My darling Billy, Today I received your sweet and long letter with much pleasure. I thank you very much for it. You are very sweet to write me such a great letter. I give you a million kisses as a thank you. I understand very well that you cannot write everyday because you have a lot of work. I forgive you because I understand the life of a soldier. But I hope that you do not go to Japan because of occupational forces Billy darling. My father is very nice now but your letters are always a great consolation for me. Billy darling, I still have not seen your good friend Tom but I think that he is in Nice with Andrée Julien. I am very envious of Andrée because she is very happy now. I hope that I will have the same luck soon. And you Billy darling? But I deeply thank you for the package that you sent through him. Have you received the letter where I tell you that I received the picture of your sister Carol? Billy darling please let me know if you have received the pictures of the beach. If you have not received them, I will send you others. Uncle gave your letter to Charley, he thanks you very much and has been very happy. Last night, I got the drafts of my photos and I shall have them next week. Last night with my mother, we saw an American soldier who looked like you and I think I saw your brother. Is he in Nice? Have you gotten a letter from your family Billy darling? I hope that they are still in good health and that your sister, Carol’s, husband will return to her soon. Uncle has framed your picture and I am very happy. Now I have your two pictures by my bed and I see you every night before I go to sleep. I also see our little star glittering every night in the sky. And you Billy darling? But darling, I will finish now because I am going to go eat. Good night and sweet dreams Billy darling. All my love and a million kisses.
JANY
P.S. My mother, aunt and uncle send you all of their best regards. Please forgive me for any mistakes in my letter. Please write soon darling.
My darling Billy, Five days that I haven’t received any news and I am horribly bored. Do you not think of me anymore? But I think and hope that only the mail service is responsible and at each mail delivery, I am very disappointed to see that the mailman is not bringing me a letter from my Billy. Today I had a visit from your friend Tom before his departure. I was impatiently waiting [for him] because I rejoiced at the thought of getting some news about you from one of your friends. Unfortunately, your friend was very rushed and we were only able to talk for a couple of minutes. He told me that you will maybe come on leave this month. I hope so, with all my heart, and everyone here is impatiently waiting for your visit Billy darling. Your friend Tom announced his engagement with Andrée Julien to me and his marriage [is set] for the month of December. I forgot to congratulate them, be a dear Billy darling, forgive me and congratulate them for me. He told me that he will maybe come work in Nice. Today, I had the surprise of receiving in a letter from my friend from Marseille a photo excerpt from an American journal (I don’t know how to write!) which was taken during a performance. The photo is not very good but I showed it to your friend Tom anyways. Yesterday afternoon with Aunty and Uncle, I did a long walk to the castle. The four of us took some photos and I hope they come out well. I will have them tomorrow evening and I will send them to you right away Billy darling. But about photos, I am grounding you. You never told me if you received the photos from the beach and I thought that the letter had been lost. It had to be your friend Tom that reassured me. Did they not please you? Billy darling, I hope that you received good news from your parents and your sister, Carol. I hope that now you have less work and that soon your Captain will want to let you come to Nice on leave. Did you give him my letter? I yearn and wish very very much to see you again soon. My little darling Billy, I leave you for today but I will write you again tomorrow. Mother, Aunty, Uncle and Charley send you all of their best regards and me, with all my love, a million kisses.
My darling Billy, I have received your sweet letter from September 4th. It had been 7 days that I was without any news from you and I was very sad darling. I hope your friend Tom had a good trip and that he has given you my message. I am very glad that you don’t have to go away to the Pacific, Billy darling. I hope your infantry will return to Livorno and that you will soon have leave because I wish to see you again. It has already been 3 months since you have been away and time feels very long and endless to me. Come back quickly Billy darling. My aunt has given me a small photo album where I shall put your pictures. Please, Billy darling, send me some photos to fill it. Tonight, I shall have my costume photos and I shall send one of them to you. I hope that they will be good and that they will please you. Tomorrow I shall send you another picture which we took at the castle. Are you invited to the wedding of your friend Tom to Andrée? I am proud to know you because your regiment has been honored. This is appropriate because during the war, it was your regiment which did everything. This year, I didn’t give your white fabric to the dressmaker because we will soon be in winter and I would prefer to have it used next summer with a newer pattern. I finish my letter here because I must go take my pictures. My mother sends you her regards, also my aunt, my uncle and Charley. With all my love and a million kisses.
JANY
P.S. Please darling, write me quickly.
I just came from the photographer’s but alas, my photos are not ready yet. So I will not be able to send them to you until tomorrow. This photographer is not really as rushed as I am. Again, a million kisses.
My darling Billy, I finally have the photos and I am hurrying to send them to you. I added the little photos to my letter and I will send you my costume photo separately because it is too big to fit in my letter. How do you like them and do they please you Billy darling? I hope so. I think that, here, in a couple of days, we will be able to take some others because I have a new film roll, a rare thing in Nice. Today Billy darling, I find the time to be even longer than ever and I wish even more than normal to have you next to me. How the days are long without you Billy darling. Why don’t I have the pleasure of having you next to me? But alas, I will still have to wait many days probably before seeing you again. Awaiting the beautiful day where I will see you again Billy darling, I can only send you all my love and millions of kisses.
JANY
P.S. Mother sends you all her best regards. Write soon Billy darling because your letters are my only joys.
My darling Billy, Today, Sunday, I am at Aunty’s [house] laying on the couch. I just reread all of your letters and believe me, Billy darling, they made me sad. Billy, my darling, I don’t stop thinking about the day where you will leave for America. This day scares me because for me everything will be over, I will not see you again. For you, it is not the same thing. You will return to your country, your family and you will maybe forget about the little French girl I am, a girl that loves you. But Billy darling, do you want to maintain our friendly correspondence? But either way, I will have little consolation. I will meet your friend Tom and Andrée and I will be able to talk about you with someone who was your best friend. My darling Billy, if one day you are sad, think that someone over here very far away is thinking of you, loves you and is not going to forget you because my love is sincere Billy darling. But today, I am sad and feel the need to easy my heart. Yes each day that passes makes me pine more and more for you. I await the day of your leave like a miracle as it will be, without a doubt, your last leave. Billy darling, these 7 days near you will be marvelous but very short and already I dread the moment where we will have to leave each other and say goodbye. Oh! Billy darling, why is life like this? But my darling, I hate to bore you with a sad letter. So I will now talk to you about my photos, I hope that you received them. Do they please you? How do you find the one of me in costume? Soon darling, I will send you others. Ok? But now I am waiting on you to put [photos] in my little album, you know that I am keeping it especially for your photos. But my darling, I have to tell you that now that my heart is settled, I am a little less sad. At this moment, Uncle is teasing me and Aunty is scolding him loudly. My darling I leave you because it is late and I have to return to the house. With all my love and millions of kisses.
My darling Billy, As of today, it has been 8 days since I received your last letter. I really find the time to be long without a word from you and I am starting to be very worried about your fate. Billy darling, are you sick? This thought makes me shudder. I am always so scared that something will happen to you. I dare hope and wish that it is nothing. But then why this long silence? Have you decided to no longer write me? I do not understand the reason and want to distance this thought from my mind. If you could only know what your letters mean to me. Oh how the mailman disappoints me every day and I would say sometimes twice a day. Today, without change, I am at Aunty’s [house] and I have a very deep sadness. But that is no reason to let you know, let’s talk about other things. Have you any good news from your parents or from your sister Carol? Oh how they will be so happy to see you again soon after such a long separation. Here, in Nice, life for me is stil monotonous. Despite everything, I just restarted my singing lessons which are a big distraction for me. I will try to make myself a lovely repertoire of new songs. I have a little favor to ask you… Could you send me the lyrics of “Chattanooga Choo Choo”? It is not for me but for a friend and you would be giving me great pleasure Billy darling in sending them to me. It has been a long time since I have gone dancing at the Red Cross. At this moment, I feel no need to go out. Come quickly Billy darling so that we can dance together again. I dare to hope that now, you will not delay getting another leave. I want to rejoice already but your silence makes me scared. I beg you Billy darling, write me quickly, I can no longer live in this uncertainty. Today, the weather is splendid and we went to take some photos with Uncle. If they come out well, I will send you some. Now Billy darling, I send you from mother, Aunty, Uncle and Charley many regards. As for me, I give you all my love and millions of kisses.
My darling Billy, Today I am very happy because I received three letters from you my darling. To think that it had been nine days that I hadn’t received anything from you and the most crazy thoughts were tormenting me. Were you sick? Did you forget about your little star? I did not know what to think and I was crazy with worry and fear. But today Billy darling, if I am crazy it is from joy. Just think about what your letters mean to me my darling. They are my only joy, my only hope and I dare say, my only reason to live. Also, know that I am so happy today, I have a crazy desire to laugh, to sing. Thank you Billy darling for your very nice letters. Thank you also for the songs and for what your letter from September 13th contained. All this gave me a lot of pleasure. But Billy darling, you wrote in one of your letters that you want to see me again soon to tell me something that you cannot write me. Oh Billy darling, please be nice! Now that you have peaked my curiosity, you cannot not satisfy it. Do no leave me waiting for your next leave to know what you want to tell me. Then it’s promised, right? You will tell me quickly. You want women that are curious and I am one of them. But Billy darling you asked me to learn the song “Stardust.” Alas, I want to but I don’t have the music. I searched for it in vain today at many music stores; many American songs are not published yet in France and I am sorry. Billy darling, time seems very long in waiting for your next leave seems very long to me. Soon it will be three months that we have not seen each other. For me, it feels like at least three years. I hope that your new Captain will be nicer to you and that he will grant you leave finally, which the both of us have been impatiently waiting for. I so want to see you again soon Billy darling. You cannot know how empty my life is without you and how much I miss you. The days are a series of waiting, often disappointing because the postman forgets about me often. And even your letters, so nice and so dear to me, cannot replace you Billy darling. Also, I pray each day for you to return to me quickly. I put so much fervor in my prayers that I am certain that God will hear me and raise me up; it is my most dear desire my darling. I am happy that you have received news from your sister and I hope that you have equally received [some news] from your parents. But Billy darling, it is time for the mail and since I want my letter to arrive quickly I leave you for this evening in sending you, with all my love, my most tender kisses.
Your little JANY
P.S. everyone sends you their best regards. Write me quickly darling.
My darling Billy, Today, Sunday, I responded to three letters that I had the joy of receiving last night. Billy darling, I thank you very deeply for the little badge you sent me, it is really very cute and I like it a lot. To thank you, I send you thousands and thousands of kisses. Billy, my darling, at this moment I am in pain because I have a great fear of not seeing you again. I shudder at the thought that you will leave soon to America without being able to come back to Nice. Billy my darling, everyday I pray that you will have leave. For me, not seeing you again would be a pain too cruel [to bear] because my heart is full of you Billy darling. Yesterday night, I looked for a while at our little star and every night I wish to see you again very soon. Billy my darling, oh how I bless the happy day where I met you. Do you recall our first dances at the Red Cross? How I am proud to have known you my darling Billy. But do I deserve this very happiness!? Thus, I am very scared to see my biggest happiness one day leave very far away to never come back. Billy, my darling, my dearest desire is to know that you are always happy. I have such sorrow when I feel that you are in pain. I love you darling and I am very impatient to see you again. Can’t you find an excuse so that your captain gives you leave for Nice? Billy, my darling, I am very happy to know that you did receive the photos and that they pleased you. But have you not received the one of me in costume yet? Today I will send you others. But I still haven’t yet congratulated you on your new stripe, I want to see you as a sergeant. I hope that I will have the pleasure very shortly. Thank you very much Billy darling for all that you sent me in your letter. I have not seen Miss Andrée Julien again. Give my best regards to your good friend Tom. Billy, my darling, I will leave you for this evening. But tomorrow I promise you a long letter. Like always, mother, Aunty, Uncle and Charley send you their best regards. As for me, my darling Billy, a million kisses that I send you along with my most sincere love.