Cpl Roman F. Klick 36620923
Co "A", 353rd Engr Regt
A.P.O. #502, c/o Postmaster
San Francisco, California
11 October 1943
Dear Aunty Clara,
Monday
We went up the island tonight and showed the movie. And that is all we did --- we let the other follows see it but not hear the thing. Their generator did not have a regulator or a meter and it was impossible to determine what the voltage was. It ended up that most of the fellows went back to their respective camps or tents in that camp. But a hardy few, not more than twelve in all, decided to stick it out thru the three practically soundless reels. During one section of the third reel the sound became so terribly loud that by cupping my ear and listening very acutely, I was actually able to hear a word or two coming from the sound box.
The picture was good even without the sound and tomorrow night I will run the machine and find out what kind of words went with the actions.
For some no good reason I became tired as all get out and even at this moment it is all I can do to keep my eyes open. I almost wasn't going to write but I realized that my next opportunity to do so would not come until just before supper tomorrow night. That would not be consistent with my wanting to keep you posted on my activities at all times. In case something should happen to me, I don't want you to have any blank spaces in your mind as to how I felt, thought or acted during the last hours.
You know as well as I do that death is unpredictable and can't be scoffed away with a "Oh, you won't die" attitude. Who would have ever thought Clarence would have died so soon. I've got it arranged with Larry that should I die or should he, we will write home and explain the last hours. Jolly, eh what?
I just walked into the Company H&S dayroom in time this evening to hear that the Yankees won the fourth game of the World Series from the Cardinals, 2 to one. That makes three games won to only one game lost. All those champions from New York have to do is win one game in any of the three to take the Series. I'm not saying or thinking anything to jinx them but I'm pulling might hard for them to slip it to the Cards tomorrow right on the chin. That would be sufficient revenge for the humiliation, which the Cards caused the Yanks last year when they took those memorable four straight games. Did I tell you, I haven't made one single bet on the series this year so I won't put any hocus pocus on my team.
So far it looks like the morrow is gong to be a busy day plus with rosters, extracts, letters, forms, allotments, and quite a few incidentals all piling up.
The watch is keeping excellent time lately and if it gains at all, it only amounts to a minute or so every 24 hours. My supply of tooth powder is hitting rock bottom and I hope that the package with the dentifrice will be coming in soon. Back in the States when I bought the supply of Listerine, I had figured that it would last half a year and it almost has. It would have if I hadn't lost quite a bit because of the cardboard containers.
I brought the typewriter up to the tent today and later on I let Mersing type a letter for himself. Naturally, he had to go easy since he is out of practice but after about an hour he had a letter all written. Now he tells me that he reread it later on and tore it up.
Since it was show night I did not get to listen to the news broadcast. Perhaps it is just as well because the war seems to drag on for too long of a time when you begin dwelling on each little day by day gain instead of letting it go for a while until suddenly you discover that great gains had been made.
Good grief, but I am drowsy. Drowsier than I thought because I am losing track of the very sentence I am writing. I'm not going to reread this for errors so if any occur or if the letter sounds jumbled up, you can blame it to my benumbed mind.
So-long,
/s/ Roman
Roman