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

Dear Aunty Clara,

Tuesday

It is now past ten o'clock at night and the first opportunity I have had to write to you today. The day has been crammed full of activity and as a result went by rather swiftly although when I look back over it to see all the things accomplished it seems like a long and complete day.

For one thing, with Jack Molyneaux being off today it was possible for me to work undisturbed at my desk for the entire day. In the morning hours I managed to finish all entries regarding the issuance of the Asiatic-Pacific Ribbon, enter all charges for equipment bought by the men so far this month, make several inserts to the Service Records, bring my payroll system up to date by balancing off last month's accounts and setting it up for the month of January.

In the afternoon I had to spend about an hour and a half working with George Myers, the Supply Sergeant, on some special work which Captain Hanton wanted rushed out immediately. The remaining portion of the afternoon was spent in typing up some forms for Lt Podelwitz, making the last minute changes in allotments and clearing up my desk. So much for the actual work accomplished today.

At ten o'clock. Personnel threw another ice cream party. The ice cream costs $1.50 a gallon now and it is strictly alright. The stuff was vanilla with a little extra flavor of some sort in it and it was the coldest and the hardest we have ever had it. I had a heaping canteen cup of the stuff and enjoyed every spoonful of it. We still run open house as far as the ice cream goes but it had to be more or less on the QT because our Colonels have been on the warpath lately and they might not approve of such discrepancies during working hours.

Along about four o'clock Welling brought some green paint over from the paint shop in order to give his newly made cabinet a going over. I anticipated his having quite a bit of paint left over and instead of writing the usual letter between four and five, I waited for him to finish his job there and then I borrowed the remaining paint in the can to give my footlocker the going over. It is all done up in green now but I notice that in my corner all you can see is the front of it so it doesn't matter so much anymore whether it is painted or not. Snook also painted his footlocker at the same time.

After supper I had to go around on some business concerning the men and after that was over, we all intended taking a shower. Edie, Larry and I went down there but it seems that the tank had run dry and we had to postpone it until after show time. We did go back to take the shower after the show and it was cool but not too cool. They had pumped up more water while the show was going on.

Incidentally, I did get the haircut today during a fifteen minute leave of absence from the office in the afternoon. Every time I come back from a haircut I have to put up with the same argument at the office. Because I just get a trim they claim I never got a haircut and they even offer to give me the money to get one if that is what I need.

Speaking about the Colonels being all hopped up of late reminds me of a good one which took place in today's inspection. The tables in the tents will now have to be cleared of all magazines, books, V-mail and everything during the daytime when the inspection takes place. Moreover, Lt Colonel Stelzenmuller gave specific orders that the toilet paper which each tent has a roll of must be kept out of sight so as not to offend the sight. Another change is that the little shelves in our clothes racks can not be used for odds and ends anymore but must contain our mess kit and our canteen cup. In addition to that they have begun inspecting footlockers and want them to be in order for inspection purposes.

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

So much for inspections et al. Last night I managed to write a letter to the Michalaks which I am holding over until today for mailing because I understand that several day's mail had accumulated in the censor's work and I didn't want to clutter it up with too many letters all at one time. I did, however, send through two more Christmas V-mail cards. One went to the Cicero Public Library where Loretta had asked me to write to her when I was home on furlough but I couldn't very well do it because I had forgotten her last name. This way she will have my address and if she cares to write, she can initiate the correspondence and thus save me the embarrassment of exposure. The other card was to the Bradley's. I doubt if the card I sent out to their old address will ever get to them. This one was addressed to Mrs Reed's PO Box.

Three items arrived in the mail today. One was a Christmas card from Carol and the other two were letters from you dated the 2nd and the 4th. So you had quite a job taking the picture of the crib. It sure must have been a lot of work changing all those things around for each picture and it is a dirty shame that the other seven prints didn't take. But on the whole I guess you even getting one was an accomplishment as far as your endeavors at indoor photography go. And the picture that did take is just like the old arrangement we used to have so it is the best.

One of the main reasons I have never mentioned what we have to eat is because when we first arrived here on the Island, there was quite a talk given to us as to what we could and could not write about and the food item ranked high as one of the unmentionables. However, I am inclined to agree with you that they really meant griping about the food was not right but that there could be no objection to writing about what was good. We have a Pfc in the kitchen who does most of the pastry cooking and he is very good. From time to time we have apple pie, short cake, chocolate cake and other pastries which are about the best I have ever eaten this side of your kitchen. The chocolate cake in particular tasted almost exactly like yours except that we had no coffee flavored frosting on ours. We always have desserts of either pineapple slices, pears, peaches and the like and I always enjoy eating them. Cocoa and lemonade are other steady drinks and ones that hit the spot. In the morning we always can have as much tomato juice as we care to eat. Our breakfasts are always good with either French toast, prunes or flapjacks. One of the things fellows kid about is the Spam and I notice that the magazines have a lot of jokes about it too. We do have it once in while but I rather like it because it is a lunch meat like spiced ham and I would rather eat it than a steak. Fellows complain about the food but it is just because they are the kind that complain about everything under the sun just because it is in their nature. As a general rule the meals are all good, wholesome and substantial. I can never eat all that is served to me. And it isn't a military secret that troops overseas are served dehydrated foods on occasion. Larry hates the stuff while I like it. Then again it is all a matter of taste and philosophy. I was afraid to mention our lack of fresh milk but I notice that the Yank magazine calls attention to that very fact and the Reader's Digest says it is impossible to get enough fresh milk to go around to everyone. That is just one of the things which we have to learn to get along without for the duration or until we come back to the States. One of the best improvements in our drinks was when we got the refrigerators (we have two giant ones now) in and started getting ice cold lemonade at lunch. Does that cover the long absence of the menu from my conversations? Of course, there are dishes that I myself do not care for at times but as to those we will not say a word.

So-long,
/s/ Roman
Roman