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Sgt Roman F. Klick 36620923
HS 1393 Engr APO 709
c/o PM SF Cal
14 July 1944

Dear Aunty Clara,

Friday (Uncle Jack's, Rosana's and Marvin's birthdays)

It is still rather amazing that three people all within the same relationship should have birthdays on the same day like that. I'll wager you that someday, providing everyone lasts for another ten years or so, the three of them will have a joint birthday celebration. It doesn't seem likely right now but it still seems like a natural to me, how about it, do you think such a thing may happen some day?

The news from all the war fronts seem rather good. More so than ever before. It seems incredible that the Russians are now within a little over four-hundred miles of Berlin itself. The way things are going and the way the news casters have been prognosticating the demise of Nazidom, one almost gets to think that they might be right. Have you ever noticed that most of the invasions and guesses made during this war in the magazine "Time" have come true? They seem to be hitting it right nine times out of ten and they too are putting forth this story that the Nazis are down to their basic reserves in manpower, airpower, oilpower and power to wage war. Just think what a surrender of Germany this summer would mean to this war in the Pacific. It would literally mean that by next spring, the Allies would be set to launch the final drive against the enemy Japan herself! Could it be possible that the war will be over in 1945! That is almost beyond our wildest dreams but would be one of the most wonderful things which could ever happen.

Little by little, the government is telling more and more about the big B-29 bombers since they have already lost one or more to the enemy who have most likely been able to find out a good many of its secrets by now. It seems to be in a fair way something on the order of the long-range bombers which deSeversky recommended in his book, "Victory Through Air-Power". What Jack M. & I are wondering about is whether or not they will be able to send over the famed one-thousand plane raids over Japan with B-29s as they did over Germany and if so, how soon. Just as in Germany, that will be, most likely, the last stage before the end of that war and will most likely, be of a shorter duration since the area of Japan is so much smaller when compared with the area which had to be bombed in Germany and the key cities are less numerous and more concentrated.

Holy smokes, right now over the radio is coming a reading of a bulletin published by the Morale Services Division which Jack and I have typed up for the Orientation Officers of the Battalion. We not only listen to that news every hour on the hour, listen to all the extra stuff, type up a lot of news for the classes and then keep maps up to date on the war's progress throughout the world but then we go to the show and hear Dock Haley read off a resume of last week's news and are compelled to attend Orientation lectures at which we again hear the same things we already know. One thing is for sure and that is that we will never have to read about the history of this war in years to come for we are getting it drilled into us day in and day out beyond our powers to ever forget.

2q -- those two additional figures "2q" represent Lewis's type of humor in which he punches a couple of keys on a guys letter.

So-long,   /s/ Roman   Roman