Wednesday 26 July, 1944

Dearest Kitten:

Today is a very poor day for writing a letter to the person that I love the most. It is a wet rainy day and is inclined to dull the spirits of anyone. My morale is none too high at the present time and it is mainly due to the weather.

Enough about that for the present and now for a more cheerful little earful. Your check came yesterday with letters 55-8-9 and the card. I must say that you are very considerate of your husband. It is very satisfying to have a wife as nice as you. Because you are like that is the reason that I love you so much. But if you continue to give me h--- about not writing as often as you think I should, I will beat you up the next time that I get home. It may not have occurred to you just what kind of a job it is to censor every letter that is written by the men. On top of that it is spot checked by a base censor. Outgoing mail takes longer than incoming. You may have never noticed, but, when addressing my letters, I leave a wide margin on the left of my return address. That is for the convenience of the base censor, if he desires to check my letter, he can tear the left had margin off without destroying the address. The mail situation over here is much more complicated than in the states, so keep your shirt on. You will receive at least one letter a month, but if you start riding me it will be one letter a year.

All kidding aside, I will write as often as possible but it is impossible for me to write every day. Just be patient and thank God for every letter you receive.

Did you ever think of having a phone put in? It would be a very good idea, don't you think? Then you could save yourself a lot of trouble and running around.

I only wish that I were home so that we could take the children to the beach for a couple of weeks. The day will come when we will be able to enjoy life the way we want to.

One of my men who lives in Maryland has given me an invitation to his home after everything is over and we get back home. Almost everytime that he speaks to me he reminds me that we have a date for after the war. He wants me to come down with my family and stay with him and his wife for a few weeks. He is a little old guy that treats me like his son. To his way of thinking, I am quite a guy.

Your two little boxes have not arrived yet but I received the third large box a couple of days ago. My aunt sent me a letter that I received Monday.

The two pictures of Barby are cute. I have them stapled together and standing on my desk. Everybody that comes in looks at them and ask me about her. Proud pappy that I am, they are probably sorry that they asked by the time that I get through talking about her.

Lorraine must feel pretty bad about her rings. I bet she hates to tell Ray about it. I feel sorry for both of them. They hardly know what married life is.

I must drop that poor girl in Alexander's a letter. As yet I have not answered her. She must have been surprised when Tess told her about it.

Dad should have received a couple of letters from me by this time, and as yet I have had no answer. I will do my part but at least he can send me a note.

I hope that Norman goes the other way. In this area the soldiers have to combat insects, disease, & Japs. It is hard enough to fight the enemy without having to contend with everything else.

Do you want to know why I am unable to write to you more often? Well, there is this Blonde Aussie Babe with eyes of blue, a figure that puts a Varga girl painting to shame, skin like a baby's, nose, ears, and mouth that are so close to perfection that it is unbelievable. She has her own convertible Packard Coupe and has loads of dough and willing to spend it. Her father is a big political official and owns half of Australia. Now put yourself in my position, would you stay in and write to your wife or would you go out with the babe?

Well that is what most men would do only that there is no such Babe. Too bad, it sounded good anyhow.

I started this letter at 8:00 and it is now 12:10. That will give you a vague idea of what I go through while writing a letter. Even a V-mail is a two to three hour job. If I could sit down and not be disturbed, everything would be just fine.

Victor must have been glad to meet his father after all these years.

If you can, send me a few cans of tomato paste, grated cheese, in cans or cardboard containers, and a couple boxes of spaghetti. If you can get a hold of some mushroom soup, that would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Regards to everyone & kiss the babies for me.

I love you so darn much that it hurts,

Your Loving, Devoted, & Faithful Husband,

Bob

P.S. Send some calcium tablets for my teeth. Obtainable at all drug stores.