Cpl Roman F. Klick 36620923
Co "A", 353rd Engr Regt
A.P.O. #502, c/o Postmaster
San Francisco, California
September 30, 1943
Dear Aunty Clara,
Thursday
I received two letters this noon hour. Both were dated the 19th and were from you and Aunty Florence. So by asking for some preserving to do you managed to get yourself and all day job --- and on a Sunday too. Things are just the opposite here where the sudden let down in work still lasted into today. Today, however, will be the last day for tomorrow I work at the OCS applications once again (we received new forms today). Then will come the necessary payroll adjustments and entries in the Service Records. After that comes the next month's payroll etcetera.
Larry Isaacson saw Blumenfeld at the services in town and bawled him out for his laxity in not coming out to see us after all the pretty speeches he made about friendship. Robbin tried to come back with the weak rebuttal that we should have come to see him. We had but couldn't find him. Then he said he had been working 7 days out of seven but then admitted he was now getting a day off every week. Larry will see him again today to find out what the score is.
John T. Edie received his Army Institute course thru the mail yesterday and I noticed it laying on the table in the tent when I came in late last night. He took up Geometry and received the identical books he studied in school. He did not receive the small paper bound books such as we received but actual bound books. On top of that they sent him paper on which to write his lessons plus carbons so he can make a duplicate copy. But the beauty of it is that this was special paper for overseas forces and is called Photo-Mail. It resembles V-mail but is colored black and white. They send a letter along advising the students to correspond by V-mail and photo-mail exclusively and the school will do likewise.
If there isn't anything that gets a person more peeved than picking up a magazine and reading the first installment of the continued story without knowing it, I don't know what it could be. That is exactly what I did and here the only reason for me wanting to finish the story, which wasn't particularly good, was to find out what happened at the end. Then just at the crucial point when I thought the climactic end had come it says "see the next issue for the concluding chapter."
Tonight is Company B's big show plus the picture which I believe is entitled "War on Mrs Hadley". If the show does not last too long, I hope to come back to the office in time to write you and Aunty Florence a letter and probably do some studying for a change.
According to what I have been reading in the magazines, the OPA has been called a failure in that it hasn't checked prices. That doesn't sound possible to me because I should certainly think that if the government says an article like that Listerine Tooth Powder is to be sold for $0.55 and not a penny more, it will remain at that level. Or do they mean that the OPA has been forced from time to time to revise the price ceiling in the upward direction thus having the effect of not helping control inflation?
Also last night, when I came into the tent, I found this fellow I as talking about yesterday who is transferred to the Island Command. He came down from up the island so that he would be here at the office when we opened up. There was no place for him to sleep so he was parked in Burkard's bed which is not being used during the three days he is out with the hunting party.
By now, thru my frequent repetitions, you know that tomorrow is the day the band will play in the morning in lieu of the drum and bugle corps. They will celebrate another pay day. One of the first things I will do with my pay is to buy two haircut tickets so I will be sure to get my bi-monthly hair trim.
So-long,
/s/ Roman
Roman