Tuesday · March 2, 1943
A stubborn fool—and so am I.
A V-mail from the line: hotcakes, good news, and a quarrel with the boss.
March 2, 1943
My Darling Wife:
Another few days have passed and it looks like I might get most of the day to rest, shave, write, etc. Mail is going out in half an hour so I’m writing you this letter V-Mail.
We have not received mail for several weeks—regular mail that is. It is piling up in the rear and we will probably get it when we are pulled back for a rest. Perhaps I’ll be able to see Gil & Freddie then.
This morning we had bacon & hotcakes. Were they good. In fact I can’t complain about the food at all. We have purchased a few cows, sheep, chickens and they make our meals seem pretty fancy. At least we have variety.
The news for an early ending of the war seems good. Russia continues to do all right—and in Tunisia the radio says the Germans aren’t getting anywhere. According to radio reports the Americans have retaken practically all the ground lost about 10 days ago.
I don’t know how I’m going to get along with my Bn C.O. He is a stubborn fool—and so am I. But every time I have argued a point it was decided his way—and came out my way. I don’t know how long I’m going to have to argue with him before he takes some advice. At least I’m not going to keep quiet if it costs me my promotion—it might cut his instead.
Honey I think of you and Linda each night when I go to bed and try to [visualize?] what you are doing—I love you both and pray that God looks out for you till my return. Give the princess a few hugs and kisses from her Daddy—and give yourself a few too—if you can—
All my love
Your
John
About this letter
One V-mail form, written in ink. He signed the censor’s stamp himself.
THE V-MAIL FORMSender: 1st Lt. John H. Lauten, 3rd Bn, 16th Inf, A.P.O. #1. To: Mrs. John H. Lauten, Glendale. His serial number and the street address are blurred.
HIS BATTALION COMMANDER“A stubborn fool—and so am I.” He doesn’t name him. Who commanded the 3rd Battalion that week is not yet confirmed.
READING CLOSELY
“I think of you and Linda each night when I go to bed.” His first V-mail in this batch, on the full-size form.
V-mail forms were normally photographed onto microfilm and printed small at home; this one arrived full size.
His serial number at the top of the form is blurred.
The Big Picture
Learning the hard way
The Germans pulled back, and on Feb. 25 American troops took Kasserine Pass again.
The battle showed what was wrong. American units were spread too far apart to help each other, and soldiers dug foxholes too shallow. Gen. Omar Bradley later called it the worst performance of the U.S. Army in its history.
The Army changed its tactics, its training and some of its commanders. British Gen. Harold Alexander now led the Allied armies in Tunisia.
Where he was
Central Tunisia, near Kasserine Pass. He later wrote that his battalion rejoined the regiment near Tebessa, and that the 16th counterattacked after the German breakthrough at Kasserine.
In this letter. “The Americans have retaken practically all the ground lost about 10 days ago”: the radio had it right. The Kasserine line was back in American hands.