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

Dear Aunty Clara,

Sunday

I received your letter of the 16th, a letter from Myrtle Reed and two packages. One was another can of nuts from Milwaukee, this time from Mary, Red and Bobby. The second package was a miniature cribbage set from the Bradleys. The nuts which Mary sent are the peanuts with the reddish covering and other nuts mixed in. What "I'm going to do is to take out the other nuts so I can have peanuts alone.

By the way, I'm still alive and kicking as you probably have realized ere now. The reaction I described to you last night was due to the shot in the arm. It must give a person a very small touch of typhus because quite a few fellows told me that they had the same trouble at some time or another during the day following the early morning dose.

Mersing and Censky were up quite early this morning but it wasn't until eight o'clock that the rest of us roused ourselves. It was too late for breakfast by that time so we just had to forget about that. Our main objective was to get the tent all fixed up before noon if possible. Well, we had to wait on Censky who was to go to work in the morning and he would get us the nails, the laths, the tools and the extra mosquito netting.

It wasn't until ten o'clock that we really got started to work on it but by two o'clock or two-thirty we had finished the entire thing. The door now has a handle and a good solid spring to keep it closed tight, all the outer wood sides which rise about two inches from the tent floor are covered with canvas, the corners are blocked with canvas and the webbing is put up all around the tent. We now have more room than ever and it is just like a regular little home.

Just as we finished the tent, we heard a great blaring voice speaking to the regiment. It was a distinct surprise to find that the electricians had fixed up a pole with a loud speaker on top from which Lt Carrozza's voice was giving out the up to the minute news. He followed that with several announcements etcetera. It was just like in the movies or like State Street at Christmas time where the loud speakers posted on every corner blare forth with a voice or music. They intend to have one loud speaker for each company. That will be unique not only for the army but for just about anywhere.

I'm glad to hear about your finally getting the coat and doing something useful with the Christmas and Birthday money. But from the sound of it, the new coat doesn't seem so warm. I thought tweeds were more a Fall coat than a Winter one.

The picture for this evening is "Mark of Zorro" with Tyrone Power. I hope it will be as good as the original one with Douglas Fairbanks.

The crystal on my watch is taking on an awful beat up appearance. If a person looks directly down at the face, the scratches are hardly noticeable except for a few of the deeper ones which look like small dark lines. But when looked at from an angle, it looks like sleet or long slanting raindrops against a windowpane. Fellows still remark about the watch because it has the expensive look about it. It has been keeping very good time and for the first time since I've been having watches, I've no cause for complaint.

It is funny or strange, as you say, that I should keep on telling you how warm and stuffy it is out here while you keep writing back to me telling me how cold and snowy it is back home. During these winter times I don't mind being in the Army so much because I can always think of how uncomfortable a Chicago winter is. On the other hand, a few months back, when the days were balmy here and I knew you were having the same weather back home I could just daydream myself back to Cicero in a flash. By the way, as a general rule, this climate is notorious for its rainy weather just like Oregon was but the part never did, does or will bother me.

So-long,   /s/ Roman   Roman