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

Dear Aunty Clara,

Monday

This letter, I assure you, has been begun with ample time in front of me so that there is no need for haste. The office is remarkably empty considering the fact that this Monday evening is a non-show night and I, while not in the letter writing mood, am going to make an attempt at answering several of the letters which I repeatedly mention as being on the agenda. For one thing, speaking of letters, I might mention the outcome of that semi-official letter to Harvey Beaumont which I was going to write this afternoon - I never wrote it. After such a long respite from writing letters during working hours, back to the old days at Camp White and the very early days in Dumbea, I found myself hard put to turn out any letter of sorts and determined to postpone it until some non-duty hour after all. But, it appears as if I took a partial vacation from work this afternoon as I completed reading the latest edition of the Times magazine. There was one rather very dismal item in the book in which they state that should Germany show any signs of needing a large police force after our occupation of that country, it will be necessary to hold two million in Europe for a good many months after the cessation of hostilities. That is bad enough but they then continue by saying men with combat service will get the highest priority on being discharged - that is alright and most likely everyone will agree wholeheartedly to such a plan for anyone in battle for no matter how short of a duration should be entitled to one for the first discharges. However, after that they get some screwy ideas about letting married men out first, older men out before younger men and soldiers who own homes out after that and letting the very last two categories be single men overseas and single men in the states. Why are single men tossed around like that is what I would like to know? I would be perfectly satisfied if they discharged the soldiers in reverse order as to the way they came in or in other words discharge the first man inducted and then work on up to the last man inducted. With the number of casualties and the number of discharges that would move me up closer to the front of that line and it would be well within the first half of the ten million men now in the services. In line with these remarks on discharges is an item which appeared in today's Island newspaper stating that the War Department expects the war in Europe to be over this November and the Navy expects the Japanese war to be over at the end of 1945 which would bring the six months to the middle of 1946 very close to that 1000 day mark which Jack and I chose arbitrarily as the length of time which would have to pass before we could expect to be home once again, namely July 5th, 1946. But if they go ahead with this finagling, some of us would be sitting in this army twiddling our thumbs up to and past that day which in the famous words of the Rathborne, Hair and Ridgway accountants would be "a heluva note".

I'm having a very enjoyable time this evening as the Hall of Fame is being broadcast and among the assortment of entertainment being offered is a play featuring Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Larry Adler and his Harmonica and a short bit of Truth or Consequences which was exceptionally funny this evening.

Just to prove to you that I'm taking my sweet time about writing this letter tonight, I have listened to three radio programs and read two magazines (movie) since beginning it and I'm not finished yet. You will also note, I presume, that thus far there has been a singular absence of errors which is highly indicative of the slow pace I'm going at.

By the evening meal (which was made extra good by Lewis donating a bottle of chili sauce to our table) I was eating everything and everything in spite of the two fresh fillings in the mouth. Something is beginning to trouble me though and that is the fact that a tooth on the right side of my mouth is beginning to hurt a bit and I'm wondering whether that is one that is to be filled or pulled.

So-long,   /s/ Roman   Roman