Cpl Roman F. Klick 36620923
Co A 353rd Engrs APO 502
c/o PM San Francisco Calif
24 February 1944
Dear Aunty Clara,
Thursday Evening
My letters this evening will have to be written "on the double" so please excuse all typographical and grammatical errors, will you? You see, the quarter to eleven bugle call just blew and I'll have to be hopping up to the tent might soon.
After I promised to work on my lessons tonight I went back on it anyway and went to the show instead. I have a reasonable alibi and that is that my teeth were hurting me so much that I decided that to go to the show would in a way take my mind off the pain better than reading a book or writing a business letter. It didn't do much good because now my entire mouth hurts.
It is downright disgusting to have a person's teeth in such bad shape so suddenly. And what makes it worse is that I thought that getting them all fixed up at Doctor Kolar's and then going in for a six month check up would keep them in good condition the rest of my life. The old army would have to step in and sort of put a crimp into that program.
My morale has been mighty low today and added to that or perhaps the cause of the low morale was my physical unhealth. I act as if I had a sleeping sickness or something because I find it very difficult to keep my eyes open and when I lay down on the cot, I doze off immediately into a sort of stupor where I can hear the fellows talking but I do not realize that they spoke until some minutes later and then I wonder if I heard them or dreamed it. There is no reason for such fatigue or weariness because I've been getting to bed by eleven o'clock every night for more than a week now.
No mail came today. Of course, after so many days with so much mail I don't even dare complain and, in fact, rather expected such a day to be coming along.
The work today went rather slow. No one in the office did very much and I can't say anything better for myself. One thing which I was working on with ambition was the laundry roster and as I was half way thru it, George Myers came in with the news that A Company would not send any laundry this week so that it would not be needed until the following week at which time a monthly roster would be needed in addition to the weekly one.
Do you know that I haven't even opened my laundry from Tuesday yet. I just put it in the barrack bag and forgot all about it. Just the way I keep putting off making the box to send home all those things in.
Incidentally, I ate mallow delights and chocolate covered walnuts all day and then at night I went ahead and bought a box of some sort of butter almond crunch which I ate during the show.
O yes, one other thing which has just about put the finishing touch to my depleted finances was the purchase of a pair of size eight moccasins for $2.25. They are nice brown things which you can slip into and out of very easily and which you can wear down to the office or around the camp when it isn't raining. I couldn't wear them this evening because it had rained intermittently throughout the day and the ground was a bit muddy in spots. One thing they will be extra good for is when I come in from work I'll be able to slip them off and put my feet on the cot. The way it has been in the past I've had to extend my boots over the side of the cot or keep my feet on the ground while laying down.
The picture for this evening was "China Girl" with George Montgomery, Victor McGlauflin, Gene Tierney and Lynn Bari. It was a rum-dum picture and had its ups and downs in its entertainment value. The band played this evening and had quite a number of guest stars performing on the stage. The fellow I wanted to see perform was Cpl Urban Scwartz, the Company Clerk of E Company, who I have mentioned before as being an excellent piano player. When I arrived at the theater area, he had just finished his number and didn't come out for any encores. They had a sailor playing a mouth organ and a Special Services Officer from Tontouta (a Captain) giving an act.
By the way, for the past few nights, every time I sit down at this typewriter, a huge spider walks out onto the desk or on the screen besides me. They must have a nest somewhere around here because I usually kill the one that comes out. They are an ugly looking lot, rather huge and with a large body.
The news over the radio this evening was good. Evidently the American Navy has penetrated even further into the Japanese island possessions having raided Guam. At the rate they have been raiding on taking over these outposts, we may be in a position to cut the Japanese Empire in two parts pretty soon. When that is done, we will have gone a long way towards winning the war.
However, the news in the Sopac about Churchill hinting that the European war may last until 1945 was not so good because as long as that war goes on over there, there isn't much chance of this on terminating on this side of the world.
I dreamed the entire night last night and it was all mixed up about home, the army and fantastic make believe lands yet I can't remember a thing about it.
Molyneaux is now busy drawing Easter Greeting cards and has borrowed a couple cards you sent me (remember the one with the hat, gloves and cane?) and has redrawn them on V-mail. He has a nice hand for print-writing which almost duplicates the style you see on the cards themselves.
We don't get to see very much of Lt Yantis anymore since he is out on the job most of the day. He comes in for a few moments each day to sign various things which accumulate on his desk during the course of the day. Incidentally, this coming Sunday is my day to do another stint out there again. The personnel clerks have been getting some men lately for a steady policing so I imagine that is what I'll be doing on that day.
Checking over the past V-mail dates reveals that I never did receive the one dated 25th February, pardon me, I mean the 25th of January. Remember, I mentioned that once before. Perhaps I mislaid it somewhere but that doesn't seem likely because I recall not having received one at the time those dates were coming in. If this one doesn't show up, it will be the very first V-mail that we have lost. The ones that have been missing on your end, always showed up in the end, didn't they?
Do you know what those rats are up to now? They climb up into the ceiling of our Personnel Tent and scamper around up there. Since it is only made of canvas, you can see it sink in wherever they pass. Then they will lay quiet for a while without moving and then begin squeaking.
I'm going to have to brush my teeth now and sign off because it is the eleventh hour.
So-long,
/s/ Roman
Roman
P.S. (This is added on the 25th after the daily letters of that day: Brown, the ex-movie operator is the one mentioned in the thumbnail sketch appearing in this week's Bulldozer.)