Dear Arnold,
Received your letter of the 7th today. You lucky stiff,
I envy you very much. I used to think that I hit a soft touch,
but brother you have me beaten by a light year. Keep it up.
I may sound adventuress to go overseas, bit it is'nt worth it.
Its not that it gets so tiresome and dull, but the main thing
is you wonder when you will ever get home again. If you could
come over here and go through one campaign and then go back home
it might be worth it, but you can't do that. I reall believe
that it will be about two years before I get home. Don't rush
over here, if you are offered a job in the states take it.
Eventually you will get over here anyway, so let nature and the
army take its course. If you don't beleive me ask the Major
that you know who is from this island.
I was in a town once similar to the one you mention. It
was Reading, Penn., they hardly knew a war was on. You buy a
good meal very reasonably, and we had a swell double hotel room
for only five bucks. We (another officer and myself) met only
one other officer in town and about six enlisted men. We were
going to pick up a couple of girls, but everybody treated us so
highly and took such an interest in us, that we just could'nt do
it. We went into one drug store for a soda, and in five minutes
it was filled with girls from sixteen to twenty. I always meant
to get back to that town, but bI never got around to it.
Well I am going tomorrow by air with my S/Sgt, while my
M/Sgt is staying behind to bring the equipment by water. My
new assignment ought to be very interesting and exciting. I
hope you don't tell the folks what kind of an outfit it is they
might worry. My new APO is 468, the rest of the address is the
same.
I captured a spider today with a body over two inches long,
and a leg span of about six inches, he is a big ugly bastard.
The other night the men killed a nine inch centipede on my desk,
and up at Corp they have a pet lizard that is two feet long, with
a body about three or four inches wide, and he must way a couple [arrow] new way to spell weigh
pounds. He is very friendly, and makes no effort to escape,
maybe he's just lazy? The other day he ate a live centipede that
they gave him. We have some of the queerest types of life here.
Yesterday I saw a bug that had a fuzz that looked like a peacocks
plume, only it was white.
That word you mentioned that had been cut out, come to
think of it, it might have been a possible clue to our location,
so I don't blame the censor, it shows that he is on the ball.
Well Bud, I' about out of gaff, so I will close until later.
Keep'em coming, letters I mean.
love,
[signed] Leonard
