Monday, 28 August, 1944

Dearest Kitten:

It is a beautiful day out and it brings back memories of Sunday afternoons at the beach. How I miss those days that we used to enjoy. When this mess is all over, we will be able to enjoy them again I hope. That is if we are not too old by then.

Took a trip to the Lone Pine Zoo and took some more pictures. When they are developed, I will send them to you. I had one taken with a small constrictor snake wrapped around my neck. I took five other men in the company up with me. We all enjoyed ourselves looking at the birds, kangaroos, koala bears, dingoes, and snakes. The birds are very pretty. They come in all colors imaginable.

Some morning this week I hope to take a plane ride. One of the men in my company has a friend in the Navy, and he is a pilot. He is going to make a date so that I can go for a ride. I'll let you know how I liked it as soon as I get the ride. It will be a new experience for me.

You are perhaps wondering what Pub Call means. Due to the scarcity of liquor & beer over here, the Pubs or bars have two hours a day that they open up. Usually at 12:00 noon and 5:15 P.M. and stay open until their daily ration is used up. To get anything to drink during pub call is an art in itself. It takes a combination of fullback, boxer, wrestler, and contortionist to get more that one glass of beer, and superman to get enough to get drunk on.

Enclosed is another issue of the Beachcomber. I hope that you find it as interesting as the others. There is another page to the paper but we can not send it along as there is information, news etc that does not pass the censor.

My brother Roland never used to be a sourpuss. He always used to be full of h---. It seems funny to hear that he has changed.

Do not worry too much about the bracelet. I will get another one for you. It may take a little time but if you are patient you will receive a box with the necessary item. Please be more careful with the next one.

Cle's letter was a form V-mail, if you can call it a letter, then I guess that she wrote to me.

When I return home I am planning on big things so do not be too surprised to see things start flying when I return home.

You claimed that you did not get sunburned once before - remember? I sure pitied you that night. You were sick and hated to spoil our good time. We sure did have a good time too.

I doubt if you ever hear from my dad about the invitation to his place and even if you do, you can refuse.

The bears do not grow any bigger than the two that are in my arms. They are very delicate and die if not handled properly. Picking them up by the abdomen eventually kills them. They have to be handled by the legs. They are very hard to keep in captivity. They do not drink water and eat the leaves of the Eucalyptus trees. They eat the leaves of different variety of the trees depending on the weather. It is impossible for them to live in the states as it has been tried.

As long as you always feel the same way about me, I will never have a thing to worry about. Of course I have to be a fairly good guy to be able to get you for my wife.

The Parrot is just the name assumed by a couple of men who play practical jokes on men in the company. One night they took a man's cot all apart bolds & all. Then tied it together with thread so that it was just standing. The poor guy came in at midnight and sat on his cot to take off his shoes and the cot flew into a million pieces. Can you imagine putting that cot together in the dark?

Stop babying me. If one of my friends is killed in action or anything like that, I want to know about it. Was happy to hear that John has been located.

That serves you right. You should be more careful about drinking on an empty stomach. As you found out even three drinks will upset your stomach if it is empty.

We sure have a couple of wonderful children, Sweetheart, and I get a kick out of reading about all of their troubles and fights.

Well, Beautiful I must close but not before I tell you that I love you from the bottom of my heart. Nothing ever meant so much to me as you do Sweetheart. The one thought that keeps me going is that sometime in the future I will return where I belong, in your arms.

Regards to everyone & kiss the babies for me.

Your Loving, Devoted, & Faithful Husband,

Bob