Letters Home 1944, June 27, From English Channel, Reference to Father's Day

Editor's Note: This is a post D-Day letter home, written from LST(Landing Ship Tank) 506 in the English Channel, where U.S. Naval Reserve Lt. (J.G.) Glenn D. Cogswell, along with many of our fathers and grandfathers who survived D-Day, June 6, 1944, continued to carry casualties of D-Day across the English Channel.

English Channel

Dear Folks –

We’re rolling quite a bit just now, but I’ll try to write anyway. Maybe you can read it.
We finally got some mail, Dad’s K.G.M and snapshots and two letters (4th and 13th) from Mother. I enjoyed them all a great deal.We are hoping for some more this trip.

We are having quite an experience – there’s never a dull moment, though I can think of more pleasant ones. Our job now is not exceptionally dangerous, but always something different over there. We’ve been hitting various beaches.

I read the overseas edition of Time, June 19, and it had a pretty good picture. They are much more frank and honest than anything the British have. All the British papers and radio can talk about is how the wonderful British are winning the war. Their newspapers read like a high school paper, petty remarks and “bull” so thick you can hardly find the news.
The Phonograph – P.A. just whipped out with “I’ll be home for Christmas” – I’d sure settle for that!!

Dad, Father’s Day sort of slipped up on me – every day is the same here – there’s not much use trying to keep track of time. I know you’ll forgive me, though, because I am pretty busy these days, and I think of you at home every day, holiday or not.

That strawberry shortcake sounds like awful good duty from here. Best we have that on the menu when I get home.

Back again, just had time out for chow. It was terrible. By the way, Dad, I don’t think dehydrated potatoes are so hot. In fact, they’re definitely not a good idea. On the whole we have much better chow than the Army – or British civilians – but we think it’s pretty awful sometimes.

We still get a smattering of German prisoners – usually wounded ones, now, along with our own casualties – they look like anything but “Super-men.”
They’re a pretty sad looking bunch. Several groups of pretty large numbers of prisoners were marched along the beach into other LST’s specified for their return to England. We evacuate casualties, usually.

This war is certainly a wasteful enterprise. It’ll be a great day, when it’s over.

I’m hanging on to a faint hope that I might get home in October or so. It would be awfully nice – too good to expect.

Well, keep writing, tell all the folks hello – I’ll try to write often, too.

Oceans of love,
Glenn