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[RHC-93_Olexa_1943-08-20]
[Page 1 - front]
Sicily
August 20, 1943
Hello Sweets,
Rec’d your letter of July 24 and was glad to hear from you. It’s the first letter I received in 6
days. I’m fine as usual “Sweets” and hope you are the same. Was glad to hear that you got the
German picture I sent. We are back to the rear now and when this campaign is over God only
knows where we will go next. How are your folks, these days? Probably busy packing. Haven’t
seen Roy as yet but will look him up when I get the chance. He’s got some
[Page 1 - back]
of my pictures that I let him keep for me. We are in an almond orchard [?] and I’ve eaten
almonds so much that they ought to be coming out of my ears. I hope by now that you have
received all of the mail I sent you in the past month. I am to be cited for the work I had done in
this invasion. What do you think of that? I did my job and am well satisfied. Yes, it has been a
long time “Sweets,” since we’ve seen each other but some day, we shall be together. I miss you
very much “Sweets” and think of you often. How is Gloria
[Page 2 - front]
making out since her boy friend went away? Or did she forget him already? Ha! Ha! As for the
package you mentioned in your letter, if you did send it, I have not received it as yet. Don’t
forget to send me that picture I wanted. It wasn’t a coincidence about your mother and I agreeing
about the picture, for it is a good one. I haven’t heard from Helen or home and am anxiously
waiting to hear more about my two other sisters who are in the hospital. It is quite hot out today
and right now big drops of sweat are rolling down my
[Page 2 - back]
face and back. Well “Sweets,” I shall close for this time. Write real soon.
Yours always
With Lots of Love
Joe
{Signature accent mark}
[Envelope front]
Cpl. Joseph P. Olexa (12016893)
Co. “L,” 26th Infantry A.P.O. - 1
�c/o Postmaster New York, N. Y.
U. S. Army
{Postmark}
U.S. ARMY POSTAL [“SERVICE” missing due to top right corner of envelope being torn]
AUG
24
1943
A.P.O. 1
Miss Agnes Van Der Weide
11 Main Street
Ashburnham, Mass.
PASSED BY
11147
U.S.
ARMY EXAMINER
Robert Ostwald [?]
1st Lt. Inf.
�
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/.
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
1943-08-20
Title
A name given to the resource
Letter from Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, August 20, 1943
Description
An account of the resource
Handwritten letter and envelope with transcript by Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, dated August 20, 1943. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry A.P.O.-1, c/o Postmaster New York, New York, dated August 24, 1943. In the letter, Joe writes to Agnes from an almond orchard in Sicily and hopes to hear more from his family regarding his two sisters who are in the hospital.
Subject
The topic of the resource
United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th
World War, 1939-1945
Soldiers -- Michigan
Correspondence
Sicily (Italy)
Orchards
Almond industry--Italy
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