"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