Letter Written by Russell W. Brown to the Bryant College Service Club Dated December 22, 1944

[Transcription begins] Somewhere in BelgiumDec 22, 1944 Dear Friends, Your Christmas package arrived yesterday and it was a swell surprise. It was in excellent condition and you can be assured that the contents received extra special attention. Altho [sic] most of us won’t be where we would like to be at Christmas time, we celebrate the best we can. We have just recently completed building a dayroom for after work leisure. It is a swell place to read, write and relax and listen to the brand new radio. The most important feature is the bar which serves the best beer and cognac. The whole set up is the envy of every other squadron on the field. Our group also runs an Enlisted Man’s club in the nearby city which is really ritzy. All the modern conveniences of a large hotel and the Saturday nite [sic] dance with the local belles is the highlight of the week. So you can see that things could be a lot worse, at least here. The weather lately hasn’t been any too wonderful so I won’t take any time to praise this country about that. This country is just about as good as any of these old countries in this old world. All of them are do far behind the good ol [sic] USA that they never will catch up. One exception might be the gay city of Paris. A visit to that city will never be forgotten, at least I won’t forget my two trips. I read all about Lt Desormeaux and his recent adventure in a clipping sent to me. He sure led an exciting life for a while there. I still haven’t run into any Bryant Alumni in my journeys around this world. Maybe I will before we all get home tho [sic]. Well, thanks again for the Christmas pkg. It was swell of each and every one of you. Best of luck, Merry Xmas and the happiest of New Years to you all.Russell Brown [Transcription ends