A Letter Home, June 7, 1944

This is part one of an ongoing series by Lucy Albright. about her grandfather, Major Paul H Price. He was a WVU geology professor who went back into the military. He got caught up in the Ardennes offensive in late 1944. Lucy will be sharing his letters and photos in a series of posts. – Ed.

Major Paul H Price, ETO, Saar Region, SHAEF G4
June 7, 1944

My dears,
I should have gotten this off yesterday, which was as you well know the great day.  It was also an anniversary for me since it was on June 6, 1943 that I received my commission.  The picture was taken in fun some weeks ago when a good friend Capt. Murphy from Georgia and I were in the large Selfridges store in London.  He made some remark about West Virginia which brought forth the smile.  Things are much more serious now but we still are able to smile.  Mail from home is not reaching me so regularly.  I hope all is going well at home.  With love to all my dears from

Your
Daddy

On June 6, 1943, Paul Price, Chair of Geology at West Virginia University and State Geologist for West Virginia received a commission as Major for the United States Army.  Born in September of 1898, Paul quit college in 1918, shortly after beginning studies in civil engineering, and enlisted to serve in World War 1.  Shortly after receiving a commission as a Second Lieutenant of Infantry the war ended.  After working for awhile as a roughneck and derrick man in the Texas oil fields he returned to school and began his education as a geologist.  The choice of geology was what would lead him back to military service.

Widowed in 1940, Dr. Paul Price began his service to his country again in 1943. Leaving four children, Allene 16, Joann 12, Louise 9 and Paul Jr. 8, in the care of extended family and housekeepers, Paul made efforts to continue to be a father in spite of the war, through regular written correspondence with his family in West Virginia.  His daughter Joann, my mother, kept every letter he sent to her.  While helping my aunt clean out her basement recently we found nearly every letter he received from his children, as well as many photographs of the places he was stationed.  I hope to share those letters here, as well as the photographs.  Some of the letters, especially from my Mom, are pretty funny.  At 12 years old, war can be a challenging concept for kids to get their brains around.  Of the approximately 150 photographs only about 30 were identified by my grandfather (who my uncle Paul called “Pater” and we grandkids called “Poppie”).  It is my hope that sharing this will help me identify the photos and gain more knowledge and insight to my grandfather’s experiences in WWII, both as a professional and a father.