Honoring Sergeant Carter by Allene Carter

followed with more of his usual chatty, upbeat letters: “How is everything with exotic you?” he wrote in another. “As for myself, well, I have never felt better. By the time you get this letter I should be on my way to Berlin. I have a score to settle with Jerry. Although I was shot up a bit, I feel as though I can outfight any Jerry on two feet. We of the armored infantry are the first to make the break through in the Jerry lines. And then the regular infantry follows after us. So you see, we go through a lot of hell. Only Jerry catches one hell of a lot more. The American doughboy is one darn good soldier. General Patton, as you already know, is our leader. One thing I like about him is that he has plenty of guts. He is a regular G.I. Joe.”
    When weeks passed and he didn’t get a letter from Mildred—the Army’s mail system was understandably erratic in the middle of a war—Eddie wrote longingly: “I haven’t heard from you for so long that I am only able to picture you as a dream. Sometimes I wonder if I have ever been in the USA. Just like India and China—all are dreams.”
    When Eddie was wounded, the War Department sent a telegram to Mildred advising that her husband was “slightly wounded” in Germany and that she could continue to send mail to him as before. Mildred sent back an anxious telegram to Eddie asking him to write immediately and telling him that she had written every day. Almost none of Mildred’s letters to Eddie survived the war. One letter that did survive was written on April 10,1945. Mildred voiced her anxiety about his love for her and her feelings of helplessness.
    Darling Eddie,
    I am very tired tonight but I thought I’d try to stay awake long enough to pen you more lines. Tonight I’ve been wondering what your thoughts of me are, if any? Do you ever really think of me? Do I stay with you as you seem to stay with me? Are you sure you still love me? I couldn’t stand it if you didn’t. Darling, I am still as proud as ever of the sweetest little soldier in all the world to me. My heart is breaking because there is absolutely nothing that I can do for you when you need me most. I should be with you to consolate [ sic ] you when the going gets tough. Darling, please forgive my helplessness. My hands are tied by many miles. God, if this war would only end and let you come home again. I promise you my life will be dedicated to one cause. Making you happy, comfortable and loved. Darling, I shall try to make up to you all of the horrible things that have come your way. I shall love you until you forget this hellish war. Keep your chin up. Get well.
    Love, Mil

    P.S. All of my love belongs to you only. You are still my heart’s desire. I still thrill at your memory, Darling. It shall never die. Get well soon. I love you Eddie.
    Impatient to get back to the action, after a month Eddie slipped out of the Army hospital and made his way back to the front lines. Russell Blair, by then promoted to captain, recalled this unexpected development:
    â€œI didn’t see Carter again until later in April. We were close to Bad Tolz down below Munich. By this time the German resistance was pretty much shattered, and some days we could move along at forty or fifty miles a day. One day Carter showed up back at the company. I was surprised to see him; wounded soldiers don’t ordinarily get well that quick. I asked how’d he got back. He said he was released from the hospital in Luxembourg by his doctors. He looked fine. He didn’t show any signs of having been wounded. We were glad to have him back, but a short time later we got a message from the hospital saying that he was AWOL. We wired back to the hospital that he was back on active duty at the front, and we didn’t hear any more about that. We had a good laugh about it.
    â€œI came to find out in talking with Carter that he had met a captain out of the Tenth Armored