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

Dear Aunty Clara,

Wednesday on Guadalcanal

I received two letters, three papers and a package in today's morning mail. The one letter was from you dated 19 July 1944, the other was from Uncle Jack of the same date. The package was from Blumenfeld in New Caledonia and it contained the souvenir bracelet I had him send to me. That was rather fast. I mailed the letter out on the 19th, it took two days to get there arriving on his day off. He went out and bought it and mailed it right back up here. The total cost was $1.00 for the piece of junk and 19¢ for the postage for which I have already written out a money order slip so that I can write him a letter and pay him back at the same time. I will also want to re-wrap it and send it off to Pat sort of casual like.

Bill Grauel, who received that bottle of malted milk tablets, doesn't live in Chicago but in South Bend, Indiana so perhaps some druggist had some in stock in that town.

I was also wondering about the watch, whether it was fixed or not, and in today's letter you told me about the way it looks as if new hands were put on it. I'm glad that it is going again so that someone can get some use out of it. Of course, when the six months after the duration are over, I'm coming home to wear it myself.

Speaking of coming home and wearing things, Lewis and I got to talking last night about the clothes we have at home and I mentioned my saddle shoes and those two-tone brown shoes. It is his opinion, as a former shoe salesman, that by now those shoes aren't much good. He says that twenty months of just standing around doesn't do a shoe any good. The brown ones are leather and are probably dried out by now. The saddles are rubber but the insole is leather and that has probably gone to pot on them. What do you think? If that is true, perhaps it would be a good idea to let someone wear them while there is still something left of them. It is too bad if that really has happened or will happen for I looked forward to coming back home and wearing some of those old outfits.

The work at the office has been rather smooth lately. I finished the Morning Reports in short order and then began working on standardizing the procedure for completing the Morning Reports. I should begin soon working on the Officer Pay Vouchers but as it only the 26th of the month, I believe I can still allow myself a day or two and be able to finish them by the end of the month. If I can get hold of a typewriter for two full days, I should be able to complete them with ease.

We are going to have that Wallace Beery picture "Rationing" at our theater area this evening and, even though you didn't think it was as funny as it was supposed to be advertised as, I think it will be funny enough to amuse us for a few hours.

The meal this afternoon was delicious. Best of all was the extra large piece of apple pie with that crumb frosting on in such as Forgue's bakery shop used to put on their coffee cakes. I forget just what we called that if we even had a name for it.

The moccasins continue to be the cat's meow for this morning, it saved quite a bit of time just to slip into them and walk outside for Reveille rather than take up all the time putting on the GI clodhoppers and lacing them up. Of course, before coming to work, I had to change them and put on the GIs. We are still not allowed to wear slippers, house shoes, moccasins or street shoes during our working hours although the Group Headquarters fellows have the permission of the Colonel himself to do so in their office. Perhaps it is just as well for then they won't wear out so fast between the hours of 4 PM and Reveille.

The PX is closed all day today because of inventory and that means no candy. As a result, I believe that I will have to open up that second box of mallow delight candies which Senor Gonzales had you send to me for my birthday. You know, I thought at first that they were DeMet's candies in that box but when I saw the box wasn't sealed and that it was really covering up something else, I guessed immediately that it was Mrs. Snyder's candies.

I enjoyed reading those Cicero Life papers. That was a good idea to use them as stuffing.

So-long,
Roman