Dear Mother & Dad,

You should be proud of me. This is the only Sunday I haven’t answered all of my letters but I felt so bad that I stayed in bed all day.

Down here you have one week of winter weather and then about 4 weeks of summer. Yesterday (Sat.) twas the first cold day of this spell. It was so cold that the water froze in the pipes. We worked in the butts yesterday all day. That’s down behind a cement wall pushing up targets and pasting the holes up when they come down. I wore a sweatshirt, dungaree jacket, rifle jacket and my big over coat and wasn’t any to warm. Yesterday was record day. They didn’t start firing till late that evening so we were down there till 7:30 pulling targets. I was real tired after that. We didn’t get to eat till 8 o’clock.

Then after we ate we had to make a fire in our little stove.

Around here we don’t have any wood to start a fire with or no paper. We have a crude way to start it. We use about 2 rolls of toilet paper in the bottom. Then we put coal on the paper and then squirt our rifle oil on it and light it. We keep squirting oil it till it burns good.

Tell Dad the targets are stationary and we run up on slides. The bullets land out in the ocean.

Tell him I haven’t received any medals. I am just as bad off as the rest of them. Back there I shot left handed but here they are making me shoot right handed.

Tell dad I thought about getting him some 22 shells but I can’t. They don’t even allow you to keep an empty cartridge or a thug. If they catch you with one they take you up to the Captain

I stopped writing because I didn’t feel well and went to be. Monday morning I went op to the hospital and they kept me. They called what I had “cat fever”, but back there it would be the “flu” They treat you real nice in the hospital but while I was there I missed out on shooting the rifle some of the time and I really needed the practice because it really is poor right handed.

The day after I went in the hospital the Miran boy came in with the same thing. I don’t know whether he is out yet or not.

I received the Valentine you sent me while I was in the hospital. I sure did appreciate it and thanks a whole lot. I also received one from Mallie S. Well I guess I’ll get home somehow but I don’t know which way yet.

With love

Your son

Joe

That is my insurance paper in here. Save it and put it away. That is the only paper you have to prove that I had insurance