Sunday, July 28, 2013

Letter # 503, October 20, 1944

New Guinea
Friday eve.
Oct. 20, 1944
My sober darling;
Here's that man again, honey, with another day done and now I'm ready to sit down for my evening talk with the sweetest girl in the world. Yes, you are so, to me anyhow. I love you.
Another rainy day today so it wasn't quite so hot.  It rained a hard rain just before dinner and has stayed cloudy all day.  May rain again tonight by the looks of the sky.  Contrary to other places in the world I've been we never complain about the rain here.  Always glad to see it.  At least we have been so far.  Wander around out in the rain like a bunch of ducks.  So used to wet clothes, rain doesn't make any difference.  If we were in some of the sections on N.G. where it rains every day and even several times a day I reckon we would get plenty sick of it.  The ground is sandy enough that it doesn't get muddy except in places where it is all cut up. Can play ball a half hour after a rain stops and never see any mud.
The thermometer you sent me is becoming a very popular instrument in camp.  Must be the only one 'cause everyone from the brass hats down stop to take a look at it.  Mostly they don't believe what they see but they look anyhow.  They can't believe that it is only 96 - 100 in the shade and doesn't give us much to impress the folks at home with.  The big difference is this is day after day the year around while at home it's a couple weeks at most.  The sun temperature is much hotter here however than it ever gets at home.
I guess I didn't say much about the other letters I got last night.  The ones from Mom & Pop, you probably know all about them anyhow, were very nice letters.  Mom wrote the news and Pop did a very good job of informing me on the political situation.  The magazine articles she sent were very good and I take them to be a cross section of the thoughts and beliefs of the nation.  I can agree wholeheartedly with Pop's views.  I'll answer them over the weekend if I don't get lazy and run off someplace to swim or something.
Jim's was a V-mail and had absolutely nothing in it except that he had moved and hadn't had time to write. It came photographed this time and had been written on Oct. 1st.  It must have come by boat instead of air.
Didn't get any letters today, of course not, after getting eight all at once yesterday.
It is starting to rain again right now.  Let her rain.  Lulls a man to sleep and how I do sleep.  Never seem to get too much anymore.  Doesn't that sound funny for me to be saying?  I can sleep eight hours at night and then sleep at noon hour and be ready to go to bed early the next evening.  If you think your sleeping habits are bad what about mine?  You'll have to work on me to keep me awake.  Think you can?  I'd be willing to bet you could keep me awake for quite a spell.  Anyhow you got plenty to stay awake for. I'll sure try to break my sleepy head habits 'cause I love you.
Johnny was just in for a while and we shot the breeze and such.  I also took the opportunity to show my sober wife's picture.  There is so much contrast that he couldn't believe it was really you.  Thought it was a sister.  I don't think there is that much difference.  I'd know it was you anywhere.  No one else could ever look you like you, to me. You're my own special wife and the only one like you ever built.  I'm a very lucky guy to have caught you before you were found by someone else. I'd have tried but I'm not sure I could have beaten out the competition.
Now I'm going to answer letters for a while.  I don't mind a bit, having a gabby wife as you call yourself.  You're letters are so much like you that I love 'em all.   I always read each one several times and there are lots of parts I can quote almost exactly, from memory.  Of course most of the parts I remember so well are the nice things you tell me.  I eat that stuff up.  I want you to forget all my bad points and think I'm just about right.  You don't know how much that means to me.  Probably more than to most fellows that didn't have that hard shell to crack before they could react like ordinary human beings.  It took you to do it, honey.  You're quite a girl.  I love you.  Wouldn't trade you for even two twenty year old redheads.  How's that?  Pretty precious aren't you?  Darn right you are. It makes me glad to hear you're taking such good care of that "homefront".  If it wasn't for that I wouldn't have anything very worth while to look forward to.  Take care of my Mummy for me.
I see what you mean, you devil.  You don't like for your mail to screw you up. How about it if the word were spelled differently, like male?
I am wondering what the story behind the sober picture is?  That black dress is getting in a lot of pictures, isn't it?  It should 'cause it really shows you off.  In these pictures I have to use my imagination to get the effect of the dress but I can do that.  I remember every curve and line of it, of you too.  Lot to remember.  Now I have a picture to show where you are wearing your hair down.  Maybe that will satisfy the ones who object to the upsweep.  I like you anyway.
Bub seems to have made himself very handy about the place.  Gave you quite a lift with the man jobs about the place.  Too bad the weeds wouldn't burn off.  That would have been another job off your mind.  I sure appreciate him oiling and looking after my tools too.  People sure are being nice to us, aren't they?
Referring to your marked paragraph in Oct 5 letter.  I guess I have straightened you out on that in other letters. I saw you had the wrong dope, whether I said it wrong or you misinterpreted my necessarily round the bush talking.  I don't know, but anyhow, the dope in that paragraph is correct.
I'm not surprised that a little has been cut from my letters.  The rules are stricter now and I was wondering when you'd say the cutting had started.  I didn't expect it on the sentences that were cut, however.  Just forget about it.  It was only talk and nothing that you don't already know from the news.  That's why I didn't expect that to be cut. Crazy business.
You say your nose is to the trail, another reference to your marked paragraph.  Get your brain to work on this.  Remember back to the winter of 42 & 43.  "Life" carried a series of pictures and story about a place we had never before heard of but then became a famous place and familiar to any tongue that could pronounce the letter B.  It's home.
Well, honey, I'm going to say night for now.  I'll have to send the kisses and things I'd deliver in person if I only could.  Plenty unused ones waiting for that day, getting riper, juicier, and sweeter all the time.  I love you.
Your hubby.
Norm