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LETTERS to the ,
EDITOR
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/11 1
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Anchorage, Alaska
Dear Sirs:
Haven't received THE REVIEW since
moving to Anchorage. However, just to
be sure I don't miss it for a good long
time I am enclosing $3.00. About all the
information I get up here comes from
THE REVIEW.
Leo Tyler
APO, San Francisco, Calif.
Dear Sir:
I am interested in operating Candy and
Cigarette vending machines in the Terri-
tory of Hawaii. Can you give me any
information on operating these machines?
What percent do I have to pay where I
And from what reliable
place them?
company on the West Coast may . I pur-
chase these vendors?
I have had twenty-one years' service and
will be getting out soon if I can get
started in this vending business.
Charlie O'Neal, 1st Sgt.
(Letter has been answered. lf you
wish the complete address, · it will he
COIN
MACHINE gladly furnished.)
REVIEW
Dear Mr. Blackford:
It's been a long time since I've written
you. Probably a few months, in fact. But
in that time I could not possibly have sent
FOR
you any mail for six weeks since even our
NOVEMBER magnificent Navy has made no provision
1945
for picking up mail in the mid-ocean, At-
lantic and Pacific, in both of which I've
been during the past two months.
When the war ended I was stationed in
the small but wonderfully hospitable city
of Esch, Luxemburg. The two weeks of
celebration which followed the war's end
were laden with days of parades, in
72
which my unit participated with crowds
of cheering, lantern-waving and occasion-
ally inebriated Luxemburgers and French
who crossed the border. For two weeks
there was no business transacted in Lux-
emburg but the entire period was devoted
to dances, parties and various types of
celebrations. Americans were even more
popular than before the war's end. · Girls
were ,friendly, frequently to extremes,
drinks were plentiful and liberally pro-
vided. Gaiety reigned and abandon ruled.
Of course, we-that is, the G. L's-con-
tinued our regular duties but we had am-
ple opportunity to participate in the cele-
bration activities.
Luxemburg, though a small country, or
duchy, is among the most highly indus-
trialized and modern parts of Europe. Its
peoples speak four or five languages. Few
were the girls, or men, whom I've met who
could not speak French, German and fre-
quently English and Italian in addition to
their native tongue. Though the music is
a bit too Germanic or perhaps waltzish or
polkaish for my particular taste they also
frequently played American tunes and
quite a few of the younger people knew
a good deal about such musicians as Glenn
Miller, who was a parti'c ular favorite be-
cause of his Army band broadcasts as well
as his Bluebird records (please don't mind
the plug for Bluebird, remember I've got
a job to return to and am practicing boast-
ing the product) and Harry lames, while
Dinah Shore was probably more popular
than many of their native singers. I re-
member one particular evening when I
danced a dozen times with an especially
luscious girl to Dinah's rendition of "Blue-
jay" or something like that; I can't clearly
recall the name. It made me feel as
though I were back in the States.
For a short time after the celebrations
there were many dances at the cafes and
in halls rented by different G. I. organi-
zations. The Army opened a number of
"rest centers" in Esch and soldiers really
flooded the town and were well greeted
and treated by the population in general
and the man-hungry and appreciative
girls. But then the native Luxemburgers
PAPER IS N-O LONGER RATIONED
for industrial, trade, and general interest publications, and
for the first time in 3 years we can invite advertisers to
USE ALL THE SPACE YOU WISH
in future issues of THE REVIEW. Our Mills have promised steady shipments in
the months ahead and increctse in the quality of the s.t ock will be evidenced in
future iss ues, until sometime in 1946 when we will be able to resume the heavy
coated stock used in pre-war years. So, there's reason to rejoice - - - unlimited
paper stock permits us to give you ALL of the space you need - - - and a reader-
ship, protected, amplified and augmented during the war years - - - is eagerly
awaiting your messages.
•
DEADLINE IS THE 12th of EACH MONTH
Get in Touch With Our Nearest Office Today
The COIN MACHINE REVIE~W
1115 VENICE BLVD.
CHICAGO 1:
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CENtral 1112
Fitzroy 8269
LOS ANGELES 15, CALIF.
NEW YORK 17:
441 Lexington Avenue
Murray Hill 2-5589
who had been laborers or prisoners of the
Germans started returning. They seemed
to be in good condi tion though all com-
plained of the hard work and long hours
which the Germans had forced them to
work in mines, factories, etc. The men
were friendly, conversed about various
conditions in Germany and how wonderful
was the American Army. However, the
girls' attitude changed drastically. They
froze on the G. I. Rarely did they accept
dates, few were the girls and soldier cou-
ples who strolled to the park or danced
in the cafe. The attendance at all G. I.
dances was meagre. Gradually the cafe
dances became crowded with the native
Luxemburgers, the music became much
more native in quality and even the cafe
owners were no longer too enthused about
our attendance. Within a month after the
war's end it was difficult to find as many
as a dozen G, l.'s at a usual cafe dance,
but the .dances were still crowded with
girls and their native boy friends. We
were outsiders and they made no effort to
conceal it. The war was over for them
and they wanted to resume their normal
living habits, which didn' t include foreign-
ers. The famed clannishness of the Lux-
emburger was being demonstrated-and
how!
Fortunately for me I had met some ex-
tremely friendly contacts. I had met a
Jewish family which had owned one of
the largest stores in Esch prior to the
German invasion.
They had - fled to
France and lived in hiding in a small
town in the Vichy-ruled part of that
country. When Luxemburg was retaken
by the Americans they returned to their
home and found it temporarily taken over
as Army quarters for troops. The place
was quickly returned to them. But it
was an empty- house they found. The
Germans had loo ted and sold or stolen
every pi'ece of furniture which had been
left behind. However, some of the natives
who had purchased the furniture volun-
tarily returned some of it and some of the
rest was traced through bills registered by
the German officials in charge of sales of
Jewish property. Much of it they would
never find.
I had also become very friendly with a
girl who still remained sociable and
friendly even after the return of the na-
tive sons. Of course, she wouldn't go
with me to public dances or where we
would be likely subjects of discussion but
we did frequently find opportunities to
spend some time together.
Despite the change in the natives' atti-
tude we still found plenty of pleasant ac-
tivities and pleasures in Esch. Then, as
it must to all troops ( to paraphrase some-
body's quotation), our orders arrived for
moving. We said our adieux and waited
the date of departure.
We traveled through France in "forty
and eights." I believe I once described
these antiquated, crowded, dirty trains as
being unfit for eight horses but good
enough for 40 G. I.'s. That description
still goes. We arrived at our staging area,
which turned out to be a huge dust bowl
which would put even a desert to shame.
It was hot, dusty and absolutely devoid of
any provision for comfort. Hastily dug
latrines and pyramble tents for housing,
cooking and living were the sole features
of the camp. We ate outdoors, where a
puff of wind 'always managed to flavor ' our
food with a covering of dust. Shortly
after we arrived outdoor movies were pro-
vided and name stars and USO troupes
began visiting the camp. Bob Hope, of
cours~, was about the most popular visitor.
( See LETTERS, Page 74 )
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