This is the final segment of a letter written by Grandpa to his sons scattered around the world.
And now here is a rather pleasant surprise – – the “outside viewpoint” in these weekly letters which has been absent for some time. I have the honor to present a veteran of the last war, an ex-Red–Cross worker, Miss E. M. Guion:
Hello, Folks! – a la Mickey Mouse. New York got too “hot” for me so I ran out on it for a week until the heat is off, and now I’m in hiding in Trumbull. When I arrived at the door last night, there, right on the mat before the door, was a hand-lettered welcome to me from the Guions, in stunning great big black letters. I felt really welcome.
Speaking above of me as a veteran of the last war, I am thinking that if Dan should somehow get to St. Nazaire, he might walk along the waterfront where there are dwelling houses and in one of them I lived for about three months while working at base hospital # 1 just outside the city. It was one morning in December, I remember, when the maid of the house came to bring a picture of hot water and as she closed the window she said she couldn’t understand why Americans wanted to keep the windows open all night. All this to say that if Dan gets to St. Nazaire, he might see if anything has happened to that row of little houses. I enjoyed my work there and had fun too.
The shop in New York is getting along. We serve many servicemen and when they buy things we absorb the tax ourselves – and 20% and 1% sometimes loom big, but that’s our bit that we can do for those who are doing so much for us. Well, so long and victory soon. From Elsie.
And that about brings us to the end of the page, with the usual goodbye and good luck, from DAD
Tomorrow, another excerpt from a letter written by John Jackson Lewis about his Voyage to Caifornia and what he finds there. On Sunday, I will continue the story of Lad and Marian Guion as Uncle Sam moves Lad hither and yon before sending him to France.
Judy Guion
"Greatest Generation" Life Lessons 
I enjoyed Elsie’s little reminiscence.
Liz – I never really knew Aunt Elsie when I was a child. I just remember when she came to live at the Trumbull house before she passed away. She had dementia and could never remember having met us even though we lived in the same house. I always told her my name and she was always glad to meet me. I didn’t know she had served in World War I until I read this particular letter, although I have learned that she had quite an interesting life. She had a horse, got her pilot’s license, owner the shop in Grand Central Station among other things. Quite a remarkable Lady.
How sad that dementia robbed you of the opportunity to get to know her when she was alive.
Liz – The beautiful thing is that I can get glimpses of her in Grandpa’s letters and her occasional notes to the boys. That helps.
All the more reason those letters are so precious.
Liz – You are absolutely right.