Dear Folks:

Guess I haven’t written for about a week so better get at it.

When I got in today your picture was here and is it swell.  I’m so glad you sent it.  I can’t adequately tell you how much it will mean.  Then yesterday Katie’s(photo) came so with these and the one of Dick, I have quite a gallery of good-looking kin.  Katie is getting prettier all the time but since the last time I saw her, in about August ’40, I believe, she seems to look a little more mature and womanly.  When exactly will she graduate?  I’d sure like to see her badly.  I feel like a terrible heel for not sending you something beside the telegram on your big day last Sunday,but then I thought that if you were coming out to see Gram or up here I would send you fifteen dollars for the trip.  Suppose your back is badly bowed by the season of the year but it would be swell if you both could get away from it all.

I’m still in the dark as to furloughs—as a matter of fact haven’t even got wind of a good latrine rumor.  Other fellows seem to get these but no dice in this outfit I guess.

Several troop trains have pulled out last week and even tonite a long one is standing on the tracks waiting to be loaded.  The latest info from seat 5 is that we won’t be here for longer than a month, but then this is all rumor.  Today we were on the rifle range firing plenty of ammo.  I didn’t do as good as I have before—a 154 out of two hundred.  Last week I started to attend survey school.  About three men from each battery were chosen, this is the brain part of field artillery.  Hope I go long enough to get some benefit from it.

Last Saturday afternoon got a thirty-six hour pass so Johnnie, my pal, and I went into Tacoma but came home fairly early for lack of anything to do.  This guy Johnnie is really a swell fellow—a tough existence ever since he was born, living under a drunken Dad and keeping his mother.  Plenty handsome, modest, and sincere.  His qualities remind me of Jim Sandison, but Johnnie is much more handsome.  Black curly hair and big friendly eyes.  Wish I had a picture of him.

The recent sea battle was certainly good news wasn’t it?  Hope we treat ‘em plenty rugged from now on.  A bad note has been coming up lately and that is gas or chemical warfare.  The use of that will increase the horror of war many times.  I’d think Germany would be afraid to use it because of his own extinction.

Last week one day I was on regimental fatigue and was handed a shovel and dumped off on a coal pile.  Boy did I get dirty but it was a good workout.  We hauled it to the hospitals and to the homes of the brass boys (officers).

It’s still been raining off and on for the last week but a couple of days were really nice.

Well I’ve got to write some more letters so better get around to them.

Your picture will be my most valued possession.

Love,

The picture is a 155 mm howitzer of our battery.