Cpl Roman F. Klick 36620923
Co "A", 353rd Engr Regt
A.P.O. #502, c/o Postmaster
San Francisco, California
15 December 1943
Dear Aunty Clara,
Wednesday
Whatever other merits this day might have had, they all disappeared when I discovered that for the second time this month I was to go letterless. Yes, there wasn't even a newspaper today.
The Colonel gave us his speech this morning. We all dressed up in khakis and then marched over by companies and sat down on the hillside. The Colonel came up and we stood up. With his word to be seated, we reseated ourselves and then listened to his talk. You have to hand it to the old boy; he is good at making a speech before his regiment.
In general he spoke of just what operations have been carried on in this South Pacific Theater, how they were carried on, why they were carried on and what relation our work has had with the war in this sector. There was quite a bit of information in what he told us that is not known to the public for it is never printed in the magazine and newspaper articles concerning this war. It was highly interesting but I'll only be able to tell you about it years from now when we reminisce over past events and I mellow over my South Sea Trip.
One of the things he did emphasize was that we are going to have the 25th and the 26th of December to ourselves except for such necessary military duties that must go on regardless of the day. He emphasized it with these words, "You will not do a goddam thing on the 25th and the 26th and heaven help the man I catch working".
He is going to give us one more talk and Major Shubat is to give us another one. While these officers do not have the grand strategy of the Pacific War, they have been around with the men who know a little bit about what is going on and therefore it is worth the while spent getting a story which every paper in the country would pay a handsome price to have. We listen to these talks, as the Colonel says, "on GI time" so we shouldn't fret over getting to work on those days.
And now back to the more mundane things of life, my watch for instance. This is exactly what is wrong with it. The clasp which is made of three pieces and when joined together, forms the band which can be either loosened or tightened on your wrist as desired. It so happens that these clasps are joined together with hinges composed of tiny pins. That is the trouble since one of these pins twisted off and when the watch is off my wrist, the band dangles in two sections. However, if I am careful in putting the watch on by fitting the clasps together, they snap shut and hold the watch on my wrist. This condition can go on indefinitely because the missing hinge will never prevent the clasps from snapping shut: all it will do is inconvenience me whenever I decide to put on the watch (it takes about five times as long).
It seems that even though I originated the idea coincidental with Jack Molyneaux in preparing informational rosters to make our work easier, I made the mistake of doing it first so that Jack Molyneaux could improve upon my work and his therefore was recognized by Lt Yantis as being a very fine piece of work and that all clerks should copy from his work and do likewise. That means my informational roster was just a lot of wasted time and effort as far as they are concerned and I must make up another one on the order of Jack's. That same thing happened at Rathborne when I got the idea for the planning office and Ray improved upon it and then again Ray and I worked out an idea for the telephone and the fellows in the downstairs office improved upon it and got most of the glory. It looks like there is more money in letting the other guys do the thinking and then just come in when the improvement is needed to put it over big.
Cpl Schwartz, Co E Clk, and I were talking over the situation in town and how to get to the various spots today. You see, he is the boy who goes in once a week without fail and has gotten to know his way around
Cpl Roman F. Klick 36620923
Co "A", 353rd Engr Regt
A.P.O. #502, c/o Postmaster
San Francisco, California
15 December 1943
rather well. Every once in a while I get this nutty idea that maybe I ought to go in to get my picture painted like some of the mugs around here have done but I probably will never get around to it. Of course, too, there always is that nominal sum of $20 to consider. While we were discussing the different and stranger things we have noticed in town we recalled one of the sort of gathering places for the service men. It is a square right across the street from the Red Cross and they have fights, show movies and have such sorts of entertainment. In the center of the square they have a pole with a sign pointed towards Tokyo with the number of miles written on it and below it they have another sign pointed back towards San Francisco with the number of miles written on it. Then comes the laugh when they have a third pointer with the word beer written on it and the distance of thirty-nine feet away.
The companies are raffling off five pairs of moccasins and I put my bid in for a size 8. They cost $2.25 per pair and if I get one pair I can call it a Christmas present from Mr. Gonzalez. The GI shoes get awful hot at times and it is a lot of trouble lacing those laces clear up to the top and the civilian shoes are both worn out and too tight to get into while the moccasins will be just right for slipping into and out of.
Since the PX has been selling BitterSweet Hershey bars I have bought nine bars and had three given to me and found two laying in the big tent. I have lost my taste for candy bars (hurrah!) but find myself eating them from force of habit but not enjoying them. They have, however, been a blessing in disguise because by eating them I have been able to refrain from consuming the last of the Mrs Snyder's Mallow Delights of which I have four pieces left and will be enough rations for Larry and I for ten days. It will be a sorry day when I will put the last Mallow Delight down the hatch and wait around for the next Christmas time for another box to come along.
Incidentally, I have not yet answered Senor G and thanked him for neither the candy nor the money because I figure I owe him a real good letter and it can not be written on the spur of the moment. All in all I have seven letters to write if I intend to catch up on my backlog. Two of them are thank you notes, Mr. G. and my Dad. The others go to Mrs. Boyer, Uncle Jack, George and an old time answer to Marie. Pardon my error, that makes only six letters.
Once again I slept the night thru without having had any covers on and morning rolls around before I woke up from the dampness and pull the blanket over me for just one or two seconds before the bugle blows. "First Call" is one of the most disturbing and disquieting Bugle Calls in the Army. Not just because it is blown every morning but at any time you hear it whether it is a bugler blowing it very lightly for practice or any time during the day.
Boy, I never realized what that mere mentioning of the bugle call was going to lead into. I asked Larry if he recognized the call and from then on we started running thru bugle calls, old time melodies and what have you until just now when Tattoo blew thus sending Larry back to his tent where he intends to get a good nights rest.
The boys are working two-forty on the big recreation tent and have constructed a wall of shelves for books but have also put a counter in front of it. Evidently they intend to have a fellow there to distribute the books to the fellows. They were working all tonight reconstructing the platform which they tore down yesterday. Besides that they plan to have a whole mess of ping-pong tables. The athletic field which they planned so long ago seems to be at a standstill and they have done no work on it for more than two weeks.
I got around to showing Jack Molyneaux the picture of the crib and he thinks it is small. He is against Christmas trees and thinks such a display is a lot better.
So-long,
/s/ Roman
Roman