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Saum, James B. (Second World War correspondence)
2020.142.w.r
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Contributing Institution:
Center for American War Letters Archives
Title: James B. Saum Second World War correspondence
source:
Burley, Linda Jay
Creator:
Saum, James Baines, Lieutenant Colonel, 1920-2009
Identifier/Call Number: 2020.142.w.r
Physical Description:
0.01 Linear Feet
(1 folder)
Date: 1946 March 24
Abstract: This collection contains one letter from 2nd Lt. James B. "Jay" Saum, USA to his cousin Lina Mae "Bean" Saum shortly after
the Second World War. The letter was written on Nazi letterhead from Munich at what he refers to as "Hitler's own private
apartment house."
Language of Material: German language (Fraktur script) is used in the letterhead. The remainder of the materials are in English (Latin script).
Container: WWII 30
Container: 14
Container: 1
This collection is open for research.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Linda Burley in Memory of Lina Mae Saum.
This collection contains one two page letter, numbered and arranged in order.
Lieutenant Colonel James Baines "Jay" Saum, United States Army (12/17/1920 - 9/28/2009) was born in Washington, D.C. to Hugh
Harris Saum and Elizabeth "Betty" Baines Saum, along with two older brothers Hugh Jr. and Robert W. He was a six foot tall
student at the University of Maryland when he filled out his draft registration card on February 16 and enlisted May 19, 1942
in Prince George's County, Maryland. He was able to graduate in 1943 and earned a promotion to second lieutenant on May 4,
1944. He served overseas during the war in the infantry and field artillery and stayed with occupation forces in Germany,
earning first lieutenant in December 1946.
James was married to Helen Griffin Saum (4/6/1922 - 3/12/2009) and they had two children together: Timothy B. and James B.
Saum, Jr.
James continued with the Army, and according to Army registries may have discharged and reenlisted as an officer in 1948.
He and his family lived in several places during his military career, including Hawaii, Panama, and Brussels, Belgium when
he was attached to NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). In 1963, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and eventually
retired to Richmond, Virginia. Helen passed away in March and James passed away in September 2009 in Hingham, Massachusetts;
they are both interred at Arlington National Cemetery.
[Item title / description; Box "n" / Folder "n"], James B. Saum Second World War correspondence (2020.142.w.r), Center for
American War Letters Archives, Chapman University, CA.
For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information about sources consulted in this
collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder descriptions, and box/folder locations.
This collection contains one letter from 2nd Lt. James B. "Jay" Saum, USA to his cousin Lina Mae "Bean" Saum shortly after
the Second World War. The letter was written in March 1946 during the American occupation of Germany on Nazi letterhead from
Munich at what he refers to as "Hitler's own private apartment house."
He goes on to give a detailed description of his command post "which at one time was Hitler's own private apartment house,"
noting that the "Divarty" headquarters (division artillery) "is located on the floor where Hitler's office was and his private
quarters consisting of his very lavish bed room, bath, and Eva Braun's adjoining bed room." In what has become his office,
he has found photographs of Neville Chamberlain and Hitler together, surmising that these may have been the rooms in which
discussions on the Munich Pact were held. The stationary upon which the letter was typed was is Nazi party letterhead found
in the apartment house.
The letterhead reads, "Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei," which translates to "National Socialist German Workers'
Party," with a swastika symbol in the middle. A search for the address given, 6 Prenzregentenplatz, brings up Adolf Hitler's
Munich apartment (Prinzregentenplatz 16; possibly typo or the address has changed). The bottom of the first page reads, "Höflichfeitsformeln
fallen bei allen partei amtlichen Schreiben meg.," which translates (Google Translate) to "polite formulas fall in all party
official letters meg."
The letter goes on to discuss the arrival of lost mail since his transfer to another unit and how Lina was in Montreal; apologizing
that he was able to maker her wedding but will not be able to make it home for the impending birth of her child. He goes on
to mention receiving mail from his father and mother, including money, his brother Hugh in Okinawa, and Bill (unknown relationship)
whom has recently died.
Saum then discusses the possiblity of being home by summer and lamenting that his nine months of infantry duty on the front
line did not earn him the points necessary to go home for discharge:
But it seems ironical that I should get out on service rather than points. After nine months of living hell at the front in the Infantry, it has had no bearing on my discharge, and if I had been sitting at a recruiting station on Pennsylvania Avenue, I would be getting out at the same time. Perhaps a little sooner."
In a previous letter, Lina asked about fraternization with the German women. James attempts to answer her question, saying
that most men do, but not all, and illustrating that particular story is long and "rather hard to put down in black and white.
Some day we'll have a long bull session, and I'll give you all the dope as I've seen it."
On the subject, however, he does give a little insight, saying:
But though the fraternizing is strong, it's purely (in most cases of course) because the boys desire feminine companionship and so forth. There are clubs and dances and such, and how can you have a good time without someone to drink or to dance with. But deep down in-side the average soldier still holds a deep hatred for the German people as a whole."
Saum wraps up his letter with a mention about the increased quality in beer, since the import of American male and coal, and
telling Lina that he is not in need as Munich has a good PX and he is already receiving Stars and Stripes and the overseas
editions of Time and the New Yorker.
There are no restrictions on the use of this material except where previously copyrighted material is concerned. It is the
responsibility of the researcher to obtain all permissions.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Correspondence -- World War, 1939-1945
World War (1939-1945)
World War (1939-1945) -- Germany
Burley, Linda Jay