry from the journal of Dr. Philip Westdahl about his “good fortune to take part in one of those rare experiences of drama in every-day life.” We could find no criticism of the care the lad had received in the hands of the Germans. They […]

April 16, 1945

Here – on April 16, 1945, is Part One of an entry from the journal of Dr. Philip Westdahl about his “good fortune to take part in one of those rare experiences of drama in every-day life.” Part Two will be published on April 17. We were enjoying the sunset one evening when two small […]

April 15, 1945

April 15, 1945Tiefenthal, GermanyNo. 29 (conclusion) Dear Folksies,               On Thursday, tho’ on second call we were called to work about 10 P.M. and by the time we were finished we stayed around a bit longer to see what Chuck and Bret (with Frank assisting as the only bones involved for Bret were a […]

April 13, 1945

April 13, 1945Tiefenthal, GermanyNo. 29 Dear Folksies,                     After the announcement that startled us all tremendously at midnight last night, I am rather anxiously awaiting comments that I hope you will be having the time and energy to make.  I will be interested in what you think may be the outcome of the passing […]

April 11, 1945

April 11, 1945Tiefenthal, GermanyNo. 28 Dear Folksies,                Am on 2nd call tonight and it looks as if Bret and Chuck are going to be able to handle things, so shall probably stay over here in Surgery a little while and write a couple of letters. The last two nites the ”Gang-Greene” was on […]

April 10, 1945

On April 10, 1945 we have an entry from the journal of Dr. Philip Westdahl… As our activity died down, the other Evac. hospitals leap-frogged us and followed the front across the Rhine, leaving us to take care of the Divisions temporarily assigned to occupying and policing the Saar. Daily we witnessed the steady stream […]

April 9, 1945

René mentioned in his most recent letter that Dr. Phil Westdahl had captured a German soldier in Tiefenthal. On April 9, 1945, here is Phil’s account… I had the unique experience one morning of capturing a German soldier. I had often heard tales from our patients of how German soldiers wandered about looking for someone […]

April 8, 1945

April 8, 1945Tiefenthal, GermanyNo. 27 Dear Folksies,                     The last few days, instead of getting warmer daily, seemed to get colder, particularly in the early morns. The wind, too, has hardly let up at any time.             Westdahl is now about in the same class as Stratte [in France]. He crossed the road today […]

April 5, 1945

April 5, 1945Tiefenthal, GermanyNo. 26 Dear Folksies,                     Weather has been miserable around here the last few days and one never knows if it is going to rain one minute to the next. Luckily this ground absorbs the water well so that we haven’t particularly been bothered by mud, anyway the rain hasn’t been […]

April 4, 1945

April 4, 1945Tiefenthal, GermanyNo. 25 (conclusion) Dear Folksies,                     An interesting P.O.W. patient the other night, who surprised us all by starting to talk in excellent English with all the high-school language trimmings.  It turned out that his story was that he had lived for 15 years in Springfield, Mass. (He’s only about 20 […]

April 3, 1945

April 3, 1945Tiefenthal, GermanyNo. 25 (continued) Dear Folksies,                 Strangest coincidence to occur as far as anyone in the outfit is concerned, is, I think, the one that happened to my friend Davidson about two weeks ago.  He’s the one, you will remember my telling you about, who used to be General Patch’s driver […]

April 2, 1945

April 2, 1945Tiefenthal, GermanyNo. 25 Dear Folksies,                     The day after my last letter, things slackened off for us and we knew that some of our friends must have played leap-frog with us, as we had done with them just a few days before. As x-ray was quiet as a mouse, I developed 6 […]

April 1, 1945

No letter from René on April 1, 1945. Here’s an excerpt from the journal of Dr. Philip Westdahl about the conclusion of their 75-mile journey to Tiefenthal, Germany. As we drove through the Saar toward the Rhine, we could feel the hostility in the air. The German men, women and children on the streets paused […]

March 31, 1945

No letter from René on March 31, 1945. Here’s an excerpt from the journal of Dr. Philip Westdahl about the 59th’s journey from St. Avold, France to Saarbruken, Germany. Our route from St. Avold [in French Lorraine] took us north through the town of Forbach, just south of the German border and the Saar River. […]

March 30, 1945

March 30, 1945Tiefenthal, GermanyNo. 24 (continued) Dear Folksies,               Next A.M., up bright and early, and then at noontime we got word that we were going to have to take patients that night, despite the fact that the vehicles that were supposed to move us had just arrived in the area an hour before […]

March 29, 1945

March 29, 1945Tiefenthal, GermanyNo. 24 Dear Folksies,                Have been plenty busy the last five days.  As you see by the above, we have hopped again and no sooner got a tent or two thrown up than we were up to our necks in work, and since only part of us were here at […]

March 25, 1945

This excerpt from the journal of Dr. Philip Westdahl around March 25, 1944, tells the story about the unit’s short stay at St. Avold, which René couldn’t tell his parents due to censorship rules… We worked day and night for six days before the breakthrough into Germany and our casualties became light. The casualties consisted […]

March 24, 1945

March 24, 1945St. Avold, France No. 23 Dear Folksies,                     I can see that this is going to be some letter. I’m trying to type this in our tent and it is 7 P.M., and it looks as if Bish, Jack & Roy are contemplating consuming most of what is left of the last […]

March 21, 1945

March 21, 1945St. Avold, France No. 22 Dear Folksies,                     It’s good to be working again!  We’ve been plenty busy, are tenting it once again and enjoying it.  Of course, we are still forced to keep our long woolens on for, even with our oil-burning stoves, things are a bit cool.  The first nite […]

March 17, 1945

No letter from René on March 17, 1945. Here’s an excerpt from the journal of Dr. Philip Westdahl, describing the 59th’s move from Epinal to St. Avold, France. On March 17, we finally left Epinal and headed north to take part in the push of the 7th Army into Germany. After 2 months of inactivity […]

March 15, 1945

No letter from René on March 15, 1945. Here’s an excerpt from the journal of Dr. Philip Westdahl, describing his visit to the grave of his brother, Dick, in Normandy. Before returning to duty I had the good fortune of being able to fly to Normandy to visit my brother Dick’s grave. The flight from […]

March 14, 1945

No letter from René on March 14, 1945. Here’s an excerpt from the journal of Dr. Philip Westdahl, describing his visit to Paris earlier in the month. [In early March] I had the grand opportunity to see the famous city. Although it couldn’t actually be described as beautiful at this time of year with its […]

March 11, 1945

March 11, 1945Epinal, France No. 21 Dear Folksies,                     I left off yesterday’s letter just as we went off to play some volley ball. Managed to spend a good part of the afternoon – both yesterday and today – at that game. In fact, today had some pretty good games of it. The weather, […]

March 10, 1945

March 10, 1945Epinal, France No. 20 Dear Folksies,                 There’s so darn little doing as far as we’re concerned that ‘tis difficult to find things to write to you – don’t have any opportunities for interesting conversations as you do. They’ve GOT to put us to work soon!!           We have been spending a […]

March 8, 1945

March 8, 1945Epinal, France No. 19 (conclusion) Dear Folksies,                  Why is it that the Army at home doesn’t seem to want to profit from the experiences of those who have been through various things over here and know what they are talking about?  Strangely enough, even over here, in a lot of things, […]

March 7, 1945

March 7, 1945Epinal, France No. 19 (continued) Dear Folksies,                   Two days ago we had a pleasant surprise for, who walked into our quarters but “Skinny” St. Claire.  Remember, he was, and still is, in the Judge Advocate’s office of Army Hdq, had some of his law training at Stanford. Anyway, the last week […]

March 6, 1945

March 6, 1945Epinal, France No. 19 Dear Folksies,                   A few nights ago Bob Treadwell returned home from his leave in Paris. He felt just as I had — that two days there was much too short time. He had just begun to find his way around a bit and to enjoy some of […]

March 2, 1945

March 2, 1945Epinal, France No. 18 Dear Folksies,                      On the day I last wrote to you, I did take a hike — with Bret, Tony Ilacqua and Helen Baker. Walked around some of the back roads and went through a few old forts that dated back some seventy years. There actually wasn’t much […]

February 28, 1945

February 28, 1945Epinal, France No. 17 Dear Folksies,                 Last couple of days have again been most uneventful. Weather today again beautiful, but the last couple were rather poor and not conducive to hikes or similar forms of exercise. Tooth – or rather, where the tooth was – is still feeling fine, much to my […]

February 26, 1945

February 26, 1945Epinal, France No. 16 (continued) Dear Folksies,                  Wednesday nite we had a party scheduled — this time with a band, but the band had to be called for at a place some little distance from here. As I wanted to go there, and as Carroll had heard that he could get […]

February 25, 1945

February 25, 1945Epinal, France No. 16 Dear Folksies,                 Am trying a little experiment and do not know how it is going to work out. The sun is shining beautifully, I have just finished lunch, there is a slight wind, and I am outside our quarters sitting on Bret’s sled with the typer […]

February 20, 1945

February 20, 1945Epinal, France No. 15 Dear Folksies,                     Weather yesterday again very nice, but on the crisp side. Today kind of dismal. Outdoors a good bit yesterday and in the afternoon was inveigled into a baseball game. There were only a few of us officers playing so that we did not have an […]

February 18, 1945

February 18, 1945Epinal, France No. 14 Dear Folksies                     Weather not particularly conducive today to hiking or other outdoor activities tho’ ‘tis still rather warm. Our big “parade” ground has been the scene of considerable activity these last few days with the good weather bringing the boys out in droves. In one corner there […]

February 17, 1945

February 17, 1945Epinal, France No. 13 (conclusion) Dear Folksies         Took a hike a couple of days ago with Wally Greene, Hope Ecklund, and Dotty Merrell.  Must have walked almost ten miles, walking along one of the canals, which are strange and interesting features of this part of the country. The width of the canals […]

February 16, 1945

February 16, 1945Epinal, France No. 13 Dear Folksies,             Kind of let a couple of more days than I had intended slip by since last writing to you.  However, the last few days have been such beautiful ones that it would have been a shame to have stayed indoors just to write, and it was […]