Dear Mom & Dad, 219 197 158

I received 4 letters yesterday, one from Sis, one from Midge, one from Bonnie, and one from you telling me about the package which I had all ready received.

The dentist has filled some of my teeth but he hasn’t pulled any yet. My fever blister has healed now.

Those cookies and apples are all gone now, but I still have the medicine. When I went to bed last night I started coughing, so I took some medicine. It did me some good.

You said something about me saving my good stationary for my Special Friend. Well, you are one of my special friends, so I’ll send it to you. You seem to be a special friend of everybody around L.H.S. A lot of them have written to me and said they had seen or talked to you.

Yesterday we packed everything we owned in our sea bags, which were issued us when we first got here. It is a canvas bag about 4½ ft high and about 2½ ft. in diameter. It is fixed with eyes at the top so you can put your lock on it and it also has your name printed on it. What we couldn’t put in our sea bags we put in our packs, which we carried and took off hiking to the rifle range, which was about 1½ miles from where we were at first. Up here we live in the same kind of tin huts and have the same roommates, but we have upper and lower berths. I picked an upper because heat goes up, and then I won’t get cold. My bed is right beside the stove. Since today is Sunday, we have it to ourselves, but tomorrow is another day, and I guess we will start learning how to use the rifle. So I have to stop and wash some clothes.

Tell Dad and Spot hello.

With Love,

Your Son Joe