Home | Return to Index

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

Dear Aunty Clara,

Thursday

For the love of Mike, my Dad must have bats in his belfry coming in and telling you such stuff. What ever news he gets is second or third hand whereas you are getting news fresh off the press from me. Of course more than twenty days has now elapsed since the day you wrote the letter of September 12 (which I received just fifteen minutes ago) and whatever day it is now that you are reading this; so you probably know that my Dad was full of wind. At the time when Cava and his bunch packed their stuff I did not realize you would ever get to hear of it and I thought that it might be censorable; since they are allowed to write that they are not living in our camp anymore I might as well tell you myself. His fellows, excepting the Company Clerk, and a few others of the overhead gang are living and working very close to town and have consequently packed and left our camp for quite some time now.

So you think this place is hot and steaming during the times that it rains, eh? Well, it seems to be just the reverse in that the rain cools off the place and when it isn't raining it is hot and steaming. How the weather is from day to day, of course, I can not tell you because you know as well as I do that no place in the world is free from those weather report taboos.

Believe it or not, but my work is actually letting up. The OCS applications were finished this AM and no more rush work has come in from any quarter which means the only things left for me on my agenda are the jobs of entering vital statistics in the Service records, entering further information on the Qualification Cards and fixing up the Pay Cards for all the men. Those are, for the most part, half day jobs apiece and for the first time in a dog's age I have had a little time off during the day. I had better cross my fingers and toes and knock on wood when I say that.

Nyalka asked me if I want to go swimming with his gang after work and I said OK if I get a chance to write my letter now but its just before four o'clock now and I will have to rush right thru the end of this if I want to go along when they go.

Thanks for keeping me informed as to the progress on "One Man's Family" but you haven't mentioned anything about the new Nicky yet although you had told me the new voice was to be on in a week.

I was up to the Projection Booth to splice the 2nd reel of the show and believe you me, it was a mess. I manage to get a few souvenirs out of the deal every time I splice. Today we had to cut a strip with the cast of characters and a close up of the supporting actress. May be they can all be patched together someday to run off a phantasmagoria of the silver screen.

Lt Yantis was up there also figuring out an idea to bring out the sound when the sound track is bad. He is going to fix a microphone in front of the loud speaker which in turn will amplify the sound still more and send it out to the audience thru a different set of loud speakers. Of course, the boys in the office groaned when I came back and told them about the new ideas --- that seems another construction job building a little booth in back of the screen for the old loudspeaker and the pick up mike.

The latest candy bar at the PX is a Milk Shake which is similar to a Milky Way.

Tonight is Company "B's" night at the amphitheater so I guess I will have to go and watch 1st Sgt Goldenberg perform before I come back to the office tonight to write letters. I hope that I can write one to you, one apiece to the Milwaukee correspondents, and one to Ray Bernett. That is my goal and time will tell if I succeed in carrying it out.

Tomorrow for sure I am going to get that haircut which I have intended getting for the past two weeks. Maybe I've lost my haircut ticket by now.

So-long,   /s/ Roman   Roman