Saturday July 14, 1945

Dearest Kitten:

I have a bit of excitement to tell you about. We had quite a fire just a few minutes ago. A gasoline tank with a hundred and twenty five gallons in it caught fire. After burning for about ten minutes it blew up. The flames shot about five hundred feet into the air. A lot of men are suffering from burn just from the heat.

Quite a few men went to the hospital for burns and a few from broken bones when everyone panicked. One of my men went to the hospital with a broken collar bone.

I was standing about a hundred feet from the tank when it blew up. I took off like everyone else because like everyone else I was scared and afraid that the gasoline would fall on me. I have been scared but this took the cake.

Today I received your letters of July 3rd & fourth. You seemed very agitated and humble because you have not been writing every day. You seem to think that I have been going through quite a bit of danger. Well tonight was as close to danger as I have been in.

The two bronze stars on my service ribbon was really earned by our second Battalion. The regiment was given credit because our work in Brisbane was as helpful as our being on the spot, and we did do a good job.

Right now we are working hard and it is taking a lot out of us. The heat has slowed us down a lot and we will slow down more as we get acclimated.

You said that you were going to write more often and send more boxes. As for the writing that is O.K. but unless it is something special. We have a very nice variety at our PX which opened yesterday. So unless I ask for something special, do not waste your energy and money.

I am happy that you like your jewel box. I had it made special for you. As for the wallets they were hand made by one of my cooks. As for the price, nothing is too good for my one and only. Just tokens of my great love for you.

You know that I do love you Sweetheart and would do anything for you. How I miss you and the babies. I only wish that I could explain my feelings, but I seem to be unable to properly express my feelings. My only regret is my inability to tell you how much I love you.

The city of Lowell used good sense in not getting fireworks that go off with a bang. Remember there are a lot of discharged veterans whose nerves are not what they should be.

I appreciated the picture of Mr. & Mrs. Gagnon. How happy they must be, and how jealous I am of their happiness.

Well Sweetheart this will be all for now. Give my regards to everyone & kiss the babies for me.

I close with all my love.

Your Loving Devoted & Faithful Husband,

Bob

Friday July 6, 1945

Dearest Kitten:

Does my favorite wife still love me? I hope so because I love her. The lack of proof in the number of letters that I send her will have to be overlooked and I must be forgiven because I lack the time to do better.

Your letter of Sunday June 24th came today and I was glad to get it.

So all the family has a tan now even if half of mine is yellow from atabrine tablets. We started taking atabrine a week before we left Brisbane. It is great tasting stuff. The taste remains in your mouth all day long if you happen to keep it in your mouth too long before swallowing. Very appetizing.

Sweetheart forgive me but I am too tired to continue this letter. You know that I love you with all my heart.

Saw Sgt. St Jean today. He left the Company back in Gordon Johnston. He is a 1st/Sgt. now.

Good night Beautiful. Give my regards to everyone & kiss the babies for me. I love you.

Your Loving Devoted & Faithful Husband,

Bob

Saturday June 30, 1945

Dearest Kitten:

I love you with all my heart & miss you so much that at times I wonder how I can stand anymore. I thank God that I am so busy that it is impossible for me to have much time to feel sorry for myself.

You deserve the vacation that must be nearing its end as I write this letter. I received your first letter that you wrote from Hampton Beach. It certainly would be heaven to be there with you. Oh well! I guess that I will have to be patient and wait a while longer.

Things are exceptionally quie tonight and I do not like it. Things will probably start popping tomorrow and the chances are that I will be right in the middle of it.

Setting up a camp such as we need is no small matter and the two men that catch the most hell is the company commanders and the 1st/Sgt.

Since my last letter I have seen a little of the City and quite a bit of the people. It is pityful to see these people and what they have to put up with. We have quite a few civilians and the way that are dressed is pityful. The popular dress is burlap. They will work just for something to eat. It is impossible to describe what these people are going through.

They told me that the heat here was intense so to keep cool I stay out of tents. Due to the heat I am beginning to slow down to a gallop. The first three days here were pips. I got about a few hours sleep. The fourth morning I had gotten things going and at nine in the morning I sat down on a cot that we had in the orderly room for my clerk to sleep in and the Capt. was talking to me about everything in general. To be more comfortable I stretched out on the cot, the next thing I knew it was 11:45. I had fallen asleep on the Capt. and one of my sergeants stayed in the orderly and took care of things until I woke up. I had gone about as far as anyone could without sleep.

One of my men asked me when I ever got some sleep. So you can see for yourself. I do not have much time to myself. When I do get some time I am too dead to do anything but sleep.

It os now eight in the evening and it is getting dark. All I am doing is writing and I am perspiring all over the place. You may notice that the bottom of this sheet is or rather has been wet. It is caused from the sweat on my arm.

We are able to purchase a ration of beer. Twenty four bottles a month. It is 3.2 and we are able to keep it anywhere and drink it in the mess hall with our supper. We are allowed to drink it when we are off duty. I usually drink a bottle in the evening. We have an ice making machine but do not have it in operation as yet. As soon as we do get it operating we will be able to chill our beer and make it a little more palatable.

I received a letter from your mother today and if I get the chance I will write to her tonight. I must answer my mother also.

Well Sweetheart I love you very much and am praying every night that the day of our reunion is not too far distant.

The children must be enjoying themselves immensely at the beach.

So Barby is a bigger tease than Bobby. She must be a cute little devil. How I miss the lovable little pests. How I would love to be pestered by them right now. Oh well if I do not quit, I will begin to feel sorry for myself.

The thermometer was up to only 120 today. A fairly cool day. No need for a stove to keep warm over here.

Well Sweetheart I will close for now with all my love for you have it all.

Give my regards to everyone and kiss the babies for me.

Your Loving Devoted & Faithful Husband,

Bob

Manila June 24, 1945 (Sunday)

Dearest Kitten:

I love you with all my heart and soul. How

Monday 25 June 1045

That was a fairly good start! It’s 7:10 a.m. right now so if things go per usual, I many reach the bottom of this page before evening.

We are now in Manila camped on Dewey Boulevard just a short way from the center of town, which I have not seen as yet.

Our camp used to be a residential section. Our tents are sitting on the cemented ground floors of a group of completely burned down homes. The buildings, that is the few that are standing, are all gutted. The only thing that is standing is cement buildings or rather their walls are standing. It is umpossible to describe in mere words the complete destruction of this once beautiful city.

The harbor is littered with sunken jap vessels. Some with their super structure sticking out of the water and some completely submerged.

During the day it gets quite warm but it cools off enough in the evening so that you can put on a shirt without too much discomfort. Due to the heat I have lost quite a bit of weight from sweating. All our water is chlorinated and is quite palatable when cooled below boiling point.

We are thankful that it is the dry season. It only rains all night every night. During the wet season it rains all day and all night. So you can see how fortunate we are.

It is not too muddy. The ground is usually dry from supper time until it starts to rain right after supper. Around our tent area we have a submerged net to catch any equipment that starts floating off.

Our camp is guarded by Filipino guerrillas. After dark they start challenging everyone. I like the way they do it. They cock the rifle first and then holler halt. The hollering is superfluous as at the sound of the rifle being cocked is enough to freeze you in your tracks. It is only recently that they have been using this method. Before they used to shoot first then go out and inspect the body. If it was an American they would call the medics to patch him up, if a jap they just rolled him into the gutter.

Our latrine is a very private affair. There is only one thing wrong. There is no sides, roof or anything. At first we were rather startled at having a passing woman come over and sit down next to you. The first time it is kind of embarrassing but you get used to it.

Everything is measured in pesos, approximately fifty cents, anything smaller is frowned on as too small to be bothered with.

Tuesday 26 June 1945

Good morning Sweetheart. Here it is the start of another day and I have hopes that I may get this letter off sometime today. Last night I got six whole hours of sleep and I feel fairly good. Since our arrival here I have been busier than a one armed paper hanger with the crabs.

You can not imagine the job it has been to get packed, moved and unloaded. We were two months getting everything packed ready to move and that is the main reason that I have not been able to write as often as I would have liked to. I could not tell you before that we were preparing to move. I wanted to so that you would not worry too much because of my not being able to write to you.

I love you Sweetheart. Always remember that. Every part of me aches from longing for you. Let us hope and pray that it may not be too long now before I will be home again for good.

If at anytime I seem to be neglecting you, it will be for a very good reason.

Well Beautiful, I have a meeting to attend so I must close. You have all my love.

Give my regards to everyone and kiss the babies for me. I love you Sweetheart.

Your Loving Devoted & Faithful Husband,

Bob

P.S. Disregard the return address. I had to borrow an envelope that was already stamped. Enclosed is a jap 1000 peso note.

Sunday June 10, 1945

Dearest Kitten:

Forgive me for neglecting you so and for forgetting your birthday. It was not because you were not in my thoughts at all times.

As I write this I am sitting on the promenade deck of our ship that is taking us to an unknown destination. The wind is blowing very hard but I am sheltered by a boat that sits on deck. It is not too uncomfortable.

Below deck it is very hot & stuffy. Of course I am fortunate in having a private stateroom with a few hundred other men. We have perfected a system whereby we have enough room. Half the men inhale while the other half exhale. In that way no one is too cramped for room.

I have just returned from Rosary Services that was held on deck. The chaplain is Protestant and that is the reason for only Rosary Services.

My mess sergeant is in charge of feeding all troops aboard. My first day aboard was a nightmare that I hope I never have to go through again. I was chasing down KPs from all the units as naturally the mess sgt. came to me to help him out. I finally got him straightened out with the K.P.’s and went to bed at ten. Up until two in the morning I was awakened every ten minutes or so by someone wanting something.

I am well hidden at present and am not being asked the same questions over and over again by everyone that goes by. Was I bragging just now. Two men from the company just came up for some instructions on what they were to do on the detail I assigned them to.

Pardon my writing as it is quite difficult to write on my knee with the boat rocking and the wind blowing.

The ship we are on has seven jap planes to its credit. Of course they have shot down more but if more than one ship is firing at a plane and it is knocked down neither ship is given credit. Before a ship is credited with a plane, there must be no doubt about who shot it down.

By the way and before I forget it, add ten more points to my credit. I am now entitled to wear two bronze campaign stars on my South West Pacific ribbon. Do not be fooled by the point system because essential men are not released. A great many men with over a hundred points are still being held by the Army because they are essential and the Army will not discharge them until they can be replaced.

So far I have not been seasick and I doubt if I will. The first night underway it got quite rough and a lot of men were leaning over the rail. They were not fishing either. Except for a few, most of my men were O.K.

There are about six dogs aboard. Two of them do not get along and every time they meet there is a scrap. The men keep them separated pretty well but occasionally they get together.

C Company’s band played for us when we were boarding the ship and is going to play this afternoon on the forward deck. They do very well for the type of musicians some of them are. The two trumpeters are kind of sour and spoil the rest of the band. If they had one or two good trumpeters, they would be real good.

Well Sweetheart I must leave you but not before I tell you that I miss you very much. I have been too busy lately to be too lonesome but it is hell to be so far away from my darling wife, who I love with all my heart. I love you so much that I ache all over for the love of you.

Give my regards to everyone & kiss the babies for me. I love you Sweetheart.

Your Loving Devoted & Faithful Husband,

Bob

Monday 4 June 1945

Dearest Kitten:

How deep is the Ocean? How high is the sky? How much do I love you?

That is a hard question to answer. Never-the-less I will try to tell you. My love for you is as deep as the ocean and has high as the sky.

How far would I travel to be where you are? The answer to that is half-way round the world right now. If I could only be allowed to travel it, I could think of nothing better that I would rather do.

I love you so much, Sweetheart. How can I possibly tell you of the great love that I feel for you? Words are inadequate to tell you how much you mean to me. The day will come when I will be permitted to show how greatly I love you and how much that I appreciate your love for me.

You certainly have been going through some interesting experiences lately, and you need not worry on my account over your Boston episode. I sure broke up the monotony anyhow.

In one of your latest letters you sounded so lonesome and lost Sweetheart. I know how you feel and wish that I were there so that I could lavish all the attention that you crave on you. Just be patient and your husband who misses you very much will be home and he will be as savage as a meat axe. The Amphibians will have landed and there will be no doubt in your mind. You will need a body guard to keep from getting smothered with attention.

Do me a favor Sweetheart. My brother Roland’s birthday is the, or rather was the ninth of June and tell him that I wish him all the best of luck. I will write to him later when I have more time. Right now I am a mite cramped for time and I am stealing this time off to write to you.

Despite the fact that you did not want to let Bobby go to the circus, I bet he had a great time. He must think that he is quite a big boy now. I can picture how excited he was over the whole affair.

From your description of Barby, she must be a beautiful young lady. I miss the both of them very much but not nearly as much as I do you. So you see that although I love them dearly, I love and miss you more.

I kind of wish that Mother was not going to Ogunquit for the summer. She will only wear herself out and have nothing to show for it. Oh well it is her own life and she must do as she sees fit. I only hope that she is not sorry for going.

I am very envious of Andy. The lucky stiff. To him the war is more or less over. He is a civilian and must suffer the hardships of rationing and all that sort of thing. Poor guy I pity him on that count. Of course he has the advantage of a certain amount of freedom and does not have to do things just because somebody ordered it to be done.

Well Sweetheart, I must close as it is getting late and I must get some sleep.

Give my regards to everyone & kiss the babies for me.

Tell Connie that Sgt. Nicholson has not forgotten her but he has been so busy that he has not had the time to write. He will write the first chance that he gets.

I love you Sweetheart and wish that I was on my way across the Moody St. bridge with you on my arm.

Your Loving Devoted & Faithful Husband,

Bob

Wednesday 30 May 1945

Dearest Kitten:

You are perhaps feeling like a very neglected wife right now, but believe me it is not because you are not always with me in my thoughts. I love you and miss you so much that I can not express my feelings. Wherever I go or am, there will always be a part of you with me. I have you in my heart at all times, so even though I am miles away from you, you are always there with me.

With the passing of each day my longing and yearning for you continues without diminishing in any way. Yes, I am a very tired & lonesome man right now, who wishes to hell he were home.

I am rapidly running out of patience. All I seem to be doing is waiting for the day when I will be permitted to take you into my arms and tell you that our period of separation is over. When that day finally does arrive, we will be as happy as a couple of kids.

Now to answer your letters #274-5-6-7&8.

All my little surprises for you have been unsuccessful lately. At least I tried and I know that you were just as thrilled as if they had really worked.

Yes, I am still planning on having a couple youngsters. Of course only time will tell, but if I have my way we will have a couple more.

Bobby and Mother certainly get around. I bet Bobby enjoyed the long ride to Ogunquit. I can imagine all the questions that he could ask on a ride like that.

It is odd to read some news about some of my old acquaintances. I hope that we may get the opportunity to go to Ogunquit for a week or so when I return.

You seem to be bumping into Ray & Ce quite often.

So you stopped the children from going to the store. That must hurt them a great deal. A youngsters feel quite big and grown up when they have a penny to buy some candy with it.

Our children must be getting quite big and I miss them very much. I took care of them so much that I miss getting them ready to go out or ready for bed. When I get home, I will have to start all over to get to know them the way that I want to.

You certainly are getting ambitious with your sewing. Pauline is lucky to have a sister that is willing to do some sewing for her. But I bet that she hardly ever wears the coat after you finish it.

But I bet that she hardly ever wears the coat after you finish it.

So Charlie finally made it. Wish him luck for me and that I hope he gets an easy going 1st/Sgt.

If Norman received the Silver Star, he had to be in action. The Silver Star is given for Gallantry in action. He must have done something out of the ordinary.

I am afraid that your prayers are not to be answered.

It was nice of Arthur to write to you and I was happy to know that he asked about me. I always liked Arthur and hope that we may be able to go out together after this is all over.

So the youngsters are getting fresh are they? Too bad I am not there to handle the worse things that they do. I only hope that I may have the ability that my Dad had in handling children.

Lorraine & Ray have had a lot of bad breaks since they got married. I bet they will make up for it though when he gets home.

Food so far has been very good with our outfit. Of course there is always a possibility of a change. We have been very fortunate so far but with all the people of Europe to feed now it may make a difference.

So Mother is going to Ogunquit for the summer? Ogunquit is in her blood you know. She can not keep away from the place. Oh well if it will keep her busy and happy, I guess that it is best for her to do as she likes. She has had to do so many things that she did not want to and pass up so many things that I do not blame her for doing the things that she wants.

I received a letter from Leo today post-marked 8th of April. He sent it regular mail. I also received a letter from Mother and one from Estelle.

In Estelle’s letter she claimed that Andrew was getting his discharge within a week. He is probably a discharged veteran by this time. Estelle is planning to continue work for a while until Andrew has settled in a job that he wants.

Gosh but I love you Sweetheart. It seems like ages since I have taken you in my arms to tell you just how much that I love do you. Just be patient and the day will arrive when I will be back home with my family and everything will be so right.

Well Beautiful I must and say good night to you. Pleasant dreams Sweetheart. I love you.

Regards to everyone and kiss the babies for me.

Your Loving Devoted & Faithful Husband,

Bob