As the days become longer at work, and our weekends are getting busier, I
decided to start using my daily “train time" to get a little ahead of the curve
by sifting through some of the hundreds of family documents I have accumulated
over the years.
Earlier today, I read quite a few “wartime” letters to &
from Raymond, John, Frank and a few from my great Uncle Carl “Pooch” Raykowicz (
my grandfather’s brother ) that I will feature over the next few posts.
Although I’m only about halfway through the first round of
letters I grabbed for reading, I will offer that many of them are pretty funny
and use some family nicknames I had never heard before. Blondie? Tip? Fat? Jackson? Alas, poor Mickey & Helen were
just…Mickey and Helen. And from the multiple comments by Ray, it seems his
younger sister “Blondie” (my Mom) had quite a growing reputation of being a
little, um, difficult? And she spent all her allowance money on…candy?
Decades
pass, and some things never change…
Others, especially those letters referencing Raymond’s death, were
pretty darn sobering when you take time to imagine yourself in the moment.
Anyway, here’s the first of a few letters written from the
front lines by Pvt. Carl “Pooch” Raykowicz almost 70 years ago.
More to follow in the days ahead.
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