Thursday Oct. 19 1944

Dearest Kitten:

Here it is almost a week since I last wrote and all because I am selfish. Last Sunday my Company commander, Capt. Harris, told me that I could go with a small group of men to a Red Cross rest area at Coolangatta. Coolangatta is a beach summer resort. It reminded me of Ogunquit.

US Servicemen at Coolangatta Beach during WWII

I enjoyed myself immensely and got to feeling like a civilian for a change. We left Monday morning and returned Wednesday afternoon. There was three other of my sergeants along with me and we went swimming, sunbathing, took a hike to the top of a mountain, rode bikes, played ping pong, made pub call twice a day. Anything that even smelled like work was studiously avoided. The three sergeants would not let me alone long enough to write you a letter as they claimed that letter writing was work and had to be avoided.

It is a bit early for the vacation season down there and we had the town more or less to ourselves. The beach is quite beautiful and the sand is the same as at Ogunquit. If they had left me alone I could have gotten pretty homesick. My thoughts were of you and home a great deal and how I wished that we could be enjoying everything together.

I sure hated to come back and get into the harness again. Oh well such is life without my wife.

Now for a crack at answering some of your six letters that I had waiting for me on my return.

Of course I am proud of my company, I would be a heel if I weren’t. Espirit-de-Corps and all that sort of thing, but it is what make an outfit tick.

Your letters are always interesting and you do a very good job of telling me how much that you love me. Just keep on writing the way you do and I will never have a complaint.

So Paul is an ensign. Good on him. It is about time that he did something. Of course I imagine that there weren’t any strings pulled to get him commissioned.

Since going on the diet you have become very ambitious. Keep it up and when I get home I will give you a kiss on your cheek for all your trouble. Nice of me huh?

I am carrying the quarter as a pocket piece. At least as long as I have that, I will never be broke.

When we have our own home, we will have a fireplace. I know that you will like that.

Julie must be a very happy and contented girl. After waiting all that time she deserves a break.

Your Uncle Fred certainly gets around. I can appreciate how you felt about your family not letting you know but do not let it get you down. When I return, we are not going to be so close to them and we will be better off not to be bothered too much with them. Relatives make poor friends.

So, you have been reading some of my old love letters. Now is that nice? Lucky for you that the letters you did get hold of were just ordinary run of the mill type. You see I do not keep any of the real mushy ones just for reasons like that. One never knows who is liable to get to read an old letter.

You’re so kind to me. I am going to appreciate the T-shirts when they get here.

Of course it isn’t fun going to bed alone after being used to having a husband climb in and scratch your back whenever it was itchy.

Do me a favor and tell Gerty to be patient. She will be more than well rewarded when I return. Poor little kid I feel for her. I should not have fooled with her so much. She misses me I bet.

Sorry to hear about Jerry’s little girl. When I hear of a youngster being born a cripple, it does something to me. I am a bit too tender hearted at times.

What do you mean that I am getting to be an old man? A man is only as old as he feels and I feel like sixteen. So look out when I get home.

Sweetheart, do not blame yourself too much about wanting to go to Lorraine’s party. Whenever anything like that comes up, just stop and think, then make your decision. Going in to Boston to an opera, show or something like that is a very good idea. It will do you good and give you a little diversion.

A good soldier can always be spotted by his feet. A soldier’s feet are his most important accessory, his weapon next.

Sorry to say but my Dad overlooked my birthday. Yes I received the box from your mother. There must be some of my letters missing as I wrote and told you about it.

Stop jumping to conclusions whenever my letters are delayed. There are more reasons for delayed mail than you have hairs on your head.

Exactly what kind of injections are you referring to that would make you miss having your friend. H-mm maybe I should look into this.

So you will not have to buy Barby a wig after all. It is about time that her hair grew in. For awhile I was worried as to whether she was every going to have any hair. I get a boot out of reading about all the funny things that they do.

It has been a long time since I have told you how much that I loved you. If I had my way I would be in a position to tell you all the time. My love is like a good whiskey - it gets mellow with age. The amount remains the same but like whiskey the ingredients change slightly - they become more concentrated. Like a bottle, that is me, you can fill a bottle only so full, my body has reached that point. I am full of love for you. The only change is in the ingredients that go to make up that love.

If I had Charles Boyer’s technique and his voice, I would make a recording of my voice so that you could hear me telling you how much that I love you.

Well, Beautiful, I have run out of words so until I write again - I love you with all my heart.

Regards to everyone & kiss the babies for me.

Your Loving Devoted & Faithful Husband,

Bob