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https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/0d42615654998115df71d3b2b3055e6a.pdf
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https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/3fb1f0a3616cf39f40e98669103ac2ba.pdf
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[RHC-93_Olexa_1943-08-30]
[Page 1]
Sicily
August 30, 1943
Hello Darling,
Haven’t heard from you in over a week and it seems like ages. I shall probably get them all
together. I’m fine as usual “Sweets” and hope you are the same. I still miss you as much as ever
and think of you most of the time. I got a letter from Helen the other day telling me about my
mother visiting her. I suppose by now that your folks are now living in Grand Rapids. It’s only a
three-hour ride by train from Detroit and I hope that, when, I get back home, we can be together
more often. [sic] I haven’t seen Roy in three days and plan to go over to see him today. We are
having movies every nite. [sic] Some of the pictures
[Page 2]
are old ones but good. Some of the pictures we saw so far are “My Favorite Wife,” “The Navy
Comes Through,” “Hudson Bay,” and a few others. Tonite [sic] I think we are going to see
“White Cargo.” I just came back from church services and heard a good sermon. I couldn’t sing
though, for I’m hoarse from yelling too much at a ball game. Our team won so it was worth it.
How are the Walsh’s and the rest? If you get to see them, don’t forget to give them my best
regards. We are now having the usual training to keep us fit and in shape. Where we are going
from here and when is beyond me. When, I get home, I’m going to have plenty things to talk
about with you and it ain’t going to be about the war either. Just keeping you in suspence. [sic]
Ha! Ha!
[Page 3]
I guess you are disappointed in me not going back to the States as Roy wrote to Carolyn.
Whatever made him write that is beyond me? I nearly forgot to tell you that “Bob Hope” and
Frances Langford were here and put on a pretty good show. Bob Hope sure gave a lot of wise
cracks and jokes you could take in two ways. Well, it was a surprise to me of them coming here
for it’s the first time that we got to see any radio or movie stars. It has been a long time since I
left the States for overseas duty and its going on 14 months since I saw you last. Someday soon, I
hope to make good the last time. Ha! Ha! That’s if you haven’t found another boyfriend. I may
be very jealous you know. I’m sending you some more Italian paper
[Page 4]
money. One is a 5 lira [?] note and the other 2 liras [?]. Worth 7 cents in American money. I
certainly surprised myself by writing a long letter and hope you didn’t faint. Will close for this
time “Honey” and write real soon.
Yours Always,
�With Lots of Love & Kisses
Joe
{Signature accent mark}
P.S. Don’t forget to send me some more pictures.
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Joe Olexa letters
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Olexa, Joseph P.
Van Der Weide, Agnes
Description
An account of the resource
Collection of letters between Joseph Olexa and Agnes Van Der Weide, dating from 1941 to 1946. Olexa fought in the U.S. Army 26th Infantry Division, Company "L", and eventually attained the rank of Staff Sergeant. Over the course of World War II, Olexa was engaged in North Africa, Sicily, France, Belgium, and Germany. He fought in the Invasion of Normandy, the liberation of Belgium, the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, and the Battle of the Bulge. While deployed abroad, Olexa maintained regular correspondence with Agnes Van Der Weide, a young woman he met through mutual friends. Agnes was the daughter of Benjamin and Minnie (Ter Meer) Van Der Weide. The Van Der Weide family lived in Jamestown, Michigan and Ashburnham, Massachusetts until moving to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1943.
While the letters do not contain details relating to Olexa's military activities, due to heavy censorship of soldiers' correspondence by the U.S. Army, the letters do depict the daily activities of an infantry soldier and illustrate the blossoming romance between the two. Joseph and Agnes were married July 23, 1945, and lived in West Michigan until Agnes's death in 1993. Joseph Olexa died December 3, 2000. They were survived by their son, Karl Olexa.
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
World War II
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1941/1946
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence (RHC-93)</a>
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a>
Subject
The topic of the resource
United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th
World War, 1939-1945
Soldiers -- Michigan
Correspondence
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
RHC-93
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
RHC-93_Olexa_1943-08-30
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Olexa, Joseph P.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1943-08-30
Title
A name given to the resource
Letter from Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, August 30, 1943
Description
An account of the resource
Handwritten letter with transcript by Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, dated August 30, 1943. In the letter, Joe writes to Agnes while stationed in Sicily and covers numerous topics including the most recent news from their families back home in Michigan, the latest movies he has seen, and the entertaining show Bob Hope and Frances Langford put on for the troops. He also writes that he has been stationed overseas for the past fourteen months and missing Agnes every moment of their time apart.
Subject
The topic of the resource
United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th
World War, 1939-1945
Soldiers -- Michigan
Correspondence
Sicily (Italy)
Motion pictures--1940-1950
Hope, Bob, 1903-2003
Langford, Frances
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence, (RHC-93)</a>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
Relation
A related resource
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a>
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
World War II