Author: Bob

Capt. T.G. Leske

633 T.D. BN.
CAMA APO184
Los Angeles Calif.

1/17/44 (Postmarked Jan. 19 1944, 6:30PM U.S. Army Postal Service)

Miss J. Axtell
538 S. Normandie
Los Angeles, #5 California

Hello Jane!

As the hour is late, 9:30 PM, and I must try to recover from a Mexican weekend, this will be short.

It was good to hear that you have finally recovered from your siege of illness and are again able to tear around.

My leave plans were knocked into a knocked hat but my hopes were high as I still meant to go to L. A. and this would be much closer, giving me more time. Now we find that we can have only a 3 day leave for the next three months. I still mean to get what I can when the opportunity presents itself. So  sometime you will still get that call.

tired so-nite

Bestest,
Ted

Capt. T.G. Leske

633 T.D. BN.
Fort Lewis, Wash.

1/4/44 (Postmarked Jan. 7 1944 Tacoma, Wash. )

Miss J. Axtell
538 S. Normandie
Los Angeles, #5 California

Hello Jane!

In a rush right now but my conscious is killing me for not answering before so here are a few words, anyway.

Plans go wrong – my leave didn’t work out and now there are more complications.  My outfit is moving soon to the California – Arizona maneuver area and I hoped that I would be able to drive down thus having a chance to top off and see you.  No go, gotta act as a medical officer for one of the trains.

From the sound of your letter you must have spent a miserable holiday period.  I did too but only in spots.  Fun and then misery.

Maybe sometime in the near future I will have the opportunity to get to L.A. and we can get stinkie together.

Gotta go!  No – no – not what you think.

So long

Ted.

Capt. T.G. Leske

633 T.D. BN.
APO304
Fort Lewis, Wash.

12-1-43 (Postmarked Dec 2 1943, Tacoma, Wash. 6 cent airmail stamp.)

Miss J.Axtell
538 S. Normandie
Los Angeles, #5 California

Hello Jane:

Have been rather busy lately- days, not nights, my pet.

Since my return my night work as suffered terribly.  Don’t know anybody any more and the gas situation even prevents me from going to Tacoma.  Got any gas coupons?  If not, sure as hell we will urn out of gas on our date and we will both have to walk home.

Speaking of gas coupons – there’s no ration on passion because there’s no ceiling of feeling.

Incidentally, read over your "Maiden’s Prayer" and then let me know if I can be "the man that plays God", as I can think of only one way to answer the prayer.

[Note:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maiden’s_Prayer  A Polish composition that Bob Wills arranged in 1935.  Listen to Willie Nelsons version.

]

I was going to surprise you some evening in the future and give you a call from L.A.  you see, leaves are being allowed and I was planning to go to Los Angeles for my leave but due to a change in headquarters I won’t be able to get it, I guess.  Any hoo, it would have been fun.

Did ya hear about the girl in a house of prostitution who, for a Christmas present, only received some advice from the madam?  The advice was to impress the girl with the fact that in her business, the customer always comes first.

Thats all – so long.

Good luck

Ted

Capt. T.G. Leske

633 T.D. BN.
APO304
Fort Lewis, Wash.

10-23-43 (Postmarked Oct. 28 1943, Tacoma, Wash. No stamp, just "Free" written where the stamp would be.)

Miss Jane Axtell
538 S. Normandie
Los Angeles, #5 California
 

Hello Puss!

Well, here I am – what ya gonna do about it.

Hooray, hooray!  Maneuvers are over for us and tomorrow we will start on our way home.  Our last problem ended Wednesday noon as we were surrounded and theoretically would have been wiped out.  Sorry?

We traveled about sixty miles to the area where we are now, the railway siding at La Pine, and had a huge snow within a couple of hours after arriving, soaking my bedding roll.  As we have had typical Oregon weather since, my bedding is still wet and gee whiz it ain’t no fun crawling into a cold, damp roll alone.  In fact it never is no fun. 

What is this business of you not being able to take a drink lately?  Ya tell Casey that if she hasn’t been following my rules and taking care of you that the day will come when she will have to answer to me.  Of course, taking care of you probably entails hitting you over the head and making ya behave.

Your wrote, when ya were home with a cold (that’s silly, staying home just to have a cold to be with) that all ya needed was me holding your handand sympathizing with ya.  Methinks, that you would need sympathy all right but that you would be holding my hands.

Ya ask if I don’t (or haven’t) lie (or laid) in my bedding roll, gazing up at the stars and have romantic thoughts?  I don’t know if they could exactly be termed romantic thoughts but I sure have had a lot of thoughts. Seems strange, after your maidenly modest behavior in Salem, that you popped up so often at these times out under the open skies.  Wishful thinking!

So ya think I was "soupy" when I wrote about scenery once while in Washington.  I can recall exactly when and where it was – a lodge on the Peninsula, Pysht, and there you were on a little carved wood balcony, looking down on me as I was sitting in front of a huge fireplace, building castles and weaving dreams of affection.

Soupy or not, girl, I still think that scenery and so forth has its good points and is stimulating.  One night is brought to mind – it was on overnight bivouac, between problems and the locale was a valley some fifteen miles square.  My outfit was on a little knoll commanding the whole valley.  Although the weather had been terrific it was the first night we had been allowed to have fires.

Our Tank Destroyer Group was around us with scores of fires blazing, each with a knot of men around the flames, their voices carrying through the stillness of the desert.  On the other side of the valley, about twelve miles away, a whole division of infantry was bivouacked, with countless fires which were pinpricks of red, from our position.  No lights of any kind were allowed.

If you can picture all of the above capped by a brisk chill breeze, a bright full moon drenching the whole scene and silhouetting the surrounding mountains , and a fire of your own forming a screen forr ones dreams, you too probably would get soupy, or haven’t I put the idea across?

Its afer nine now and we must up and about a 4:30 AM so "Finis" for the time being.

Good Luck

Teddy

P.S. – Signing my name the way I have might surprise you but I did it [word unreadable], not coyly.  Ya see, I used the name for years and have alway been called the above.

This time –

Ted

Capt. T.G. Leske

633 T.D. BN.
APO304
Fort Lewis, Wash.

9-27-43   (Postmarked Sept. 29 1943, Bend, Oregon.  No stamp, just "Free" written where the stamp would be.)

Miss Jane Axtell
538 S. Normandie
Los Angeles, #5 California

(Note:  Letter was written in pencil.  I had to scan it and adjust brightness and contrast to get to where I could read it.)

Hello Jane!

Conditions being not too good at the present youll have to excuse the sloppiness – more than ususal.

Just before I went to bed (bedding roll) last night (7:15 and you brag about going to bed at 8:30) our mail came in and, of all things, a totally unexpected letter from you.  Talk about a welcome surprise!

Whoever originated the motto "Keep Oregon Green" shuld be out here with us.  Sure as hell his picture of Oregon would change.  Its so damn dirty that some of the fellows even have sagebrush sprouting out the dust collected in ther ears.  That may soulnd like an exaggeration yet, knowing me, you know that it couldn’t be anything but true.

Really the lava ash dust is terrific.  When riding through it the dust sprays out from under teh weheels as if it were water.

My saying that we probably wouldn’t have the chance of seeing each other again was due to rumors – i.e.  "T.D. Btn are to lose their dental officers (with which I  heartly agree  because out here it is [unreadable] a high-price loaf) and in this case I don’t know what the hell would happen to me; " T.D. Btn are to be transfered after the manuovers to Camp McCoy, Wisconsin or Indiana. See?  [Note: Camp McCoy was in Wisconsin and in 1973 was designated Fort McCoy]

Tell Casey to get after you and your health.  Your letters sound as if you are trying to exist on nothing at all.

Thats all for now and still holding my breath for the morale builiding letter.

Good Luck

Teddy

Capt. T.G. Leske

633 T.D. BN. APO304 Fort Lewis, Wash.

9-7-43   (Postmarked Sept 11, 1943, Bend, Oregon. No stamp, just “Free” written where the stamp would be.)

Miss Jane Axtell 538 S. Normandie Los Angeles, California

Hello Jane:

Your morale building letter was received a day after I arrived at Hole-in-the-Ground and was very welcome.

We have moved and are now about fifty miles east of Bend in country which is worse than that at which we were before.  The nearest town the other way is about sixty five miles.  Plenty hot and dirty!

In writing a letter you should not end it as you did your latest to me when the recipient is living under these conditions. “Will I get everything I ask for?”  Girl, the ideas I get sitting out here in this country would probably cause you to a lot without asking.

You also said that when you were in this part of the country you were three and that you believed in fairies.  Don’t tell me you no longer believe in them – especially, living in Los Angeles.

It doesn’t look as if I will ever get to that school and, on the same theme, it doesn’t look as if I will ever see you again, the way things are working out.  As far as taking you with me – do you think you would be able to earn enough to support me in a style I am not accustomed to?

Nothing spectacular has happened and my back is going dead due to my position, so closing for the time being.

Don’t forget the morale of those in uniform and write.

Teddy

Capt. T.G. Leske

633 T.D. BN.
APO304
Fort Lewis, Wash.

8-25-43   (Postmarked Aug 28 1943, Bend, Oregon.  No stamp, just "Free" written where the stamp would be.)

Miss Jane Axtell
538 S. Normandie
Los Angeles, #5 California

Hello Jane:

Received your short, snappy, letter with the picture.  You sure do look swell and quite a wolfess.  It’s really no wonder theat your nights are disturbed with men trying to get ya in their clutches.

You, of course, know where Bend is – well , we are about sixty miles sourth of it and a few dust miles off the highway.  Its plain decent, sagebrush and sand.  Hot during the day and cold during the night.  (Reminds me of my third wife)

Enough for now.  Looking at your picture gave me an inspiration for writing but I don’t want to over-do it.

Bye now –

Ted

Pome: (sic)

Shad roe comes from the harlot shad fish:

The shad fish faces a sorry fate.

A pregnant shad fish is a sad fish,

She go that way without a mate.

(what the hell, it filled up the page, anyway)