AN OHIO STATE BUCKEYES FOOTBALL FAN WRITES A LETTER TO HIS SOLDIER SON

By Linda Lee Greene, Author & Artist.





Pvt. Joseph S. Williams

68^th C. A. (A A) Reg. Hq. Btry.

ASN 35405121 APO, C/O Postmaster, NY, NY 



                                                                                                                            November 14, 1943



Dear Son:

We received your last and very welcome letter about two weeks after the date on the heading. The Army’s V-mail service is certainly an improvement over the former snail’s pace. Of course, we are always so grateful to learn that you are doing well. Your mother asks me to remind you to keep your feet dry and warm, and to eat your vegetables. She worries so much about your being exposed to the cold.

Your mother, sister, and I are just fine. Our only bad news is that Grandpa Williams is suffering from gout. The big toe on his right foot is swollen to twice its size. He growls like a testy old bear from the pain. I took a carving knife to his shoe and house-slipper, cutting away the portion that would touch his toe. Grandma is her usual patient and accommodating self. Grandpa doesn’t deserve such an angel for a wife. Nor do I deserve to have her as my sainted mother. She still goes to Mass every morning and lights a candle of protection for you.

The newspaper and radio keep us abreast of the status of the Allied Forces both in the Pacific and European Theaters of the war, although we are in the dark as to your exact position, and whether or not you are in transit. Your mother thinks you are still in Italy, but I think you might be on your way to England, if not already there somewhere. There is a lot of talk at church and at the country club about a big buildup of troops and material in England that will go against Germany in their own territory sometime soon. Of course, we have heard that speculation since World War II began. We understand that you are not permitted to divulge such information in your letters. Our prayers are always with you and all the troops.

I’m sure you have yet to receive the letter I sent you in which I reported the good news of Ohio State’s 46-6 win over Pittsburgh last week. It was an away game, so we weren’t able to attend it. But we were right there in our usual seats at Ohio Stadium yesterday when OSU hosted Illinois. The framed photograph of you that normally sits on the mantle here at home was perched on your reserved seat beside me at the stadium. It was pointed toward the field. And of course, your mother and sister occupied the two seats to your left. Our fondest wish is for the day you will occupy your seat at the stadium again. 

Frost has set in here in Central Ohio, and to ward off the cold at the game, we donned our trusty old beaver coats and hats, and wrapped our throats in woolen scarves. Thermoses of hot chocolate warmed our insides. It was a grueling contest on the field. The Buckeyes and the Illini were tied 26 to 26, and the Buckeye’s pass on the last play fell incomplete. The game was over. The players left the field and we, as well as most of the other 36,328 spectators, filed out of the stands. We didn’t find out until I read the story in the newspaper this morning that twelve minutes after the apparent end of the game, the players were sent back onto the field. Nobody realized it, including the coaches, players, and fans that an official had called an off-sides penalty against the Illini, and two seconds were then put back on the clock. In a spectacular second-chance effort, the Buckeyes kicked a field goal straight into the scoring lane. It was Ohio over Illinois 29-26. Hooray! But we didn’t get to see it happen!

Next week we will meet Michigan at Ann Arbor for the final game on our schedule this season. You will recall that this is the third year for Paul Brown as our head coach. I wonder if his contract will be renewed owing to our less than stellar Big Ten record this year of three wins and five losses so far. Let’s stop Michigan from ending our record with six losses!

By the by, my dear son, I will send you the results of that game next week, along with our news, and our love and prayers for your safety. GO BUCKS!

                                                                                               

All my love,

                                                                                                Dad©

Note: the above is a work of historical fiction based on actual events.



Source: Andrew Buchanan, 100 Things Buckeyes Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die, (Triumph Books, 2014) pp. 246–247.

 

Books by multi-award-winning author, Linda Lee Greene are available for purchase in eBook and paperback on Amazon.