Message from Paraguay, February 14, 1946:

My dear friends, I have a happy event to report to you. My erstwhile young business partner, Jurgen Brehmer, was married today to his sweetheart Kathryn, a lovely young woman from Chicago, USA. Brehmer had the occasion to meet her quite unexpectedly in late 1942 while he was 'visiting' Chicago, and it appears to have been the hand of destiny that brought them together. They make a lovely couple. I am confident that Kathryn will provide a useful focus for Brehmer's ferocious energy level and succeed in settling him down a bit. One cannot fly commercial aircraft like fighter planes, and Brehmer has definitely needed something lately to occupy his restless mind.

This country has been good to us. The climate is magnificent and the food is very good. You even get used to the ants and scorpions soon enough! Our flying business, B & B airlines (for Brehmer and Bauer), is doing very well indeed, so much so that Brehmer has managed to purchase his dream...a war surplus Lockheed Lightning that apparently served in the Pacific at one time. It's a fine machine, but no damn good for anything except aerobatics and killing people. I hope it does not end up by killing Brehmer, but he assures me that it is a highly reliable aircraft as long as one avoids compressibility effects in a dive, and this one is the later model with the small dive brakes under the wings.

I am becoming quite a hand with aircraft myself. I can now fly them, more importantly land them (the hard part!) and service them...most of this due to Brehmer's patient instructions over the past three years.

Brehmer has been approached and offered a job as a military flying instructor for the Paraguayan Air Force. He was tempted, because they would have him flying the P-51 Mustang, a marvelous airplane by all accounts, and maybe the new jets, but he finally decided he didn't want to get involved with the military again. One ends up having to do things that one would really be better off not doing, and not having a thing to say about it. We have both decided we prefer civilian life. One war was more than enough.

In a year or two we plan to visit the United States, most of which I have not seen. It's an amazingly large and prosperous country, but I don't think people are as relaxed there as they are here in Paraguay.

My own wife, Carmen, is well and happy, and the children are growing by leaps and bounds. I can honestly say that I am among the most fortunate of men. Damned if I know what I did to deserve this, but there you are.

So, we all send you our very best wishes and hope to see you again one of these days soon.

Much love and remembrance,

Martin Bauer
Hernandarias, Paraguay