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When putt was over in Germany he never really saw any fighting. By the time they had got there most of the war was already over, so they were mainly there to be the clean up crew for the city of Verdin in Germany. By the end of his time over there he was afraid of being shipped to the south pacific in Japan where they were still fighting. He said in some of his letters he would rather stay in Germany. Putt remembers seeing the sick Nazis, they were so skinny and most of them were surrendering like flies. He would see truck loads of men coming from the front lines. He remembers seeing the men so sick and so skinny.
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Around Christmas time is when the men were missing home the most, especially putt. He wished he could be home to hear the choir sing at his church. He would ask his mom to send him books of music and organ music books. His mom would also send him food like cheese and olives and chocolate covered almonds. Putt and his fellow troop members had moved in to an apartment in Germany that a family had fled from. In that apartment to his joy and surprise there was a piano in it, so the men would always ask him to come play for them. He would never turn down the chance to play.
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Over in Poland the troops befriended a younger boy who was an orphan. The boy would work for them for anything from money to food and cigarettes, anything they could find to give him in return for his help. Sometimes and in some places they would have the time to go to the store to get some food for them to cook. Which made it so much better, he often would refer to the food as chicken shit. When he would have any free time he would meet up with his brother Roland somewhere in England. One time he would honored to meet Pope Pious.
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When he was able to finally get home the church and his family threw him a welcome home party. And he went back to school at Capital University. He wasn’t active in the veterans organization. He went to medical school in Cincinnati. Then went to Cleveland to pursue his doctor career. He would go back to Germany every year and visit the other doctors there until he was physically unable. To go any longer.
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He was drafted in the the army. He didn't want to go but he didn't have a choice. At the time he was attending Capital University. He joined the Engineering Core in the US Army. He went to Fort Hayes for Basic trainning. Then went to South Carolina. Putt had never been out of Ohio before so he was amazed with the mountians like the ones there. He was very home sick as many of the others were. He missed his mothers cooking, he hated waking up early, and thought some of his sargents were stupid and unfair. He thought he knew more than they did. To make it through they would go to the USO to play the piano. He was a excellent piano player and would play for everyone to dance to. While he was stationed in Germany when he had any free time he would go to the churches and play the organ. One time the pastor heard him playing the organ and he asked him to play the organ for a church sometime.
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