Home | Return to Index

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

Dear Aunty Clara,

Saturday

Today was an uneventful day. At work I spent the entire morning making the necessary notations regarding the Good Conduct Ribbons in the Service Records and in the afternoon I began making the appropriate entries for the Asiatic-Pacific Ribbon but I have not finished that job as yet.

We had a tent inspection today and Burkard was the man to be gigged in our tent for having left his raincoat on his bed when he went off to get money orders for the men. Larry Isaacson was gigged for something or another but he doesn't know just what. They are to be restricted to the Regimental Area for one week.

I was going to get a haircut today but the PX was closed for alterations so I was unable to get a haircut ticket.

The mail is being distributed this evening after supper because there was quite a bit of it. Charles Murray, the new mail clerk, took over his duties for the first time today.

Supper this evening has been pushed up to four-thirty because there are going to be some final boxing matches in town tonight and they are sending out special trucks from every company so that all the men who want to go in will be able to. They will have to leave early in order to get there in time.

Gosh, this Regiment is going to be full of Ribbons and Medals. Today they distributed a medal to all the truck drivers. It is almost like the medal we got for rifle marksmanship only it has a wheel on it and the little bar which hangs from it is labeled "Driver W". Not many of the truck drivers received the medal so it is probably more valuable than a Good Conduct Ribbon which practically everyone had.

Because of the Saturday noon hour being a full noon hour, I managed to catch up on a bit of my Daily News reading. Got thru two and a half papers and must still read two and a half more before I'm thru.

Larry wants to take a shower right after supper tonight so that we will be sure to have enough water to take it in. Although the shower room is crowded at that time of the day, I still think the idea has its good points since at the time we go there just isn't water left anymore.

Walston, who at one time was the Company Clerk of F Company, has finally made the grade and after a promotion to Sergeant about a month ago, he has now been appointed a Staff Sergeant. He filled the shoes of a fellow who was called away from the Regiment in such a manner as Harvey and Driscoll. Just now I had to go outside and lower one of the sides of the tent down for the evening and there was Walston standing outside waiting for Griffin to come by (Griffin you may recall was the former Company Clerk of D Company and he is a Sergeant). They have ribbed each other right along as each one advanced another notch up the rung. Now it is Walston's turn to have fun at Griffins expense.

We do that same thing in the office among the lot of us Corporals. Molyneaux is the senior Corporal and we keep giving each other orders down the line until it comes to the fine point between Kurtiss and I. Kurt was made on January 1 and I on January 5 so he has seniority for four days. It may not sound funny on paper but to actually see what happens is funny because either Mike or Beaumont will tell one of us to sweep the floor before going to the tents at night. Molyneaux will turn to Kenagy and Kenagy to Kurt, and Kurt to me, I to Schwartz and so on down the line until it hits Welling (Pfc) who is told to sweep the floor by T/5 Keck. In the end, the fellow who was told to do it first does the sweeping for that night anyway.

So-long,   /s/ Roman   Roman