Dear Art,
Thank you so much for writing back to me. I am so thrilled that you not only
have memories, but that you are so willing to share them. I can't tell you what
that means to me. We have a little dementia problem with my parents and
memories are hard to come by. Your website is wonderful. Bob's Story is very
telling. I never even knew he was engaged at one time. He was, in my eyes, the
strong silent type, a rock. Although he was very kind and quietly friendly, he
had a heavy heart. No wonder his heart gave out on him so many times, he
carried so much in it, never letting any of it out. I had no other Aunts,
Uncles or Cousins, he was it. I loved him dearly from when I can first
remember. My mother used to tell me how when I was just a baby, I would crawl
up his leg and force myself on his lap. When I got a bit older, I used to ask
him if he would marry me! I was happy to spend more and more time with him as
he and I got older. We talked a lot on the phone, but as you could imagine,
the conversations were somewhat one sided. It was not until the last few years
that he shared his feelings about his brothers in arms. Never any stories, but
the love, admiration and respect was evident.
As he got sicker, I truly believe he thought he could beat the cancer. As he
was quite adept at overcoming the odds. I spoke with him on the phone one day,
and although he said he was fine, and said that the Dr's said he was fine,
there was something in his voice. I had a friend of a friend who was a travel
agent that was able to get me on a flight right away. He looked dreadful when I
saw him. I asked him if he thought he was going to die, because he looked like
he was. Being a nurse, I knew the end was near. He was not ready to go and
chose to be admitted to Mass General to keep up the good fight. There was
nothing left for them to do other than keep him comfortable. I stayed with him
while he passed, it was very peaceful and sad. I miss him very much. It is hard
for me to believe he has been gone 9yrs.
I loved the I'm Hit story. Although it was not funny that he got a bullet in
the nose, our family used to kid him about his nose ALL the time. Poor guy. One
time he had a mishap with his razor. It flew in to the air and came down and
shaved a piece off the end of his nose. We never let him live it down.
By reading your website, I have already figured out what some of his pictures
are. I cannot wait to hear what you have to say. I am also anxious to hear
about you, your family and the others. I think I have quite a few pictures of
you~ I wonder if they are the same ones you have?
Hope to communicate soon. And again, THANK YOU SO MUCH. You have warmed my
heart~
Cheryl
Arthur Kramer
344th BG 494th BS
England, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany
Visit my WW II B-26 website at:
http://www.coastcomp.com/artkramer