Cpl Roman F. Klick 36620923
Co "A", 353rd Engr Regt
A.P.O. #502, c/o Postmaster
San Francisco, California
September 10, 1943

Dear Aunty Clara,

Friday



I have been back from the other outfit for an hour now but have not written a word until this time. I have been contemplating from my armchair, the strategic advantages and possibilities opened to the Allies by the conquest of Italy. The lack of up to the minute, event by event news is somewhat discouraging in that I might be making plans for action on the state of the world a day or so ago and therefore they are no good. Nevertheless, it is great fun to pore over a map and guess at what we can now do next.

The show at the other outfit was "Hi Buddy" with Dick Foran and Harriet Hilliard. We saw that show back in Camp White. Three shorts went with the picture. One was a Looney Tune which was just about the Looniest thing I ever saw. The second short was about strange and interesting hobbies. The third was a Famous Murder Trial taken from the radio version.

The sound was good throughout the showing of the shorts but the minute the main show started the sound died down. It was not very good but it was better than no sound at all. My movie evenings are now over until Tuesday night when I show the picture in our amphitheater. That means I will have three evenings for writing letters exclusively. I only hope that I will be able to take full advantage of them.

The drivers this evening were Steinhauser and Bari. They are the two drivers I have the most confidence in. In fact, when Steinhauser is at the wheel, I relax completely and can either enjoy talking with him or sink into a reverie of thought. The trip with the projector is becoming a paying load. Six fellows including myself and the drivers came along today.

The time is quarter to eleven but it doesn't phase me anymore. It used to be that I tried getting to bed before eleven but it just doesn't seem to work out. I managed it for about two or three weeks but that is the only time it ever worked since I've been in the Army. The night life isn't so bad if you could only sleep longer in the morning, but this 5:30 noise is what gets a fellow down.

The postman didn't even ring once today so that means they are going to start saving up for another bunch of five at once. I didn't get a chance to write before five o'clock because first I had to check the reels of film to see if they were in proper order and second I fixed a canvas cover and a canvas flap over a little shelf like affair I am going to keep under my cot. This piece of furniture is the bottom box and shelf of my old cabinet. I can make use of it to keep my mess kit, canteen cup, knife, fork and spoon, candle, candle holder, matches, watch box, dust cloths and spare miscellany conveniently at hand yet out of sight. That way I will not have to go into my footlocker as often as I otherwise would.

Larry has started working on his sea shells and has come across the idea that Nature did not make the shells beautiful enough so he is going over them with an emery cloth, valve grindings and a grinding wheel. Today was one of his days off and he tinkered around with the chess and checker sets his wife sent him and he finally covered the whole shebang with Scotch Tape so that they would not tend to tear and rip such as mine did a little bit after its trip across the ocean in a barracks bag.

If I feel as tired tomorrow night as I feel right now, I think I will go to bed the minute supper is over and then stay there until Reveille the next morning.

I found a local paper floating around the regiment and of all things, it was named "Back of the Yards" News. It was the Town of Lake local with headquarters on 51st and Ashland. That really is an old neighborhood for you, eh? I remember a lot of the old papers had Town of Lake stamped on them.

So-long,
/s/ Roman
Roman