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

Dear Aunty Clara,

Tuesday

The time now is approximately nine-thirty in the evening and although the show was extra long this time with a series of shorts, we have time to write a letter or two before eleven bells rolls around. The movie was "Moonlight in Vermont" with Gloria Jean and although it was a Universal production it was okay. There were no uniforms in the picture which was one of the items contributing to its popularity. The shorts were too numerous to mention but the most entertaining one was a John Nesbitt "Passing Parade" which had to do with the American Slang and how it originated. I wonder if any other language in the world has so much slang in it as we do? Even Australia with all its free advertisement concerning its fancy language would have to go some to beat us out. Another rather good short concerned the printing of our paper money in the US mint at Washington.

The afternoon's work went along quite well although I wasted a considerable amount of time in spite of my good intentions. In spite of my comparative working "youth" I have yet to find a job where the nose is put to the grindstone and kept there. When I was younger, I thought work was an eight hour drudgery but that is the furtherest from actuality so far in my experience. People both in civilian life and in the army will try to make things as easy for themselves as possible. What I am getting at is that I am stuck in a "no work" corner of the room. First there is Bill Grauel who is the Message Center Chief. That is a necessary position and is more of a job of just being there than actual work. It consists of recording incoming and outgoing papers and sending runners out with messages. At times he is busy and at other times he has nothing to do but sit and wait for work to come up. He sits to my left. Then there is the bugler and the runner. Those two jobs are proverbially the softest touches in the army. They have every third day off although on the days they are on duty, their stretch covers more than eight hours. The bugler remains on duty from First Call to Taps while the runner puts in about nine hours. For instance one day Mathis will be the runner, Angert the bugler and Moreno will have the day off and they alternate every day. However, for the most part, their job is much one of putting in time and they sit on two chairs in the corner to my left and behind Bill Grauel. Jack Molyneaux sits behind me and I really shouldn't have to say more on that subject for Jack, as asst pers sgt has no definite tasks. Most times he will ride in with Lynd to get the mail and then help Lynd sort it out. Mostly he does what he is famous for and that is nothing. Once in a while he will get a job to do and, in the usual Molyneaux style, he will finish it up in a blue streak and then sit around with nothing to do.

So you can imagine how and why my work progresses slowly at times. I have such definitely assigned tasks as the Morning Report duties and allied duties concerning Battalion Strength and further duties as Officer Clerk with such contingent duties as that may incur. Then there is that unofficial capacity as the Medic Clerk as far as Personnel is concerned. In the middle of the month, I'm just as busy as any of them or any Company Clerk is during the middle of the month but at times I have to work amid the constant chatter of four other people and it is some competition. Then too there is that wind which I have to contend with as it blows the papers and carbons hither and yon all day long. Just another black mark against the wind in my little black book of pet peeves.

There was no letter writing to be done at four to five for that was the time to gather in the laundry and it was a mess. Three fellows had put in enough laundry to stuff the bag fill and we had to state a law then and there that only two suits of either khaki, fatigues or one of each was acceptable. You should have heard the complaining as we dumped the entire bag of clothes on the floor and put in just what we wanted. There was no recourse for the last four fellows wouldn't have been able to send any laundry had we let everyone else send socks, underwear and the like along with three and four sets of suits.

So-long,   /s/ Roman   Roman