#2: "A few more lines of wit and humor"

Jan. 29, 1951

Hello Sugar,

I guess I'm beginning a letter that will assume monumental proportions before this little voyage is done. Since they forgot to put out the mail buoys for me I'll just have to keep this until we get to where we're going. The name of whom, if it isn't a military secret when we get there, is Yukosuka, Japan. I don't know how long we'll be there, but from there no doubt the next stop will be Korea.

The trip so far has been lovely. We have a large ship with spacious quarters. We have our whole compartment, meant for about four hundred men & they only put about four hundred of us in it. Each of us has his own private domain in the compartment. It's about 6'x18"x30" to sleep in and to store our few bushels of gear in.

The food is delicious and plentiful and a person can work up a wonderful appetite waiting in line an hour and a half for each meal.

But it's a pretty nice ship at that and a lot better than many I've been on. The only thing really wrong with it is that it's carrying me away from home at such a hell of a clip.

Feb. 1, 1951

Back again for a few more lines of wit and humor. Nothing much happening these days. The sea's getting a little rougher and the skies a little cloudier.

Paul and I were up in the mess hall yesterday morning eating and he noticed a guy standing across the table from us and asked me if we were any relation. We weren't but the fellow asked me if my name was Bill Welch and did I know a Mrs. McGuire. Naturally I did and was, so he said the troop office was looking for me and found him instead and he didn't know what they wanted. So I investigated and found that a Captain had $25 for me from Mother. Seems that she was down at the pier and gave it to him to give to me! I'm kind of anxious to find out how things happened the way they did about that. There was a bunch of people on the pier the day we left and I looked around to see if there was anyone I knew and couldn't see anyone so I guess she left right away.

Anyway it I hadn't run into that guy at breakfast I probably wouldn't have gotten the dough cause that Captain couldn't find me. It'll come in handy too, cause we're to get some liberty in Yokosuka and I can send you some silks and stuff from there and maybe even get a bottle of Sake to relieve my suffering.

We are moving right along in our little vessel these days. Right now we are about opposite the Hawaiian Islands, only about 800 miles north of them and tomorrow we cross the date line and lose a day of our lives until we come back across.

I hope everything on the home front is coming along. No doubt Mr. Canavo is making progress with the wall by leaps and bounds. I wish you would take some pictures of the progress and send them to me. That way maybe I'll be able to recognize the old homestead when I return in triumph from strife abroad.

Guess I didn't get to say goodbye to many people when I left but what the hell. I'll tell 'em hello when I get back and that's better anyway. (continued)

Feb. 6, 1951

Things are still the same aboard this old tub sugar, only more so. We crossed the dateline Friday night so we didn't have any Saturday. Now it's 9:00 Tuesday morning here while its 2:00 Monday afternoon in L.A.

Sunday afternoon they had a big initiation ceremony for all the guys on the ship that had never been across the dateline + they really played heck with them. Smeared them all up with grease + pestered them then paddled hell out of them then stuck their heads in a can of garbage. I watched them for awhile but the garbage business was making me sick and I had to leave. I sure was glad I had already made that trip.

The weather has been very surprising, at least to me. I thought the trip would be cold but it hasn't so far. The wind has been blowing like mad and we've had a lot of showers off & on but it's been almost like spring weather. Of course we are going a lot further south that I thought we would. We passed south of Midway Island yesterday and I had us going about 1000 miles north of it so maybe that accounts for the warm weather.

Well Honey Pott, according to the ship's paper the war is going pretty good for us again. It's pretty hard to guess what's apt to happen but everyone seems pretty optimistic about the thing now. Everyone seems to be disgusted with the whole affair by now and probably if we get anywhere at all we'll be able to negotiate a peace. So maybe this tour of duty won't be too long. But- one never know, do one?

I do wish though, Sweetheart, that would would try to find someone to stay with you while I'm gone. I know how lonesome it's going to be there by yourself and it worries me. You need someone there to keep you company and maybe take your mind off things. Salling told me Peggy had gotten a good job up in Oregon and that he was going to try to get a leave instead of her coming down so I don't know what will work out there. At any rate, when you get to know some of those gals at Richfield [Blog note: Helen worked as a secretary at Richfield Oil Corporation in Los Angeles] real well you may find one of them you'ld like to bring home with you. Anyhow, I don't want you to stay there by yourself very long.

Did you ever get that joker to fix the phonograph or is he still stalling you? If he is, keep hounding him until he does fix it.

We have about three, maybe four days left on this stow lover gal and I don't anticipate anything much happening twixt now and then so I guess I'll can this tripe until after we land and see if there's anything to write about then.

I'm hoping to have a letter or two waiting for me in Japan with lots of news + views.

All for now Baby.

All my love,

Bill