Nearing the end of his draft period, and as the war was winding down, my father, Aaron Gitis, faced the prospect of returning home to life in his parents’ grocery store, or signing up for another “tour”, and continuing what he found to be a relatively cushy and interesting career in the military.
As the following letter indicates, his father, my grandfather, Adolph Gitis, who came to Minneapolis after fleeing military service during the Russian Revolution, did not find the prospect of a military career for his son very appealing.
Minneapolis, MN 11-24-45
Good morning Sonny. It is 7 a.m. and I am going to have breakfast. We received 2 letters from you yesterday. In one of them you wrote about re-enlisting? The advice is no. We want you home.
If you re-enlist, you will be gone for about 3 years.
No matter how much you will be the winner, you will be more the loser. You don’t want to be like the cow that follows the bull in S. St. Paul (to the slaughter house). Take chances and wait until you will be discharged. And it would not be long. I am sure.
Be your own boss. You want to go to school before you are 20 - and if you enlist, you will be 24 when you get out . You can’t. (up. narin them. Keiser). Beats me. Yiddish maybe?
Leave time take its course. Don’t volunteer.
I will finish.
Love,
Your Father
This is one of my favorite things.