The Letters, So Far

Dear Anne;

Say what goes on anyway? When you wrote your last letter we were already living 16 days in the new year, but you didn't seem to realize the difference, because you still addressed it as 1943. What bothers me is that I did the same thing several times already myself. Karl called my attention to it and so did Connie. Is it Spring, love, fever, leap year, or just ordinary carelessness?

Well I guess things have quieted down by now at home in regards to "Blessed Events". I'm glad to hear Kathleen and baby as well as Lucille and Dennis are fine. I'm also a little puffed up over the fact that my latest nephew is named after me.

I can realize what you have to put up with in Little Kathleen and Johnny, because I can remember when they weren't angels before. They say too that it grows worse as time goes by, so I imagine you have to put up with more now than before. All the same I get to miss them. I'll bet you wonder how in the world I could. I wonder too, because I can still remember those times when I would have loved to take them one on each knee and paddled away all day on them. It's just like you say, you probably never realized how much you liked them, until Herman called up for a date. The same here, although at the time, I would have been perfectly satisfied not to come in contact with them all day; now I actually do miss them.

The weather has been pretty nice here lately. It's sort of like back home — you never can predict it from one day to the next. It's been too good to last.

So your boy friend went and made a hero of himself, eh? Say, if you do get a picture of him that you can spare I would like to see my future brother-in-law just once before you tie the knot. I bet he's the tall, dark and handsome type, and judging from the clipping he's probably on the style of Errol Flynn.

You know I often thought about what would happen if Johnny got in the Army. Not that I [max?] claim to be a model person myself, but there's one of two things that would happen to him. By that I mean, he would in all probability change either for better or worse. In the Army you have to sort of lay aside your pride and prestige for a while to get along. That might sound funny, but it's true. When you get in the Army they don't give a darn who you are or what kind of a job you had before. That's also contrary to popular belief. I've seen proof of that already on finding former cooks doing mechanics work and vice versa. The first thing you lose is your social standing. Whereas you or I or Johnny would never think of washing dishes for a living, in the Army you do it, get $50 for it a month and like it or else.

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Friday afternoon · about 5:25 P.M.

Dear Pop,

Back at the office again. The boys on the shift ahead of us must have done quite a bit of work cleaning up the place. It shines from floor to ceiling. Even the pin-ups which cover one side of a wall look brighter. We've got quite a few in our collection now—one for every week that we've been over here. Each week our magazine YANK has a pin-up for the week and naturally that's about the first thing we look at.

I keep wondering how long this wonderful weather will last. Today was another beautiful one, nice and clear and warm, the night's, however, are still pretty cool. That was our only consolation last summer after those scorching days, so I hope at least that they stay nice and cool. How is it up there, is it still snowing?

Mail is coming in rather slow, but I guess I can't kick for some tide to come after all those letter a while ago. I've just now caught up to where there are only eight left.

Thanks for getting that No. 1 paper for me. Don't go through a lot of trouble getting the stuff, though that maybe you might be able to get it pretty easy. I guess all that photographic material is pretty scare in the States. To come to think about it all, everybody at home claims that this is scarce and that is scarce. The government claims it's going to the service men, but it seems to me it's scarce over here too. I wonder where half of the stuff is going. Cigarettes are a good example. Oh well I suppose it's being used to good advantage somewhere, at least I hope it is.

Thanks for that clipping about Doc Wittig. Seems as though he got overseas in pretty jig time. Either he gained quite a bit of weight or else the picture wasn't very good.

I'm feeling fine and have been for a record time I guess. Haven't been off the base since the early part of February. It's almost the end of March again and I keep wondering how long we're going to stay here. It's anybody's guess, I suppose,

Well here is hoping that this finds you and Mom and all home feeling fine. I'll be running along for another little while.

Lots of love to Mom and all,

Love, Art.

Saturday morning · about 11:15 A.M.

Dear Mom,

Your swell Easter Card just came the other day. The bud from the Gardenia plant and the 2 dollars came all right too. Thanks a lot for everything!

Everything is going along fine over here. The weather is swell, gets warmer and warmer every day. Getting so that in the afternoons it's almost too hot in the tent. I'm fine myself and all the other fellows are the same. With summer coming along I shouldn't have any trouble with any colds. The bill-fold with the money in it came fine and a little ahead of schedule. I guess you must be psychic or something, because I was just looking my old billfold over and thinking, it's about time I got another. It was just what I needed.

I'm very glad to hear that you're up and around and feeling better. Anne wrote and told me about the misfortune she had. It was too bad it had to happen that way, but I'm glad she's all right.

Haven't heard from Howie or Millie in quite some time. I didn't know he was in North Carolina already. It's too bad he had to go down on [dil?], but he really shouldn't have gotten married when he did anyway. On my birthday I had a day off, so I enjoyed loafing around pretty much. The day-off came right on time. I'll see what I can do about getting home for my fourth birthday — oh yeah. With the news as good as it is lately, who knows? I may be home sooner than a fairy not depending on it.

I'm pretty sure that I got Johnny's and Kathleen's package that they sent for Xmas. I got so many things and so many packages all at once that I don't remember now, by gosh, what was in them. Now that I think of it, I don't believe I even thanked them for it, but I did appreciate them a lot and I do want to thank them very much for all the trouble.

Mrs. Pason, Millie, and Connie each got a Card fro my birthday a while ago and I already answered them. I haven't written to Connie as yet for a while, but one of these days when I get around to it, I will. Al wrote a couple of days, which is more than he's written all last year. It was good to hear from him and the last one was an 11 page letter telling me all about what he did during the year and why he went to California. He says he will probably be going back to "Doc"'s house sometime in May.

Thanks a lot for finding out Lorraine's birthdate for me, it's too late to do anything about it this year, but there's always another one.

Speaking of Little Kathleen being almost as big as you are, I used to remember when I'd measure myself and notice that I was creeping up on you, and finally was taller. The last time I weighed myself in February I weighed 154 lbs. I thought that I'd gained some since then too, and when Chuck, the fellow who moved away from us a while ago, came back to visit us the other day, he said he noticed the change, in only a month's time. So, I guess I'm getting heavier everyday.

We're improving our tent, now that the other two fellows moved into their own little bungalo. That's leave only four of us left, just the way it was at the beginning.

The mail is about average. I'll go several days without and then a bunch will come at once. All in all I think I'm getting all that I'm supposed to.

There isn't much more to write about here, but I did want to tell you that everything is fine over here and I hope that everything goes along the same up there. xxxxx If I can get ahold of some chemicals soon, I'll be able to send down some more pictures.

Until the next time, real soon, I'll close with love to you, Pop, Johnny and Kathleen, Johnny Boy, and Tommy Arthur.

Love,

Arthur.