30 May {April} 1945

Dearest Kitten:

Am rather tired tonight because I have been doing some manual labor for a change. This afternoon I took a shovel and helped mix cement for our basketball court. It is almost completed. With luck we should have all the cement poured by Wednesday. It will be an outside court.

We already have a volleyball court set up with lights so that the men can play at night, and a horse-shoe pitching area. Unfortunately it gets dark quite early and it will be necessary to install lights to get much benefit out of our athletic grounds.

In a couple of days I will be sending another box to you. So in a couple of months you can be in the lookout for it. I know that you will like what I am sending.

Letter # 260 came today and my C.O. asked me if you could find out full particulars on how the pictures were put on your stationery. Photography is his hobby and he has been wondering how they put the pictures on the paper. If you can find out for him, he would appreciate it very much.

A funny thing happened to me Sunday morning. I am so used to getting up at 5:30 a.m. that Sunday morning I woke up and looked at my watch. It was 5:45 and I jumped out of bed and did not hear any sounds and I rushed up to the Orderly room to see if the charge of quarters was awake, in my pajamas. He was sleeping soundly, so I woke him up and grabbed the whistle and rushed over to the mess hall to have one of the KP’s wake the company up. There were only a couple of cooks in the kitchen and they looked at me rather queerly. Then it dawned on me that it was Sunday. Now, you can imagine my relief. I thought that the night fireman had fallen asleep and that everything would be late. I was so mad at myself that I climbed right back into my bunk and did not get up until 7:00 A.M.

Tell Lorraine for me that Ray will have to load with something better than blanks to even get one much less than triplets. Tell her that I will give her six lessons free but after that there will be a slight charge.

A guarantee does not mean that you can use your fountain pen for a hammer, crowbar, and dart. You undoubtedly will have to pay for a new pen point which is only fair.

Tuesday morning 1 May 1945

Have a few minutes to myself and I will try to finish this letter. I wanted it to go out this morning but maybe it will get out this noon if I hurry.

Enclosed you will find a money order for $10.00 and I want you to use it for Mother’s Day. Get something for both mothers and enclosed is a little note to each of them.

I sure wish that I could obey your last order that you closed your letter with. Do you remember? It was, Come home soon. Nothing would make me as happy as the day that I do reach home for good.

Saturday afternoon I was talking to a sergeant who has been overseas for thirty six months and has just returned from a thirty day furlough home. Despite the fact that he enjoyed every minute that he was home, he wishes that he had not gone. His reasons were very good, the main one being that it was like leaving home for the first time all over and he figures that it will take a good six months to straighten out, he is that lonesome.

Well Sweetheart I must close but not before I tell you that you are my life and my all. I love you so much that it hurts. Give my regards to all the folks & kiss the babies for me. I love you, my Darling Wife.

Your Loving Devoted & Faithful Husband,

Bob