Armie Hill landed in Vichy-controlled French North Africa on November 8, 1942 during “Operation Torch,” the Allied invasion.

The following month he sent this holiday card to his family. The French Bonne Année is a wish for “A Happy New Year.” The card pictures a snow-covered village framed by holly and mistletoe and a Christmas herb (possibly rue). In one corner is a horseshoe—symbol of good luck.

On the back Armie wrote:

Wishing you a happy Christmas.
Loads of Love
Armie

The following February Armie was captured at Kasserine Pass. He spent most of the year in captivity.

Happily, the Christmas of 1943 found him celebrating Christmas at home in Phelps, Wisconsin on furlough. Many soldiers who escaped from Camp 59—those who were not killed or recaptured—spent Christmas 1943 hiding in the Italian countryside.