Christmas 1944
Dear Erna and Family,
First, many thanks for the nice sympathy card and letter you sent us. That was so thoughtful of you. Auntie sure did appreciate it. Really I am so ashamed of myself for not writing oftner to you, we have had so many nice letters from you, and I am so lazy in writing, but please forgive me.
Last week we had a letter from Gust and he is here in Victoria B.C. again. He said he would try and spend Christmas with is again this year. Wouldn't that be wonderful?
You said in your last letter that Joe had a brother in the army, did he have to go overseas yet? Sure hope not. I haven't heard where my brother Eddie is for months. About one month ago one of Herman's nieces got word from the government that her husband got killed in Holland, that sure was a big shock to us, because we were always together with them. I still can't believe that he is dead, they have a little girl 9 months old, the baby never got to see her Daddy. Oh if this war would only end.
Herman is out of the war age now, so I don't have to worry about him, but I still think about all the other boys that have to go.
Herman had to go back to work tonight for a few hours, so Mother and Ralph went to a show and I said I was going to stay home and do my Christmas writing, this is my 14th card so please excuse my scribbling as my fingers are getting tired.
Will send you 2 pictures, one of Herman and myself and one of Mother, Ralph and Herman. They were taken last summer just after Ralph was confirmed.
Well lets hope to hear from you sometime soon.
Your Cousin
Emma
I found the letter above in this old Christmas card that was in a scrapbook that belonged to my Mother. I haven't looked in the scrapbook for years and years, but for some reason I felt the need to get it out of the box it is always in and look through the pages. Mom so kindly wrote the dates on the back of her cards, and almost every card in this one particular scrapbook is from the years of WW11.
My own life has never been touched by war, but war touched my parent's life very early in their time together as man and wife. They were married in wartime, far away from their home and families because my Dad was working in the nickel mines in Quebec because he could not enlist due to a heart murmur.
There are many many cards from friends and family in the scrapbook, but a few special ones strike my gratitude to the men and women who fought and still fight, for the freedoms we take for granted today and everyday.
This one is from my Dad's best friend, Armand... he was a young pilot that never came home from war.
And this one from my Uncle Scott, my Dad's brother. Uncle Scott did come home, he lived a full long life, raised a family, and was a wonderful uncle, whom I will never forget.
And I said that war had not touched my life. How wrong could I possibly be? War touches all our lives in one way or another.
God Bless Those who protect our Country, our Cities, our Neighbourhoods.
Let's Never Forget Them!
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