Monday, January 18, 2010
"It's all I can do to keep my eyes open"
Wongju, Korea
Dearest Helen,
This is to be just a note tonight I think. I’m pretty tired tonight for some reason or other and I’m about half asleep right now. And I still have to wash up and shave. Just got done giving my rifle a good cleaning and it sure did need it. This place is getting really dusty now that it’s drying out and I had a guy take it out and fire it today because I dropped it and didn’t know if it knocked the sights off or not, so with all that it was really dirty and an awful chore.
The weather was pretty cold again today but the stoves here in the tent are going full blast and its so cozy in here it’s all I can do to keep my eyes open.
We didn’t do anything interesting again today. Filled sand bags and hauled rock to improve a silly little side road that doesn’t go anywhere and doesn’t do anything, but we fixed it anyway. Guess there isn’t much of importance left to do here and they’re just shopping around for anything to keep us busy. The bridges are all fixed and traffic is moving good now so evidently we’ve done our job well.
They say the commies are retreating from here and the division is going to move up. I don’t know if we’re going to move up with them or not but I guess we will since there’s not much left to do here. Sure hate to think of if cause it sure it a chore but I might as well face it cause that’s the way it’s going to be all the time. It’ll be easier to move when warm weather gets here cause you don’t have to mess with so much gear. Another good reason for spring to hurry up.
No mail again today but I bet I get some Monday for sure, don’t see how I can miss by then. Hope you’ve been getting these things regularly. It could be that they’re letting them stack up some place and if you get many of them at once I don’t think you could stand it.
I’ve got a piece of Japanese money and a piece of Korean money I’ve been wanting to send you and I guess now is a good time. It’s worth about two cents all together so don’t try to buy much with it.
Doggone it baby, I better quit this and get on with my cleaning up, cause I’m really passing out sitting here. First, if you get that watch to send me, try to send it air mail in a real small package and maybe I’ll get it right away.
Goodnight lover girl and pleasant dreams and things. I’ll see you in mine in a little while.
All my love and kisses,
Bill
"And we showed each other a picture of our wife"
Wongju, Korea
Dear Sweetheart Helen,
Comes near the close of another day, a little short of perfect, but a day nonetheless. It was a cold dinger too. Sure am glad I don’t have a thermometer or I don’t think I could drag myself out of my sleeping bag mornings. To think that a few short days ago I thought spring was almost here. I wish I could stop this damned writing down hill business, guess it’s on account of the awkward position I’m writing in.
Really not much to talk about this evening seems like, cause we didn’t do much today. Started out this morning loading sand on a truck down in the river and hauling it up on a road and throwing it off. That’s the way we spent the morning. And this afternoon we built a revetment alongside a road to keep it from caving in so you can see it wasn’t much of a day for interesting experiences.
We didn’t get any news about the fighting today but I guess they’re having a pretty hard time. They’re trying to take a town by name of Hoengseong which is about fifteen miles northwest of here. The artillery has let up some today and they have slowed down on bringing in the casualties so my guess is that we’re not doing so bad right now. I wanted to get up to the P.O.W. camp today and see if they were bringing in many prisoners but we didn’t get over that way. I don’t remember if I told you about the one I saw yesterday, yes I do, I already told you. Must be I’m getting absent minded.
No mail at all today so I won’t have the disappointment of not getting a letter this evening. Or is that good? Maybe if there was any mail tonight I would have some. Guess I’ll be mad cause there wasn’t any now. Now I’m writing up hill. Just can’t seem to get on the level.
Had some fun today talking to a Korean soldier out by the job today. He was telling me about things over here even if I couldn’t understand most of it and I told him about the States and he couldn’t understand me either. And we showed each other a picture of our wife. I sure get a kick out of trying to talk to these guys just like down in Ensanada. Guess there’s some strange fascination about not being able to understand people. I don’t learn much from it anyway. Except now I know ICHO means “very cold” now.
Well little darling guess I’ve hit bottom [of the page] and I don’t think this guff will stretch to another page, so goodnight now and sweet dreams honeypot.
All my love,
Bill
p.s. What's Pontarelli's address? I want to write him a letter sometime.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Saturday, January 9, 2010
"These guys all laughed at me but I don't care, I just can't feel about these people the way they do."
March 1, 1951
Dear Helen Jane, alias (P.G.)
Winter is with us again today. I had it figured that spring was here but it was oh so cold this morning and even colder now. No way of telling how cold it is but it must be considerably below zero now, with the wind whipping around like mad.
It’s not so bad for us cause we’re in a nice, fairly warm tent and apt to stay here all night but the poor guys up on the lines are bound to be having an awful time. They started a major attack all along the lines here this morning and are having a tough time of it from appearances. They have been bringing casualties back here to the hospital in droves all day long. There has been a steady stream of them all day long and it sure does burn a guy up to see it happening. We work over by the Prisoner of War compound once in awhile and those guys stand around and say Okay, Okay, and all the time I’d like to kick their damned teeth in. Most of them gave themselves up voluntarily so maybe those particular ones really mean okay.
The artillery boys kept me awake a long time last night. If they were shooting at Commies they really must have torn them up cause they were shooting them so fast they sounded like machine guns. They kept it up most of the night and no sooner than they stopped the tanks cranked up and took off and kept me awake some more. It was worth losing some sleep to have all that support for the boys though. With all the boys they’re hauling back here I bet they’re really stacking up the Commies. More power to them.
To change the subject a little, your old man really pulled a big deal today. We were tearing up a building across town this morning and I found about a dozen sacks of rice and wheat so I brang back four sacks and traded one of them to some Koreans to wash clothes for the whole platoon tomorrow. There’s forty guys in the platoon and all of them have everything that they own dirty so I made a pretty good deal. I could have given them onl half a sack but these people don’t have much to eat any way and there’ no use in a guy taking advantage of their hardships. These guys all laughed at me but I don’t care, I just can’t feel about these people the way they do.
This family that’s going to do the laundry just got back here last night and they were over here digging up some vegetables they had buried before they left. I went out and watched them and they were really happy to find them still there. If it was me I’d be happy to find the stuff gone cause it stunk like it had been dead for years but then I guess it’s all in what you’re used to.
Darn it, the squad leader just came in with a stack of mail a mile high and still none for me. My morale just dropped seventy-four points. Cuss it anyway.
By the way, all these guys say they’ve been getting hotch from home so if you feel so inclined you can dish up a bundle of Kinsey or some such and send it this way. Even if it does take a long time to get here it probably won’t spoil on the way. It sure would be nice to have a little pepper upper these cold evenings, or warmer evenings either. I don’t know just what kind of package to send it in but you can think of something I bet. Sure would like to be home sitting around the fireside with you in my lap and a bottle of Manhattans handy, I forgot to tell you that I swore back on them I guess, but I did.
We had fresh meat for dinner again today. Ham this time and it was tough too. But very tasty along with boiled fresh spuds. So life can be beautiful sometimes.
Well Sugar Puss I think I’ll go to bed and sleep off this despondency that has overcome me since mail call. One of these days I’m going to get some letters at mail call and I’m going to sit down and write a real happy letter. So goodnight Sweet Princess and pat little Sparky on the tail for me. Be a good girl and don’t work too hard. Save a bunch of energy up for our honeymoon.
All my love and kisses,
Willy
"I bet you're pretty lonesome kiddo"
Feb. 28, 1951
Wonju, Korea
Dear Wife Helen,
I wish I’d get a letter from you soon. I’m getting so impatient I can’t hardly stand no more. It wasn’t so bad when no one was getting any but the last couple days these guys have gotten mail by the bale and I’ve been very unhappy. I know it isn’t your fault, when it does get here I’ll probably have a bale of it myself, it’s just this cussed Marine Corps messing up the detail. Anyway dang it, I want some mail from my lover gal.
I bet you’re pretty lonesome kiddo, but I bet I’m as lonesome for you as you are lonesome. I’m sure glad I didn’t have you to miss last time cause I don’t think I could stand if for two years. Last time all I wanted to get back for was to have fun and drink and stuff, bu this time none of that seems very important. Only being with my little gal makes any difference. With you any old place would be alright, without you no place amounts to anything. Do you know what I mean sweetness?
I didn’t get to write last night cause we was screened again. We tore up buildings yesterday and right after supper we left to work on the ford across the Han river all night again. We didn’t work very hard though, but it kept me from taking care of my personal affairs. The next worst thing that happened besides not writing was that I didn’t get to take a shower. But I made up for it tonight. I pulled off my crummy clothes and dived under those showers and it was just next best to being home. After I got off the first inch of dirt and the water hit my skin it was really heaven. After that, a nice shave, and now I feel like a king.
The famine is over now too. We had three meals today and this evening we had fresh roast beef. That was a real treat. These guys say it’s been many moons since they had any fresh meat. It was pretty tough but plenty enjoyable all the same.
Still no news about the war here but I guess we’re winning the silly thing. We got an Army newspaper today and we were winning in it but it was from Feb. 15.
Well Pigeon, can’t think of much else to blab about so I guess I’ll skip the gory details and bid thee adieu.
I adore you, you little wench,
All my love,
Bill
"Guess I love you or something"
Feb. 26, 1951
Dear Wife,
I started this letter about fifteen minutes ago. I then got in a big conversation and I didn’t get very far until now. Not that I have much to write about but I sat here with pen in hand thinking about you so I may as well write even if you don’t know how to decode this scribbling.
We’re all set to get fixed up around here now. They started to build a shower for us today. They’re supposed to have it done tomorrow evening. I know you’ll find it hard to believe but it was the best news I’ve heard since my arrival in this lovely land. I’m getting so stinky I hate to crawl in the sleeping bad with myself. A guy can wash a little in a water bucket but it’s so unhandy and you can’t really get this dirt off without soaking awhile. Anyway you can bet I’ll be a clean little lad tomorrow night this time.
They say we had some excitement here today. There was supposed to have been a sniper firing down on the airstrip across the road from camp today but he didn’t hit anyone, so maybe he was there and maybe not. You never can tell about these rumors.
We tore up another building today, an even bigger one than yesterday, but easier to work on than the other one. Tomorrow we’re going to tear up another one and if this keeps up I’m going to be an expert at the game. We’re tearing them up to use the timber to repair bridges. The ones we’re working on are already wrecked so we’re not ruining anything that’s useful.
We had a stroke of luck today while we were working. A couple of trucks came by with rations on them and we latched onto a couple of cases of them. So we had full bellies today in spite of this ratty Marine Corps.
Still no news of what’s going on here in the war effort. Don’t even know if we’re winning or losing. Guess we’re holding our own though, no one seems very excited.
The ground is drying out a little now and I found out today the rainy season isn’t supposed to start until June or so if something doesn’t go wrong with the time table we’re alright for awhile.
Some trucks came in with supplies and mail today so maybe the hard times are about over and I may get some mail before long. Sure am getting anxious to hear from you lover gal. Guess I love you or something.
Well Sugar, this isn’t much but you know I’m still here anyway. Bye for now. Hello to Dawn!! Give little Sparky a pat for me if she’s been a good girl.
All my love and kisses and hugs,
Bill
"but maybe you'll enjoy looking at and reading this neat script of mine"
Feb. 25, 1951
Greetings Sweet Thing,
Just a short note tonight of one or ore pages, depending on how gabby I get as this goes along. Never any telling just how these things will go.
I’ve been wondering if I sound like a home sick puppy in these letters lately. Just remembering back it seems like most of them have been on a melancholy note. I don’t mean them to be and I hope they don’t sound like that. I’m really a homesick big boy for the first time in my life (See what you’ve done to me.) but I don’t want these letters to sound like that. So I must try to keep them in a more jocular and humorous vein. It’s been so long since heard anything from home that I don’t know what’s going on, so I can’t talk about that and I have to just write about daily occurrences as if I were writing a diary. Probably won’t be very interesting most of the time but maybe you’ll enjoy just looking at and reading this neat script of mine.
The boys here are getting all hyped up about going home on rotation now. Two guys are leaving this week sometimes and there’s supposed to be a bunch more going the first of the month. If they keep this up I may not be here too long. Those guys have only been here six months now and if they keep relieving them like they say all the original guys will be gone when they have eight months. So even if this thing does drag on that long I ought to be home next fall sometime, which will be better than I ever expected. Should this thing happen to come to a halt I doubt that they would keep us here very long afterward. And furthermore, as much as I hate being overly optimistic, I really think this thing will be settled in less than two months. Unless the Russians start something else. I hope so anyway.
The weather is warming up a little more all the time it seems like. The rainy season is due to start soon and all these guys claim it’s really mean but they don’t know any more than I do about it so it may not be bad. Probably be a little wetter than L.A. though.
I contracted another case of sniffles. Not that there’s anything mysterious about it with that night ride in the rain last week. Maybe it’ll just go away if I ignore it.
Well to get on with the news of the days events, we had a hearty breakfast of an egg omelet and bacon. I went to work tearing down a big building and hauling away the pieces in large chunks. The thing was all bolted together and it was sure a mess taking it apart. But we got it all torn up and hauled. Empty stomach and all. There was a bunch of ROK soldiers there and we kept bumming them for chow. But they didn’t have any either. Finally one of them came over with a pan of ratty looking roasted nuts and offered them to us. One of the guys took some and reluctantly the rest of us took some too. Surprises they were good and we gobbled them all up. So he dashed away and came back with another pan full and they went that quick, the next time he came back with a gourd full and that did it. Turned out they were toasted soy beans. You must try some one of these days.
Then back to camp for a tasty supper of beef and gravy, noodles, lima beans, bread, cherries, and coffee. Very filling and now I feel pretty good again. That’s the whole days events up to now.
Next on the list is a wash and a shave and a tooth brush and then to bed. Boy I can really use some of that last too. I’m pretty well bushed right now.
Hope everything is under control back there kiddo. Not that I can do much about it, but if you feel that you need any sound advice feel free to call upon me at any time.
Right now I’m going to get on with the toiletries and such dumpling. So good night tonight Honey Pot.
All my love and kisses too,
Bill