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Cpl Roman F. Klick 36620923
HS 1393 Engr APO 709
c/o PM San Francisco, California
17 May 44

Dear Aunty Clara,

Wednesday

Woe is me. Here it is ten-thirty and I am first beginning to write letters and I have some work to do after I finish typing the letters also. But that is what I get for being a sociable fellow. The day started off for me at Reveille which is held in the wee hours of the morning when the night is still over the world. But the day went back into abeyance for a slight spell as I returned to my cot for a few more rounds with the Sandman. However, I was watchful for the time and at six-thirty I once more betook myself from my bed and hied to the shower for a cold and refreshing rubdown and dirt removal. Of course, realize that since I formed the habit of dispensing with breakfast in my days of not standing Reveille, I have returned to the practice of standing that formation but not going to breakfast at all anymore. I find that I can eat the noon meal a lot better with that extra emptiness in my stomach.

So it happened that by seven o'clock I was all set for work and promptly got busy on those officer qualification cards which have been plaguing me these many weeks. I worked and worked and worked and even other people worked for me on the job and finally completed it just before four o'clock at night. Then I sent it over to the impatient Technical Sergeant who goes by the name of Michael J. (Poolroom Jockey) Nyalkenberger of the Group Headquarters who was calling me every fifteen minutes during the day insanely telling me that these reports should have been in the 15th and today was the 17th. I agreed with him that today was the 17th and that the reports were due the 15th. So what does he do but tell me all over again that these reports should have been in on the 15th whereas I reply that I knew full well the reports were due on the 15th. So we repeat that over several times and finally I shut up and do not agree with him so he hangs up and I can get back at my work of copying them down so that I can at least get them over to him on the 17th. But not more than thirty minutes after he gets them, he calls me up on the phone and has me shag myself down to his headquarters where I and the other boys in the office thought I was going to be bawled out for some errors in the work. However, Mike surprised me very very much by opening up with the statement, "This was a very good job Klick, but there are a few corrections I want you to make". That pretty near floored me after all that complaining he did, he went ahead and complimented me. The fact of the matter is that they really weren't mistakes but misunderstandings in what information was required to be on the card. That is the work I still have to do this evening for I let it go in the earlier part of the evening. In fact I could really do it tomorrow morning for he said he didn't want the stuff until seven-thirty in the AM and it shouldn't take me more than 15 minutes to complete the job.

So that is that concerning the work of the day with the exception that I took time out to do my Morning Report and Strength Report work. This is getting to be a routine matter of a mere few minutes although it is bothersome to have them come in late so consistently. That is another thing which Mike reamed me for and that was because I get my Morning Reports in, in the afternoon and even sometimes the next day. However, I told him that can't be helped since it is not a delay caused by myself but really because the company commanders of A and particularly C Company do not sign books of Morning Reports in advance as do Lt London and Captain Hanton and in case they aren't in when the Morning Report is ready, the thing has to lay around until noon for signature. Then too, Lt Suiter wants to check over the reports before they go out each day and that takes another hour or half a day depending upon when he gets to them.

That in essence is how I spent my work day and tomorrow will be another one similar to it. Incidentally, you talk about misspelling words and leaving things out because of "old age". Please tell me what is making my letters more sloppier each day --- island happiness?

That was the sorriest day in my life when I bragged about how good the mail was coming in and then failing to receive it for four consecutive days outside of two little V-mails. Well, the period of waiting is over but I am not complaining, bragging or anything but just hoping there will never be another such intermission for a long time to come.

Today I received five V-mails, four from you dated the 4th, 5th, 6th & 7th of May with another V-mail from Bob Boyer. Bob says he wants to be a so-called hero and serve overseas so that the people back home won't talk about him being in this country throughout the entire war and that he will be able to join the Veterans of Foreign Wars when he returns home again instead of just the American Legion.

My canteen cup today had one of the greatest mixtures of all time. At noon I had pineapple juice in it, a glass of water during the afternoon, a bottle of beer at four o'clock, a cup of lemon juice at five o'clock, a glass of milk at six o'clock, another bottle of beer at seven o'clock, a cup of cocoa at eight o'clock and at ten o'clock a glass of orange juice. That is really mixing the drinks. eh? The canteen was an all day affair today. At noon, after Lewis, Sackett, Myers and I had lunch, we all congregated in the tent and Myers and I fell asleep during the noon hour. Then after work we gathered around for the beers and after supper we opened up for a short while for the milk drinks and finally later on the evening we had the heated drinks such as cocoa and coffee. There were a few additions to the canteen this evening but they were only temporary additions and will not become permanent guests. We had our larder of the Canteen replenished in quantity as I brought in about eight cans of Rosemary powdered milk, eight cans of other brands of milk, fifty cans of Nescafe and about three cans of cheese. We're getting to the point that we haven't got the room to pack our supplies away in spite of the fact that my entire bottom drawer in the file cabinet is filled with supplies and Myers has two boxes filled with them also. However, it pays to store up in advance for you never know when they will stop coming in and if we don't get them they will only go to waste.

That Corporal Hipp of Company C is quite a character as I have told you in the past letters. The contortions he makes with his face and with his arms while he talks are simply amazing. He had Dolores beat by a mile although he still reminds me of her in his actions. He claims he was railroaded into the job of Company Clerk and tried his darnest to get out of the job and used to be madder than anything as he watched other younger (in experience) clerks leave his old outfit and go out on cadre to become Sergeant Majors. With the enlarged companies I believe they could easily give the clerks Tec 4 ratings. They were deserving of higher than Corporal even under the old set-up and certainly under this set-up they will be worth that. The only trouble is that no one ever thinks of them or tries to give them a higher rating. It would only take one company commander to make the move to give his clerk a T/4 and the rest of them would naturally follow suit.

I have deliberately refrained from answering your letters in these two pages because just in case I do not get anymore letters tomorrow, I'll have something to write about. As it is, today there was plenty to talk about just like that without having to rely on answers to fill up space. I really haven't said much this evening but it seems that I've been long-winded in trying to say it.

Incidentally, I put these two sheets out in record time for it was ten-thirty when I began and taps has not yet blown. I'm sure sorry I missed that picture Claudia after hearing all the fellows rave about it today. O well I missed it and that's over with now.

So-long,
/s/ Roman
Roman