WWII Item of the Week... Christmas Day Letter.

I know that again to some this is not a real exciting piece, but to me it is awesome.. and It's the little things.
ANd pieces like this I find to be the most interesting. (Yes, I promise one day I will get to helmets, daggers and guns, etc.)

But this is a fantastic piece that I absolutely love. I had the letter scanned today...

This is my latest pick up.. and I had to pay a little bit for it too... But it is a handwritten letter home written on Christmas Day 1944. By Staff Sergeant Frank J Kasun to his wife back home in Wisconsin...

There are many things interesting about it all but his unit was on the front lines of fighting on Christmas day during the German offensive operation known as the Battle of the Bulge.

To begin with S/SGT Frank J Kasun was with the 557 AAA AW BN..
557 Anti Aircraft Artillery, Automatic Weapons Battalion.
Info on 557th AAA, AW Battalion

Frank and his Crew operated a M17 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage like this one.



The unit Arrived via LST at Utah Beach on August 17, 1944 with a total of 36 officers, 3 warrant officers and 741 men, and by the 20th was set up around St. Mere Eglise guarding the airstrips and a class III dump. The unit was latter attached to the 84th Infantry Division.

On Christmas Day, 1944 the 557th was stationed at Rabosse, Belgium.

Here are a few photographs of the halftracks of the 557th. Notice the marking on the Bumper.
left - 557 AA - 557 Anti Aircraft
right - C 6 - Battery C - Truck number 6
This is Mel Stafford..




Here are a few more pics of the unit, trucks etc of the 557th AAA AW BN. There appears to be about 4 men operating each Truck. *NOTE* - I do not own the pictures, only the letter itself.











The caption of this pic reads. "These are the four half-tracks of the first platoon. Mine is C-6. This was taken in Plankstald near Hildleburg..." H. Rightnour




This is a photo of one of the down planes that they got. and this is the caption. "This is the Kraut from the plane that landed close to our gun when we were near the Elbe River. A few weeks before the war ended. The top of his head was cut-off and and every bone in his body broken."...



I have included a map. Like I stated the 557 was attached to the 84th Infantry division during the Battle of the Bulge and on Christmas day... I have circled in yellow where the unit was stationed on Christmas day as the battle was going on.




This is an excerpt from the History of the 557th AAA AW BN for the Month of December. It is interesting to see how many rounds were fired, targets, etc.. Also is specifically Mentions Christmas Day.





This is the letter Cover that says US Army Postal Service Dec 29 1944... Just 4 days after Christmas




This is the Home that the letter went to, I am guessing this was his home. It is the Brown House on the right...




It is difficult to read the handwriting. But this is a 4 page letter. He talks about the US Artillery pounding the German Lines. He mention the cigarette rations of 5 packs per week. They are sleeping in a house with blankets and a bed... And for Christmas they had Turkey, but with no fancy dressing so they made pancakes. Also he mentions Church services.

I am going to enclose all four pages of the letter and also it will be large so you can read the letter yourself if you choose to do so. Notice how it starts off somewhere in Belgium... I had the letter scanned.. the pages are 5"x8".










Mr. Frank J Kasun is buried in Southern Wisconsin just North of Chicago...



I noticed that Mr. Kasun passed not too long ago... You would think that getting this letter to his remaining family would be a good idea... But what I have come to find out in this collecting is that usually it IS the family that sells these items. As crazy as it seems, some people have no interest in this stuff... ANd one time I did track a family down with some old war letters and they told me to keep them and enjoy them.. Which I do...

Someone bought all of Franks things and then divided them up for re-sale... I hate that part about it all.. But I will keep Mr. Frank J Kasun's letter in my private museum and will treasure it for a long time...

If you have made it all the way to the end.. Please remember our troops over seas now during this Holiday period. Please Donate to the USO, operation Homefront or The Wounded Warrior Program.

Now the next time I post.. I think that I will stick with the Anti Aircraft theme and post Aircraft Recognition cards and manuals. Something just a little more exciting than letters and menus...

God Bless the USA.