Dear Folks:
A little while before bed so maybe I can knock out a short communiqué. Had a letter from Dick tonight – one of the longest I’ve received from him. He sounded pretty good – but said you sent him some sour letters because he didn’t tell you about his getting hurt. He thought you was a little fed up. His only reason for not telling [you] was to keep you from being upset and we didn’t expect you would receive anything official about it. Well he’s been through a lot more, and he’s a great guy, and I wouldn’t write anything to make him feel as he does. Maybe it was just the way he took your letters.
Betty Hutton’s show is coming tomorrow and it will be something to look forward to. A look at a white woman with shoes on will be a treat in itself. The boys scavenged some lumber and have built a pretty nice looking stage. The seats are dirt filled sacks. Last night at the show it rained in almost cloudburst proportions but it didn’t diter many of the customers.
We’ve been following the news pretty closely – especially listening to the events in the Philippines and around Formosa. A Jap news broadcast today said they had sunk eleven of our carriers along with two battleships and several other ships. They were painting a rosy picture for themselves and I hope it is all fiction. Such news is discouraging. I wish I could describe for you the great activity here and what I know.
It gets pretty hot here but morale is kept up partially by the fact that we get afternoons off except when something urgent comes along. Baseball and volleyball take up the afternoon. So far we’ve been unable to get PX supplies and we’re pretty disgusted about the fact – especially when other units are enjoying cokes, candy, etc. An ice cold coke would sell for a buck easily.
Well enough for tonight – not much news so I’ll quite for this time.
Love,