Wednesday noon

9/15/1943

Dear Folks:

This is the last letter I will write before I get home to see you. I am definitely leaving on a 15 day furlough on the 17^th, that will bring me home on the morning of the 18^th. Tomorrow noon we go down to buy our tickets and we start out from here Thursday midnight. Two other fellows are coming in to Nework with me, one lives in Bernardsville and the other one in Gassaire. So you see I’ll have company al the way in on the train.

You can imagine how glad I am coming home to see my swell family after all these months. I have been around a lot since I went over to the draft board with my saddle shoes and pocket. None of the places I’ve been to has anything on dear old Paterson. I can hardly wait to see all of you and tell you formally what a swell family you are. Saturday morning is the time and I’ll be looking for Dad at the station. We have agreed that Ma and Helen will wait at home for me since the trip to Nework so early in the morning is silly. I want Ma and Helen to be home keeping my breakfast warm as I’ll probably be a little hungry.

Pete Colurio and Eddie Herero, two of my best pals are coming home on the 19^th and 20^th so I’ll ask them up. Pete you know lives in Brooklyn and Ed lives on 27^th St. I think. You will like both of them I am sure.

I want to get this in the afternoon mail so I’ll finish now be seeing you about Saturday.

Joe