Wed. Apr. 11

Dear Mom and Dad,

Well hello again. I hope you didn’t worry about the let up of mail. As you probably guessed, we’ve been doing a lot of traveling. We had a very long, hot, uneventful trip.

We are now in the Marianas Islands, and it’s plenty hot. I have gotten a beautiful tan, so I don’t have to worry much about the sun which will blister an unexposed person in about 15 minutes flat. I am still with all my buddies.

I will try to give you a picture of what I’m seeing here. The island is like Oahu. It’s very green and tropical. However, the remains of recent battle still litter the country side. Knocked out American and Jap equipment are all around. I see quite a few Jap skeletons and bones. We don’t dare leave our camp area as the woods and cane fields have not as yet been cleaned of mines, booby traps, and unexploded shells and grenades.

There are still quite a few Japs left in the woods. Once in a while, one gets in and takes a shot at somebody. But they’re not very good shots. So, there’s not much to worry about there.

The food here is good, considering everything. We get fresh meat three times a week and lots of butter. You always get as much as you can eat. The only thing I miss is fresh milk. I haven’t had any since I left the States. We get good cold beer here. Living conditions are rugged. It rains an awful lot here. There are no mosquitoes here, so we haven’t had to start taking adabrine yet. There are nice cool nights that you can really sleep in. It sure seems good after the hot stuffy nights spent on the way across. I stopped at [censored] on the way. It sure looked like an awful shot up place. Not as bas as here, though.

What’s doing at home and how is everyone? I would give anything to be back there now. Maybe it won’t be too long. It will soon be Sheri’s birthday. I wish I could send her something.

I don’t know how long I will be here, but keep writing to the same address.

Not much else to say for now so I will close. Tell Nana hello for me. I will try and write her soon if possible.

I miss you all so terribly, and dream of the day I can come home to stay. Give my love to all.

Bye, Bye

Love,

Jack