Cpl Roman F. Klick 36620923
Co "A", 353rd Engr Regt
A.P.O. #502, c/o Postmaster
San Francisco, California
July 12, 1943

Dear Aunty Clara,

Whew, I'm tired! Why? Because Larry and I climbed one of the higher mountains in this vicinity today. To approach the base of this mountain we had to literally fight our way thru dense vegetation. Then vegetation and all we started going up. At first it was easy because the incline did not amount to very much but as the plant life became sparse the hill began to go up at a steeper incline than ever. Finally, the side of the mountain almost became barren of any plant life whatsoever and we slowly fought our way up what may have been a sixty degree incline. There was nothing to hang on to except the rocks protruding from the ground and the little niches we found for our footing. When we reached the point we thought was the top of the mountain we discovered to our dismay that we were on a separate peak from the one we had in mind. The one we had intended to climb was still a good distance up and we no longer had the time to finish the feat. Nevertheless, it was quite an adventure to have ascended what at first seemed an impossibility. Upon looking over the situation from the peak, we knew perfectly well that we would break our necks if tried to come down the way we came up, so we walked along the ridge until we came to a long sloping incline and although it was one slide from the top to the base, it was a lot better than falling straight down its sheer face. One thing more, coming up the mountain we ran into one spider nest after another and were continually running into webs stretched from tree to tree with a great big fat spider clinging to the very center.

That all happened this afternoon. In the morning I had been working in the office on several little items that I did not have time for during the week. Although the time is different I kept thinking that maybe the same balmy breezes were blowing into the kitchen window as you were cooking chicken and waiting for Aunty Florence to come back from church. And then too I thought of the Columbus Park golf course and how Jerry and I used to bicycle over there on just such days as today. Many of those memories of the past days came back this morning. It even reminded me of that day of Clarence's funeral when the day was as perfect as could be for that late in the year (yet all happiness had come out of the world then). It reminded me of walking down 22nd Street in the warm sun. And sitting on the front steps on a Sunday afternoon.

In addition to those things I received two letters today. One was yours dated June 30 and another was from Eleanor Angsten dated May 31. Can you imagine that! Her letter which was sent by ordinary mail arrived the same time yours did yet it was mailed an entire month before that. You mentioned that the letter I sent Aunty Florence was postmarked from New York. It seems that quite a bit of our mail is being postmarked that way from what the other fellows tell me.

I was just wondering about the wrist watch. If Eleanor's letter took that long to reach me, the watch will take just as long unless it was possible to send it by airmail. I still have Harvey Beaumont's watch but I really should return it to him because after all he may have become tired of having to ask other people for the time. Evidently his pocket watch is on the blink.

I am writing a continuation to this V-mail form so for a little bit it is so-long,

/s/ Roman
Roman