Sgt Roman F. Klick 36620923
HS 1393 Engr APO 75
c/p SF Cal
14 Aug 45

Dear Aunty Clara,

Tuesday



No letters today, but I think I'll be able to find enough to write about. The news today sure has been up and down. For instance, the first thing in the morning we wait anxiously for reports as to the status of the peace negotiations, then from a hopeful start, we are crest fallen for the remainder of the day until out of the blue comes a Japanese Domei News Agency broadcast at about four-thirty in the afternoon announcing that the Japanese acceptance will be forthcoming shortly. Then begins the breathless waiting until ten o'clock, when the big news would be broadcast. And at ten o'clock we find that the status has remained unchanged - to official word other than the unofficial Jap broadcast. So we are crestfallen. Rolls around the clock and we are listening to the eleven o'clock newscast and outside of a French Paris Radio news item that the Jap note is being transmitted to Switzerland, there is nothing. But what is this "The Army News Service brings a special bulletin: The White House announces that the Jap note is in the hands of the Swiss and it will take several hours for deciphering, coding and transmittal to the States but that it looks like the long vigil is just about over. I'm tempted to remain up this evening just to hear the news myself when it does arrive sometime during the night. After such a long period of suspense, anything which happens now is an anti-climax and to me the surrender isn't ever going to be an actuality now until the Jap Army is disarmed and we are in full occupation of the home islands. The feeling of elation is completely gone.

The Free Philippines came out with a screaming one page flash edition in bold red type which said "It is all over." Then, as in most extras, the first paragraph states the unofficial source of the headline. When we got downtown, the Daily Pacifican had hit the streets with its extra announcing the Japanese capitulation. Everyone is sure willing to accept it on its face value and they do not even realize what the note may contain.

Another thing which is peculiar, but only right, is that after the first simultaneous offer to negotiate for peace sent to the Big Four, the negotiations have narrowed down to the two principals involved - Japan and the US. When you stop to think of the fact that we have just about won this war with one hand, it is remarkable. As yet the redeployment of forces from the ETO has not been such that it could affect the progress, so that means regardless of the German war, we were able to lick Japan at the same time. Of course the atomic bomb helped. And the Russians. Although not so much the latter because I doubt whether the Japanese would have had time to draft up a peace proposal between the time Russia entered the war and when she actually did so.

But that did not take up the entire day. I spent some of the day checking with Hipp and his 1st Sgt getting their Morning reports and Sick Books to tie up for the IG they will have tomorrow. Incidentally, the IG arrived right on schedule and set to work on H&S Company both down in the company orderly room and also right up here in Personnel with Marsh's records. His records seemed in pretty good shape. I'm not so sure he will find mine in the same good shape if he looks at them for I know I do several things different from the book and also Joseph L and I realized today we had made a grievous omission in the last two or three months which I am trying to correct before they get a chance to look at my records.

Other than that I typed up letters, made true copies of various promotions. Our new personnel officer had been in line for promotion anyhow so it just happened that today, during his second full day on the job, he received his promotion to 1st Lt. There won't or shouldn't be many second lieutenants in the army anymore just like a buck private is something of the past since the liberal promotion orders came through for Pvts and 2d Lts.

I did some other trivial odds and ends during the course of the day but they all seem so far away now that I can't very well remember them. Two of the clerks were up here this evening working on their morning reports. One of them, Marsh, wasn't going to come up because he was also up here the night before working on it and two nights before that because they were so complicated. I told him that if he didn't have it done by eight, I wasn't going to take any bawling out that might come my way and would just tell the big boys that I had told him (the clerk) in ample time the night before for him to get his morning report on time. I didn't threaten or bully, I just told him he could do as he pleased but that was what I was going to do. He came up. But he didn't care much for it as evidenced by the little trick he pulled on me. I had to laugh at it because it is something you can't really accuse him of. I had spent my half hour between quitting time at five o'clock and supper time at five-thirty, working on the remarks for his morning reports. I wasn't going to be there in the office early in the evening so in case he came up, I wanted everything ready for him to type out. In my hurry, I abbreviated assignments with an n where an m should have been. We use that abbreviation daily on one or more remarks and on this same morning report I had three other uses of the abbreviation for assignment. But he went right ahead and where I had skipped the extra hump in the m, he wrote asgnt. I asked him whether he was trying to trip me up and he said in a very straight face that he thought perhaps he had been using the wrong abbreviations and that I had it right. O well, it's done now, but goodness knows I don't ask these fellows to come down at night because I love to see them working overtime, it is just because that is part of my job to see that their job gets done.

O yes during the day I had Arnalfo working on my Morning Report card system which I decided has gone along too long being incomplete. This day to day building up of the files to completion could take well nigh forever, so I had him type up cards for all the men in the company for whom there were none. He has finished over half the battalion now and tomorrow he should finish the job. That is a big help and with Jack busy on the battalion weekly, Arnalfo has been left pretty much alone and he has been helping me out on those cards. First of all making up the form and now typing in the names.

But now to mention the evening's activities. Last night I closed with the remark that I would be late this evening on account of going downtown to see about some educational opportunities. Well, it ended up the Jack, Hipp, Ebner, Kelly of the Medics, and myself all went down to the Philippine Institute and registered for classes. My choice of subjects do not reflect my desires or aims to a great degree but were about the best compromise program I could obtain for the Tues-Fri classes. I (and Hipp) took Musical Appreciation for the first class and Slide Rule and Logarithms for the second class. Neither one is going to earn me money at RH&R and I would have much rather have been able to take up accounting or something but couldn't. So I did what I have always done heretofore at school - taken subjects I am interested I and like and that is how come I ended up with what I did. The MA course is going to be okay. It is a listening course with no homework, Dr Herbert Zipper is going to be a guest instructor one night, some of the classes will be held at the symphony concerts, we will learn a history of composers, their works, musical development through recordings and examples of how various instruments are used with musicians present to demonstrate. Object of course is to give layman a foundation for enjoyment of music from Bach to Gershwin to Count Basie.

Then there needn't be any explanation for the math course. I want to brush up and that will be one of the easiest steps to a reintroduction to the subject of numbers. Ate only 3 cookies today - am cutting down the ration as stock pile depletes itself. By the way, school starts next Tuesday night 7 to 10P.M. and ditto on Friday's

So-long,   /s/ Roman   Roman