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

Dear Aunty Clara,

Friday, The Last Day of the Year in New Caledonia



The letter famine is over. I received three V-mails today. Two were from you, dated the 20th of December and, at last, one from Aunty Florence dated the same date. Just as you are missing a few dates on the V-mails, your letters of the 20th have beaten the 19th which is still to come.

Say, those presents which you bought for Aunty Florence from me sound as if they are alright. I hope that she likes them as much as you thought she would.

5:15 was kind of late for the mailman to be coming around, eh? Usually the post offices are closed long before that time. I suppose, however, that this Christmas they made more of an exception than ever seeing as how they were so short of help.

So far today the candy score is just one. Yes, a measly one but even that almost didn't get chalked up. All the fellows rushed off to the PX when it opened at three o'clock for the afternoon run and I went along with them. There wasn't much to buy but rather than walk out empty handed I bought three O'Henry's and ate one of them. The new hours at the PX are from eleven-thirty until one and from about three o'clock to seven or eight.

The work today has been all mine. In other words I didn't have any other work to do but on my informational roster which has just about reached the half way mark. It is surprising how long it takes to put down a man's life history on the typewriter. I've been working on that thing for almost a week or more now. When it is done, though, the trouble will have been well worth it for it will be a handy little guide for all information a Company Clerk ever needs to know concerning his men and in case of an emergency the book can be carried on one's person thus minimizing the seriousness in case the actual records themselves are lost.

We had ice cream today. It came as a complete surprise to me when the fellows said that should go back for our canteen cups this morning when we came down to work. It arrived at the usual time, which is shortly after ten o'clock. And it was better than ever. Not only was it still hard but it was a new flavor we haven't had before. Something like pecan nut. It was maple color with nuts in it. I took the usual amount which is just under a cupful (about three quarters of a cup) and by the time I finished it, I felt filled up. This ice cream was packed more solid than the others before which seemed to have had air pockets. As usual, the mob soon gathered in Personnel and Mike had to become an MP to get the traffic moving so that the Colonel wouldn't raise a fuss if he happened to walk by the office. We have a regular list of steady contributors which range from Majors all the way down to Privates and, when the ice cream comes in, we send out runners to get all these people here for their share.

Jack Molyneaux received only two letters yesterday to go even to me and today he received five to go two ahead. By the way, he went to that dance they had in town last night for our fellows with our band playing. For about 150 fellows they say there couldn't have been more than 25 girls and before they could take two steps on the floor someone would be cutting in. In spite of that it appears that most of them had a very good time. There were supposed to have been plenty of refreshments.

A rumor is going around like wildfire that the invasion of continental Europe has started in France and in Denmark. Unusually reliable sources have been quoted as having heard the news over the radio. The fact that we have heard it from many different sources seems to confirm it as a fact. We all hope it is true because as long as that war is going on over there we haven't got too much hope that it is going to end over on this side of the world.

My left hand is still typing on a three-finger and one thumb basis.

So-long,
/s/ Roman
Roman