Send this on to Miriam –

February 25, 1945

Sunday 7:30 AM –

Dear Mother,

I’ve acquired some airmail stamps and stationary so will attempt to write a little more than usual this AM. I miss going to church every Sunday but the Doctor won’t let me get out at all so guess I’ll celebrate another Sunday in bed. Just had a letter from Miriam and enjoyed that. Said she had heard from you and that you were still having a big time. Also said she had just got my first letter since I moved but didn’t seem sure that I had! I guess you have all heard by now that I have and wish I could tell you where I am, - but can’t.

The invasion and battle on Iwo Jima seems to be pretty tough and costly. From all reports it’s the same kind of terrain that we had at Peleliu and that was the toughest that we’d run up on till that time. Also, it cost plenty too, believe me! Really, I don’t believe they would have taken it (Palau) if they had known the [Philippines] would fall so easy. Still it is a great help in air transportation and has one of the busiest airfields in the Pacific. We never were bombed there and the only enemy plane we saw was when one came over one night and we saw one of ours shoot it down. The air force and navy destroyed hundreds of them there before we arrived and you were reminded just how devastating our power is. You see pictures of it in the paper but you can’t realize it until you’ve seen it first hand. I just hope we are never hit with such an attack!! No doubt Japan itself felt some of that power last weekend and I’m sure she will feel much more as time goes on. Too, the European war seems to be progressing very well though they still have several Germans to contend with and may take several months to finish it – well, so much for war –

Here I am still about with my bug in my chest and much improved I know. They took another X-ray yesterday but I haven’t heard from it. Today is my last day here and tomorrow I’m being transferred to the big General Hospital where I’ll get further diagnosis and treatment. Everyone says it’s much nicer there so it must be a pretty good place, for this one is nice enough. The doctors say I’ll be OK pretty soon and all it takes is a lot of rest. What will happen when I start back to working. I don’t know, but all the boys that had it last year are OK now so I look for no ill-effects from it. My case was discussed at a big medical meeting here Friday and several doctors came by and questioned me, etc. – I should fatten up lying around all the time and eating three big sick meals per day! We go to bed (sleep) at 9 PM. and awaken at 5:30 AM – yesterday they had a U.S.O. show here and some of the players came in and entertained us bed patients in the afternoon. There are two other boys from my com. here that come by and talk to me often and bring me stuff from the PX, such as cookies and ice cream, etc. –

Oh yes! The chaplain here is named Evans (Howard) but I haven’t met him! The two Red Cross girls here do their best to keep us entertained and happy and are really nice to us. This is the first time we’ve ever had the Red Cross gals around us!

Well I hope you are able to read this for I have to write in a very awkward position. Mir. said your weather had been nice and hope it still is. It has been very unpleasantly hot lying in bed here the last few days, but was a little better yesterday. Write when you can and keep me posted as to your where-abouts. I had a V-Mail from Mabel W. this week –

Love, Russell