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

TO BE FILED: LTR FR GEORGE P 6 JUL 44.

"Dear Roman:-

Received your last V mail letter in fifteen days- which is damn good in my estimation. Guess the mail situation is improving to quite an extent. Glad to hear that you are in good shape, and not too unhappy with the set of affairs on your island. Noticed in your letter you mentioned the matter-of-fact way I spoke of places of interest here in England. Actually, I haven't been too impressed with the sights we've seen. Possibly it is because the whole set-up here is tied up so much with the War that aesthetic and cultural angles are lost in the name of hustle and bustle pervading this Island. Then too, we don't have too much time to spend at any one spot, and as a result we're not there long enough to be properly impressed. Usually, I go in with other guys who are eager to do something else, and that's another reason. The co-pilot and navigator on this new crew I'm on, however, enjoy seeing the cultural phase of this country; so it's not too bad now. Incidentally, Bill Manning, the co-pilot, is a typical "Southern Gentleman" in speech, actions, and everything. He measures some six feet three inches, and scales about 210- which makes him a pretty big fellow.

We visited Cambridge recently. Went down there primarily to tour through the colleges, and row on the Cam River. We did both and more. Cambridge is probably the most American-like town we've seen yet. All the college buildings are stone constructed, and beautifully built. Velvety lawns, millions of flowers are everywhere. The whole town reminded us of a huge palatial estate belonging to some multi-millionaire. An old patriarchal looking gentleman, who had been a student at one of the colleges fifty years ago, took us through St. John's and Trinity Colleges. He had a very subtle sense of humor. His great, great grandfather or someone was the headmaster of Trinity when Byron was cutting up the campus with a domesticated bear! No dogs were allowed on the premises at that time; so Byron got a bear instead much to the consternation of all the Ol' boys in the school. The Trinity library has a statue of Byron among others on display. According to our guide, St Paul's and Westminster refused it because of Byron's rather loose morals. Seems that Byron made quite an impression on our old man. We were also shown the room where Arthur Hallen, Tennyson's friend of "In Memoriam" fame, stayed. We even tested out Newton's "echo corridor" where he first measured the travel of sound. It's amazing-all the English greats who learned their stuff at Cambridge, in one of the twenty colleges.

Aside from the tour, we went canoeing up and down the river. Something unusual, and surprisingly relaxing. All in all, we had a perfectly swell time. The people of Cambridge are definitely much more alert and wide awake than the type we have been meeting in other sections of England. In answer to your question-we are a lead crew. I have only four missions to date with plenty more to go . . . lots of luck, please write soon.

As Ever,
George"