March 6, 1944: a letter from home to the boys. The baby is a little under the weather, Anna has a few things to say to Stanley about his adventures in England during a 48 hour pass and she reflects on having Anthony home on furlough.
Baby Terry has been hit with a cold that kept her up all night crying. Anna relates that “Her nose is all plugged up and she doesn’t understand that the more she cries the worse it will plug itself up.” Dr. Derkowski paid a house call (remember those?) to check up on the baby and left some medicine so that the baby is “sleeping comfortably for a change.” He also recommended giving the baby CAL-C-TOSE, “a chocolate flavored powder that you mix with milk…”
The doctor also gave the baby a “shiny quarter” as a present causing the baby to “flash her million dollar smile”. Anna writes that she will keep the quarter “as a souvenir because it is quite an occasion when you get money from a doctor because they usually take it from you and mama says that it means good luck…”
Anna addresses Stanley and tell him that they received his “…very long letter in which you described your adventures when you had that forty-eight hour pass. …Your adventures during your pass were very interesting and especially the part where you told us about talking to a Polish soldier. How did it feel to talk to him? I am glad you made yourself known to him.”
“She admonishes him not to overwork himself, advising, “…the work will be there long after you are gone so don’t kill yourself. It is your duty to fulfill to the best of your ability whatever you can but please don’t kill yourself with overwork and pass from this world at an untimely age.”
She writes that “Anthony…left on the six sixteen train. It was grand to have our baby brother with us for a while. …it seemed like it would last indefinitely but heck it came and went like two minutes. We just got used to him…and he had to leave. …Today the house is empty and quiet again and it is so hard to believe that just yesterday it was so full. It almost seems ages that he left and it isn’t even a day. It’s wonderful to have you boys home for a visit but there is that one trouble that Uncle Sam always wants you back. I hope that it will be soon that you won’t have to go back but be here for keeps.”