Cpl Roman F. Klick 36620923
Co "A", 353rd Engr Regt
A.P.O. #502, c/o Postmaster
San Francisco, California
August 30, 1943
Dear Aunty Clara,
Monday
The speaker who lectured on the island a few weeks ago told us about a bird which practically lives on the backs of the cattle. Today I saw them. At least five or six birds were perched on the back of a great big black cow.
Morris E. Mersing finally received news for which he had anxiously waited. As of 22 August 1943 he was the father of a baby girl by the name of Cherryl Ann Mersing. He received a notice by cablegram in eight days thru the facilities of the Red Cross.
The canopy which I told you was to cover the main and adjacent walks of the Regimental Headquarters is now in the process of going up. The posts are almost all in place and it resembles (1) Stonehenge, England, (2) a stockade and (3) two rows of dead trees. Jack does me one better by calling it a petrified forest.
I've taken a crack at the first French oral lesson and it went off rather well. If I could find four hours a day to study French, I might get to know a little more about the language in a half a year or so, but that is an impossibility.
The movie projector is still on the blink and there will be no show tonight at the other outfit. In fact it isn't even promised definitely for tomorrow so who knows but that it will not be until Thursday when our regiment again opens the box office in the amphitheater. The movie scheduled for Wednesday is "For Me and My Gal." After hearing you two talk about the picture so much and listening to and liking the song, I am anxious to see it.
You just can't please people that's all there is to it. If you let your work slide or if you do it without announcing that it is being done, they ask you to get on the ball but if you do your work and are quite ostentatious about it they ask you why you are bucking and for what. Bucking is army slang for trying to do a good job in order to get a promotion. It reminds me of the fable about the man, his son, and their donkey. You remember how it went with the boy man and donkey all walking towards town. People began criticizing so the man got on the donkey with the result that people said the boy should ride etcetera ad infinatum until they absurdly ended up by carrying the donkey themselves.
One of yesterday's letters to you almost did not go out. The reason was that since it was the second letter, I had not previously written my return address on the outside of the V-mail and placed it in the mail box that way. So far today I have not received any mail from you but I expect some before the day is over.
Speaking of mail, I just received your letter of the 19th and to end the string for once and for all, I'm glad that your glad that I'm glad into infinity that Myrtle is a good reporter of news. Say, I didn't know that woolen stuff shrinks when washed out in boiling water? Evidently my things were a size bigger than I wear because I haven't noticed any of them being too tight fitting since the boiling. My last washing was done in cold water because I didn't have the time to do it the other way.
I hardly think, Rizzo would care to have Larry and I vocalizing to his piano playing. We may like it but I hardly think that other people would appreciate it as well.
That was some haul getting eight letters at one time! But that is what comes of not getting any for several days.
Incidentally, my piano playing has hit a plateau as far as improvement is concerned. I went thru the Army Song book today and refreshed my memory on the ones that I had experimented on, but took on no new tunes.
The finances took another 10 cent drop this afternoon leaving me with 15 cents and payday is Wednesday evening.
So-long,
Roman