My Dearest Mother,

Hello dear how are you this wet and nasty morning? I am well and just had a good breakfast of fried eggs, cereal, bread and coffee. Read your nice V mail letter and so pleased to get it. Thanks for writing me so often. I get pretty homesick when I get your letters and I try not to be so lonesome but I just can’t help it. I hate to be so far away like this so I can’t at least send you a Christmas gift of some kind. This is the first time I have ever missed a Christmas and I hope to God that it is the last one. The Christmas mail is coming in real good now. They are letting the packages come first so I haven’t gotten any letters for several days. All the boys are good here and Tony and Freeman that sleep with me are swell boys. We three share our packages together and are like one family. I like the boys and are going to write to them often when I come home. Tony is going to get married as soon as he gets back home. He has a nice girl as I saw her in Pendleton when she came to visit him there. Tony is Italian and can speak, read, and write Italian.

Mom dear I am sleeping in the trailer now with Tony and Freeman. We have plenty of room. We have no heat now as the heater went on the blink and I took it to the electric shop and they are working on it. It isn’t bad inside of the trailer as the walls are thick and are packaged with insulation.

We haven’t been doing any work at all but there is a salvage dump near here where they bring the wrecked planes so we go over there and fetch up bolts and nuts and wire and all kinds of things that can be used. I been looking for electronic parts and radio parts. Have got a lot now. Yesterday I fixed Mr. McCoy’s, the Warrant Officer, aircraft radio for him. Spent all day on it and soon had it working. So glad your Christmas cactus is in bloom. I bet it is real pretty. So glad that Myrtle is so faithful in writing you each week. She thinks a lot of you and Dad and always speaks so dearly about you both. She says she is going to come and visit you again over the holidays. I hope she can stay longer this time. She is so sweet and I love her with all my heart and soul. I am so glad that we got married before I left for here because I would hate to be so far away from her and not be able to marry her. She has been so sweet to me and is saving. She told me in her last letter that she has almost a hundred dollars saved up so by this time she must have more. I told her to spend as much as she liked for Christmas. She wanted to send the camera to me but I told her no as I can’t get film here either.

I like her sister Audrey and I met her one time while in Roseburg. She is so jolly too. I wrote her a nice letter too yesterday.

Well Mom I don’t seem to be making much head way on the Italian radio. I may work on it some today. Yes I got Goldie’s letter and answered it. She is so nice to write and tell me the news about the new store there. Here is a 5 Franc note I am sending you as a souvenir, this is like one money here. It is French and it is worth 10 cents in American money. I am making a collection of all the money here. Each franc is worth 2 cents in our money. Well must close for this time so be careful and don’t worry about me. Loads of love and kisses to you from

Your Dearest Soldier Son

God Bless You Mother

Howard.