Chappie, The Story Continues

Hilter's Guest Glasses

 
My father recorded in his diary, Chappie World War II Diary of a Combat Chaplain, this entry dated 15 March 1945: 

Yesterday we reached Rodert, Germany, which we found to be surrounded by German supply depots. It was here that Hitler built bunkers to create for himself an elaborate operational headquarters in the Eifel Mountains south of Munstereifel. From this fortified shelter, he directed the invasion of Belguium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

Upon discovering that some of Hitler's hideaway had been taken intact, Group took it over for their temporary stay. We found the offices and general staff sleeping rooms beautifully furnished, and I was given a room with a spectacular view of the mountains.

While rummaging through the contents left behind, I unearthed a bolt of linen, tablecloth material and a box of Hitler's guest wineglasses, both still in their packing. Hitler won't need those glasses now; so I think I'll send the entire box home to Alice.

He did manage to ship that box to us in Mississippi, and you can image the shock my mother received upon opening the box - turned out to be sets of five, different size crystal, wine glasses with each piece adorned with a small, German swastika. Neeless to say, that was one souvenir that never made its way to our table. She did find a use, however, for the roll of formal, white table linen included with them. Upon his return, my father gave most of the glasses away to family and friends who wanted one. Years later he placed one on a shelf in his library that he filled with sand and small shells that I had brought back to him from Omaha Beach. To him, it was a fitting reminder of that bloody battle.

 

WWII Souvenirs VIA Army Mail

For a child, packages were more exciting than letters, and my father's WWII surprise packages always contained something special for my brother and me. As an adult, I have come to realize that what he sent was not your usual WWII combat souvenirs. Throughout the war, he made a point of purchasing items from local villagers whenever possible, sometimes paying them in WWII "military" issued money, while at other times trading with them. On the front lines of combat, money is not always what people want or need.  He also collected some battlefield souvenirs, taking only what he knew was legal.

In his book, Chappie World War II Diary of a Combat Chaplain, on 17 December 1942 my dad wrote about his Moroccan shopping experiences in North Africa.  His first package, shipped via Army mail, arrived just after Christmas. It contained all sorts of wonderful things that he had bought in Morocco. Among the beautiful hand-made leather items and carefully wrapped china pieces, he had tucked numerous packages of gum and rolls of Lifesavers candy. With sugar rationed In the US during WWII and most of the candy being sent overseas to our troops, that candy and gum made us the most popular kids in the neighborhood.

 My mother, however, was more delighted with the beautiful, china coffee-sets (three different ones) that had miraculously made the trip undamaged. My dad loved coffee, so those beautiful French-made sets caught his eye.

 For me he had included two china "egg cups," something I had never seen. Eating an egg out of them became my favorite "grown-up" thing to do. I am sorry to say that only one of the set survived my childhood.

 But even this package, with all its wonderful surprises, didn't make up for not having my dad with us for that first Christmas. From the news, we knew that the Allies had invaded North Africa and successfully captured Casablanca. What we didn't know at the time was that the fighting had just begun and that it was going to be a long time before we would be sharing a Christmas with him. 

A War II Diary

 

I was an adult when my father handed me a well-worn, black notebook that had been tucked in among his numerous books and asked me if I wanted to read it. I was amazed. It was a diary that he had apparently kept during his years in combat - a document that I had not know existed.  As I began to skim through the entries, I discovered that he had been in almost every major battle with the Germans in North Africa and Europe. However, it was not just dates and places. Instead, he had noted details, included descriptions, and inserted his own opinions about the various events, places, and people. It read more like a story than a diary, and it was unique because it had been written as these events were occurring around him, not written from memories of the past. 

 Once I was able to convince him to let me turn his diary into a manuscript, he and I began my work, and we had three wonderful years before his death to complete the task. Chappie World War II Diary of a Combat Chaplain is the result of that effort.

    It is the account of an ordinary man’s response to extraordinary events going on around him.