A soldier’s letters home

Linda Taylor called me last week about a collection of memorabilia that she had found in a home they had purchased years ago when they opened the first Video Kingdom (the castle building). She was cleaning out, as I am trying to do, her home and thought that I might be able to find a home for the items.

Apparently either Theodore Murrain or someone in his family had lived in the home and many of the items were tied to Stockville since that seemed to be where the family had first put down roots, but a receipt for a hospital stay in Holdrege for Jack Murrain was also tucked away. The date of dismissal from the Brewster Hospital and Clinic was October 8, 1949, and after 11 days in the hospital at $ 6.00 per day, plus an operating room at $ 15.00 and other miscellaneous items (like a $ 1.31 for a phone call) plus a doctor’s fee of $ 125.00, Jack owed $ 253.11!

Another item that caught my eye was a business deal from Planck Motor Company signed by Bill Clifford noting that Ray Murrain would be allowed $ 1200.00 credit for his ’46 Style Master 2 door Chevy on a trade for a ’46 Mercury Club Coupe. Planck Motor didn’t ring a bell with me, so I’ll have to do some more research on that McCook business.

The letters home from PFC Roy J. Murrain were fascinating and I’m going to share one with you. Roy was stationed in Swobisch Hall, Germany on May 4, 1946, following World War II: “Dear folks, Well I received your letter today, that was written, the 24th day of April. It only took 8 days. You can send the Camel cigarettes and razor blades but about two or three boxes of lead is enough. Boy, the cigarettes and razor blades are really hard to get over here. Sometimes we don’t quite have enough. We don’t need any eats or clothes. We get all we need. The first of June, we go operating. We will be on the road most of the time, I have heard from you about 5 times now. You were asking me whether I was in Co. C or A. I am in Co. A. We moved . We have good building. They are marble floor. The Krauts clean up the rooms. When we get up in the mornings it is warm. We have heat all night. Germany is really pretty. Scads of trees and every place you look around here is green grass. There are hill that looks like mountains on the west. They are covered with pine trees and green grass. Well I don’t know any more to write so will close. Thanks a lot for the razor blades. Write real soon. Love Jack.” (I have made no corrections to Jack’s letter.)

“Schwabisch Hall” was the site of a Luftwaffe air base during the Third Reich and also was the site of a late (1944) concentration camp nest to the train station Hall-Hessental. The city was occupied by U.S. Army troops on April 17, 1945. Today approximately 40,000 people live in the area.

I have reached out through Ancestry to a member that appears to have family ties hoping to find a home with descendants for the items. My personal opinion, for what it is worth, is that families should always take precedence.

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