Christmas from the Past

I am going to take a break from posting photographs and letters from World War II so I can share some things from past Christmas celebrations. I have focused on the material Pop saved from his time in the Army during the war without showing anything from Ma's time in the Navy. For Christmas, a picture of Shirley and Lois in front of their Christmas tree, and a number of Christmas cards sent to Herman and Helen Miller.

Shirley and Lois with their Christmas Tree.

Christmas card from the Gornings - 1929.

Christmas card sent to William Miller by Aunt Emma - 1929.

Christmas card from the Gornings - 1930.

Christmas card sent to Herman and Helen Miller by Bill. The card was sent from Japan in December, 1945.

Another card sent from Japan - December, 1945.

Finding cards like these is just amazing. Merry Christmas.

July, 1945: Marseille, France

Marseille was the shipping out point for the voyage to the Pacific. The photos speak for themselves.

Street overlooking the Marseille harbor.

The unit at a street cafe in Marseille.

A Black Market Hitler - Marseille

Marseille was the last stop in Europe. A sea voyage across the Atlantic, through the Panama Canal, and then across the Pacific was coming up.

July, 1945: Entertaining the troops in Arles

Arles is an ancient city that was started by the Romans. A Roman colosseum was still in use in July, 1945.

Roman Colosseum - Arles

Colosseum

Inside the Coloseum

Bullfight inside the Colosseum

The bull

Folkdancers during intermission at the bullfight.

Soldiers going to bullfights and touring a Roman Colosseum are an interesting contrast to the conditions in Mannheim area of Germany.

July, 1945: Arles, France

Arles was a holding site before boarding ship for the voyage to the Pacific. It is close to the Mediterranean Sea and has structures dating to the time of the Roman Empire. The troops had some downtime at this spot, so there are a number of photographs showing some of the attractions of the area.

Streets of Arles, France

Soldiers walking the streets of Arles.

Stairs from the Red Cross Club to the street.

Troops on the terrace of the Red Cross Club.

Arles street cafe, the GI beer hall.

Arles provided entertainment beyond the Red Cross Club and the cafes. I'll post some photographs of entertainment not associated with France.

June, 1945: Moving from Wiesbaden, Germany to Lyon, France

The war in Europe was finished, but the war in the Pacific was still going strong. So, Pop's unit moved from Germany towards Marseille in preparation of heading towards Japan. The first three photographs show Wiesbaden, Germany while the last two show an airfield south of Lyon where an overnight stop occurred.

Red Cross Club (Kurhaus)

Terrace of the Red Cross Club

Wiesbaden (not sure of the building)

Airfield used for overnight stop ( south of Lyon)

Airfield used for overnight stop.

Setting up cots at the airfield.

I will have to post a map that shows the movement around the world. I can't really call this a progression because of the circumstances, but it is amazing to see the documentation of this movement during the war.

May, 1945: Seckenheim and Heidelberg, Germany

Letters were not written home during this stretch, as Pop's unit moved into Germany immediately following the end of the war. But, the camera was used often showing life in the just defeated Germany.

 Convoy enroute

Bombed Bridge

Refugees on the Rhine

Pop's room in Seckenheim

Haupstrasse in Seckenheim, Germany

Traffic on Haupstrasse

The amazing thing about showing these photographs is that Ma, Shirley Miller, and Rita's dad, Jim Hosey, both served in the military at the same time and there is little documentation of their service. I know that Ma did not have a camera and I suspect that the same was true for Rita's dad.

Regardless of the number of letters written and sent, and the number of photographs taken, these pictures and letters would not be here if someone at home did not save them. Letters were sent to Grandma and Grandpa Miller and to Aunt Doris. They seem to have saved everything. It is an odd sequence of actions that were necessary to have this kind of documentation today.

Mannheim, Germany: First Stop, April, 1945

There are just a couple of photographs from April, 1945. The war ended in Europe that month with the Germans surrendering.

Mannheim: The first stop in Germany

The wall says: "We will conquer!"

The images convey the conditions of the local area. Unfortunately, they are the only thing that we can use to understand what it was like, as there aren't any letters recovered from this time (if there were any letters sent during this time).

On to France

 March, 1945 through April, 1945

Pop's unit moved from England into France. The first three photos show troop movement. The war was still going on at this time, although it would end while they were stationed in Nancy.  Word of the German surrender passed through the radio unit at Nancy.

  Enroute from Camp Twenty-Grand to Barentin

" The Forty and Eight"

The "Forty and Eight" refers to the Railroad Car. Pop said that the car was used during WWI to haul forty men or eight mules. He said that the cars didn't appear to have been cleaned out since that time and were used to house the troops as they marched across France.

Arriving at the Chartreuse a Bosserville      

 

 Louis Clement

15 Rue Stanislas

Nancy, France

Louis Clement stood guard over the radio unit that Pop was in. He spoke French with a German accent which was common in Lorraine since that area has shifted back and forth between the two countries. Pop said that he would bring things from his garden to give to the radio unit.

Following are some letters sent home during this tour in France that describe the goings on in the area.

 

 

 

First stop overseas - England

Pop's first overseas stop was in England, where his unit waited to be deployed on the continent.There was some time for catching the sights while they waited. The envelope that contained the postcards and itinerary for the Taxi sightseeing tour of London were received on January 29, 1945, so given the time to move the mail overseas and the fact that this stuff had to be mailed after the events, can lead us to think that the trip into London occurred in December, 1944.

Postcard of House of Parliment and Lambeth Bridge

Postcard of St. Paul's from Fleet Street

 

The envelope that carried the postcards and flyer home to Detroit.

 Episcopal Church in Kirksby, England

February, 1945

 

 System 9 Road March

February, 1945

 

Benny the Barber

February, 1945

 

American Red Cross Club

Liverpool, England

March, 1945

 

 

England was obviously a stopping off point, before the rest of the war occurred.