"The more I thought about it the madder I got and now I'm really sore"

Feb. 23, 1951

Hello Lover Gal,

Well we finally made it to Wonju after many trials and tribulations. We were supposed to leave in an hour the other night so about 5 minutes after they said that they said let's go. So we went and it rained the whole live long night and what was supposed to be a two hour twenty mile ride turned into a fifty mile seventeen hour ride and cold rain and snowy mountains all the way. About an hour after we left Chonju I was soaked to the skin so I froze the whole night and all the next day and we got to Wonju at 1:30 Thursday. And this place is more beat up than Chonju. Dead Chinese laying around and everything burned down and booby traps and mines all over the place. Really a mess. The front lines are about ten or fifteen miles north of here and from what I hear the boys are going pretty good. Not meeting too much resistance so we hear. We never get any news though so there's no telling what's really going on.

Yesterday we pulled in here and set up camp in the mud knee deep. It's warming up here a little and the ground thaws out every day so the mud is really getting deep. Besides the trucks keep running around the area all day messing it up more. But we scattered a straw pile around the tent floor and stomped it in the mud so it's almost dry here now.

Today we were down in the river building a ford across the streams to bypass a torn up bridge. It was pretty important to get the thing built I guess but the way they went about it sure convinced me that the Marine Corps doesn't even need me. They had about ten of us throwing rocks about the size of your fist on the truck by hand. It occurred to me that nine of them would be plenty for the job and I had just as well be home working my head off for the survey dept. The more I thought about it the madder I got and now I'm really sore. For all the good it does me. But we have to go to work on it again tomorrow if they don't tear it up tonight. If they do we'll be going out tonight to fix it.

Like I say I don't know what the news sounds like all over Korea, but around here it looks pretty good right now. We're supposed to have gotten patrols up to the 38 parallel and I guess we're not going to cross it this time. At least the boys have the word to that effect now. So if these damned Commies will cooperate a little this thing may not last much longer. I don't know but I imagine we'll be here for quite awhile after this thing is settled. So I'm here for a long spell of this crap any way it goes no doubt.

The artillery boys are keeping the old Commies awake tonight and if they don't knock it off pretty soon they're going to be keeping me awake too. But it's a very reassuring sound to these old ears. Your old shmo husband is rear echelon this trip honey and glad of it. We got in here and set our camp setup and were all cold and hungry and just about dark here came the infantry came kicking by headed for the mountains for the first of many nights they're going to have to spend eating cold rations and sleeping on the wet icy ground and hiking and snooping all day so I really enjoyed this sloppy little tent and felt myself pretty lucky after all. So let them bring on their working parties. I really go for that nonsense.

Say sugar, before I forget it will you ask Pat to come over once in awhile and start the car up and run it a little to keep the battery charged and the cylinders from rusting. Meant to ask him myself but I forgot it.

Can't seem to think of much else to say right now "Sweetie." There seems to be an extra lot of noise around here tonight and I can't seem to concentrate.

I don't know when this mail will leave here but I mail it tomorrow anyway. Guess you'll probably be worrying before you get this so don't worry cause this will happen often the way we move. All my love again,

Bill