Letter Written by Young German Boy to a Former American Soldier Who He Had Spent Time With During WW2. Part 2.

[Heartfeltzero]

This is the second letter that I’m posting written by Udo to his Former G.I. Friend, Glenn.

This letter was written by a young German boy named Udo Graumann. He had spent time and gotten close with an American G.I. named Glenn Abdon during WW2 while Glenn was in Germany. They exchanged addresses and this was the Second letter the boy sent to Glenn a few years after the wars end. The first letter was written on April 25th 1948, this letter was written sometime in June of 1948, after Udo received a response from Glenn. The letter reads:

“ Hello Glenn!

May you suppose how happy I was to get an answer from you. I hope you understand that what I write to you with my little English. That English I am learning here in the college I can’t use because it likes too much the school English.

But now enough about that. You ask me for a picture of myself. I got some, but on the film, and they must be unfold first, then I shall send it to you. O.K.?

I am playing piano again, my dears are Mozart and Beethoven.

I have heard you have a stamp collection and you are looking for nice and precious stamps. So I will help you getting a big and nice collection of stamps. So far I can do it in pasting some German stamps on the cover. I would like to send more stamps in the letter, but we are not allowed to do so. With this letter I send you a pair of very precious stamps. They are a special edition of the “ Exportmesse Hannover 1948.” Here they are hard to get. I think you like them? I shall look that I can send you with the next letter some more stamps, but I must get them first. Maybe I can get the stamps of the “ Leipziger Messe“ too.

Perhaps I send the next days another letter per air-mail but I must recognize before, if it is possible or not.

My letter from today is the last I can send before the new German currency will take us our money, and may also bring new stamps. Did you read also about this “Währungsreform” and “New Deutsche Mark”? Now we are poor people, more than before. We have lost all money and must hard work to earn the new money.

Good luck to you and your family from your little friend,

Udo.

I would be very enjoyed if you may send me the promised box.”

[Heartfeltzero]

*Update*

Here is an excerpt from a news article about Glenn that another person found:

“Abdon also befriended a 13-year-old German boy while serving. He said the boy spoke three languages and loved to follow him around and help him with his duties. After leaving Germany, Abdon said he and the boy corresponded by mail.

”The kid got to be a real good friend of mine,” he said, holding a letter from the boy. “Imagine that - a German boy and an American soldier.”

Abdon recalled one day when he and the boy decided to go fishing as food for civilian Germans was rationed, and many were hungry.

"We decided we were going to have a fish fry. So, I picked up my rifle and we walked over to this stream," he said. "There were trout playing. Needless to say, him and his mother had fish.”