Leonard's Story: June 5, 1945

MG probably means machine gun. A defilade is a defense configuration

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                                                                                             Philippines

                                                                                             5th June

Dear Arnold,

     Sorry I have'nt written to you for such a long time Bud.  I have'nt

done much letter writing in the last month and a half or so, for several

reasons.  Mainly I guess I was just too damn lazy to overcome the

difficulties involved, and consequently I am very much in arears on my correspondence.

However, now that I am no longer in a "fighting outfit" I expect to regain

my reputation as a prolific purveyor of typewritten nonsense.  I suppose that

you have already  noticed that have a new return address, yes, I am almost

a Base Commando now.

     Back in the latter part of April the situation between me and the Colonel

got to the point that I decided I could no longer continue in his services

and retain my sanity, so requested immediate action.  Some time before that

I had disscussed transferring down to one of the line outfits with him, and

he promised that it would be done, but inasmuch as there were several other

transfers floating about in his section he put it off, as he did'nt want

the General to ask why so many officers were trying to transfer out of his

section.  The whole matter was temporarily solved by sending me out to work

with the Guerrillas, to run down their reports that 500 or more Japs were

raising hell in their area.  I spent about amonth with them, and had quite

an experience.

     I did quite a bit of patrolling, finally tracking down one large group

of Japs down to place where I was able to bring an US Inf Co in on them, and

we bagged 150 of the little bastards.  I guess I might as well tell you the

whole story.  In fact since I have'nt written to you for some time and owe

you several letters, and since you have indicated that you like to hear

about these things, I tell ya what I'm going to do, I'll tell the whole

story, and we'll call it even, and you can write to me again real quick like.

Since this is going to require a lot of space, I think that I will put it

on a separate page and use the back of this page for the fourth page.

Confusing I'll admit, so remember look for page two, but you won't find

it on the back of this sheet, silly si'nt it.

[page 2]

     Since this little action happened over a month ago is all cleared up

now, and probably does'nt make much difference anyway, I am going to use some

of the place-names (most of them are'nt on the map nayway), as I understand

from the Base Censor that this is permissable.  Well as I said before the

Guerillas in this particular area had been reporting contacts with large

groups of Japs, and in some cases as many as 500 Nips.  Now we had previously

received a report that 300 Japs had evacuated a little island off the coast,

and had landed somewhere on the shorts of CAVITE Province (north shores), but

nobody had since reported sighting them.  So we figured that possibly these

were the same Japs that the Grls had been reporting.  I was sent out to check

on these reports, and to try and clarify things.

     One of the Inf Cos of the Div had also been sent out to help the Grls

dispose of the said Japs.  Well we started to check down the reports, and

found that the Grls were basing their reports on rumors that the civilians

had told them, and after hiking over steep mountain trails in the hot tropical

sun for several days without contacting the Japs, and finding that the rumors

probably originated from a small group of stragglers we were quite PO'd at

the Grls.  Finally we get a hot report in, "The Grls are fighting the Japs

at MAGALLANES, all civilians reported evacuating towards MARAGONDAN."  An

A/B 75mm Btry was brought up as close as possible, and the next morning the

Inf Co started out to attack the Japs.  Unfortunately there were no roads

to the Barrio of MAGALLANES, and the trail ran perpendicular to five steep

gorges.  It was rough going, and many of the men carrying heavy equipment

(81 mortars and HMGs) became sick from the heat and vomitted along the

way, which slowed thing sup considerably (you must remember that these men

had been in steady combat for three months, and were a bit shot).  Finally

we crossed the last gorge and started to approach the barrio.  We noticed that

the natives were working in the fields as if nothing had happened, and upon

questioning found that they had heard reports of Japs being four or five Kms

away.  Inside the barrio we foudn no Japs, no Grls, only the local inhabitants,

who reported that there had been no Japs in the barrio, and the only ones

to evacuate were the Grls, but that they had heard that there were Japs about

4 of 5 Kms away.  I went out with a patrol to investigate and after a couple

more hours of hiking, questioning, and searching we finally found where the

Japs had bivouaced two days before, and estimated their were about 50

of them.  Naturally everyone was most disgusted.

     Upon return to Grla Hdqs, I found another report that the Japs were

now a little place called DALIG (five nipa huts) on MT CARILAO, and that

the Grls were in contact with them.  The next day a platoon from the

Inf Co went up their and took a forward observer with them.. They found the

Grls firing on a hill about 1000 yds away (even with tommy guns), and so they

had the artillery shell the area.  The Grls refused to advance so they sent

out four American soldiers who looked over the hill and reported no Japs.

This was the last straw, and the next day the infantry and the artillery

pulled out and went home, and the major (US) in charge of the Grls and myself

went around and reamed the Grla Commanders out concerning their reporting

methods and combat efficiency.

     However, the story does'nt end here.  I might tell you a little about

these Grls.  Most of them had joined up after the US landing and had no

military training.  The weapons they did have were mainly .03 rifles, with

a sprinkling of carbines and Jap rifles.  They lacked heavier equipment,

such as MGs and mortars.  Although they were useful as guards and could

take care of small groups of Jap stragglers, they were inefficient when it

came to fighting an organized group of Japs armed with MGs and mortars.

I might add that there are some good Grla units, in fact we had one join us

later which was armed with US MGs, 60mm mortars, and bozookas, and could hold

their own anytime.  The Grls also seemed to be lacking in courage, although

I think it was mainly a lack of traiing discipline, and they too often let

their impulses control them, or should I say their feet.

[page 3]

     The next day we another report that there are Japs up on MT CARILAO,

so I take a patrol of Grls and some AA men and go up there.  I might explain

that there was part of a battery of Airborne AA troops at Grla Hdqs (AA now

stands for Almost Anything).  Well believe it or not there were some Japs

up there and they were armed with mortars and MGs.  Well the Grls had howled

wolf just one too often, and so it was up to them to do the job alone.

Well it was obvious tha these japs were moving down generally south, and

by plotting their route I figured that they would make another move that

night, So I picked the two main tails going down off the mountain and

set up ambushes on them.  The Japs moved alright, but they crossed the main

highway at different spots than I had estimated they would, however, one

of the Grla ambushes heard them crossing further up on another lesser used

trail and atacked them.  Here the Grlas vindicated themselves to some

extent and by killing 21 of the Japs.  Now these Japs had been moving in the

night and hiding in the day time.  When I came down in the morning to inspect

the ambushes I found that the Japs had used 2 lesser known trails and had

crossed the highway in two places and were heading towards MT CARILAO on the

other side of the road.  By now I guess that you have figured out that we

have two mountains Mt CARILAO on the north and Mt BATULAO on the south with

a main highway running through a pass between the mountains.

     I took one of the Grls and went up the road to inspect the Jap Crossings.

At the first place I saw where a considerable number of them had crossed the

road and the signs were quite fresh.  At the second place the Grla pointed

out the spot (about 100 yds away) where they had attacked the Japs in the early

predawn light, we could'nt see any dead Japs, and as I only had two US soldiers

and two Grls with me I did'nt feel like going over to investigate the area at

that time, however we did go over to a little ridge and there on another ridge

about 600 yds away I could see some Japs.  I counted 18 of them before the

column halted to take a break.  Two of the Japs heeded the call of nature,

and it rather irked me to see them squatting so arrogantly right in the open

almost up on the skyline.  So, although the range was excessive, I told one

of the US soldiers with an M-1 to see what he could do about it.  He opened

fire and one Jap pulled up his pants and dove for cover, the the other one fell

back on his pile (I could see rather plainly through the glasses), and the

last I saw of him was his shinning bare ass as he crawled up the train behind

some bushes.  Of course the rest of the Japs all hit for cover, and I decided

that it was best we move on before they open up with a MG.  When we came

back by the first crossing, we found that the Grls had returned from breakfast

and were in a skirmish line firing at the Japs, who were in as much defilade

as the Grls, and consequently nobody was getting anywhere.  Now the night before

I had requested a US Inf Plat reinforced with mortars and MGs, and had received

an answer stating that the Rcn Plat was being sent up.  So with the Japs more

or less pinned own, at least as to location, I went on back to Hdqs to get the

platton.  In the afternoon I came back with the Rcn Plat, who had a 81 mm

mortar with them, and/we found that everything was quiet near the first crossing

where the Grls had previously engaged the Japs that morning (I later found

out that the Grls had simply knocked off and had gone to lunch), so we went

down to the spot where I had observed the Japs earlier in the morning and dis-

rupted their morning toilet.  The Rcn Platoon sent out a small patrol, which

found the Japs.  They killed two and we scattered the rest with mortar fire.

Returning to the first crossing (vicinity thereof) we found that the Grls

had returned from lunch, and were busy shooting at the Japs again.  Now past

experience had taught us that the Grls usually engaged the Japs at maximum

range or greater, and when we found them (the Grls) about sixty yards down

on the forward slope pf a ridge shooting up in the air, we naturally assumed

that the Japs were either way down in the bottom of the ravine on the other

side or else on the opposite ridge about 800 yds away.  So I ordered the Grls

to move to the crest of the ridge, and the Rcn Plat Ldr, a Sgt, and myself

reached said crest first.  Meanwhile the Grls were coming up, relaying the

orders and shouting and making quite a hubahuba.  Imagine my surprise when

I reached the top and looked down the other only to see the Japs about

twenty yards away down the reverse slope of the ridge. a bit embarrassing.

About that time a Jap MG burst opened up directly in front of the Sgt catching

him squarely across the body.  But he was lucky, as most of the shots hit his

M-1, however he was shot through both arms, the hip, and had his thumb knocked off,

but he lived.

[page 4]

     The Japs seeing us, and hearing the shouting of the Grls opened up with

everyth ing they had inculding MGs and mortars.  We had exhausted our immediate

supply of mortar ammunition in the previous skirmish, and so I took the wounded

man and went after more ammo.  However, the Rcn Plat Ldr soon found that he

was heavily outnumbered, and lacking MGs or mortar ammo and having another

Rcn man and several Grls wounded, decided to break off the engagement.

However, when I retu rned with the mortar ammunition we decided to shell the

Japs anyway, and proceeded to do so.

     This had developed into more words than I thought it would, so I will

finish it up quickly.  The outcome of the whole deal was that the Rcn Plat

was withdrawn and the Inf Co sent back up.  Early the next morning before

dawn I started down with the Inf Co to show them the Japs.  We found that

the Japs had come back to the main highway during the night and had marched

brazenly down the highway for four miles or so.  I took a patrol and started

to track the Japs down following their trail from the point they left the

road.  By this time it was quite obvious that there were between 100 and

200 of them.  It was still rather dark, and in the early morning fog it was

an eire sort of business.  Every once in a while we would come to a spot

where a straggler had fallen out, and had cut a path through the grass

down into one of the ravines below.  The trail followed a ridge running along

about 50 yards below the crest.  About an hour later just as the fog cleared

and the sun came up we heard some shots down in a valley about 1500 yards

away, and could see some Filipinos running.  The company commander, who was

with me, went back to bring up his company, and I went on ahead to investigate.

About fifteen minutes later my scouts signaled a halt, and I went up and found

that they had heard some Japs talking in a small ravine below.  The ravine

ran perpendicular to the ridge, and the trail passed above the head of the

ravine running about twenty yards below the crest of the ridge.  I went up

(crawled is the word), and about fifty yards or less below the trail I could

hear the Japs breaking up twigs and chattering.  I listened and watched for

about five minutes, occassionally getting a fleeting glimpse of a figure

through the thick foliage that grew along the bottom of the ravine.  I finally

decided that this was not the main body, and directed the patrol to sneak along

the trail and by-pass the Japs.  About 150 yds pass this spot one of the scouts

came back and reported Japs sleeping along side the trail.  I went up and in-

vestigated, and decided that it was best not to continue or we might find our-

selves in the middle of a Jap bivouac.  I took the rest of the patrol (5 men)

back to the first spot and posted them along the top of the trail with in-

structions to open fire when they heard me fire.  I then went up with the

scouts, figuring that we might as well shoot as many of the sleeping Japs

as possible before we pulled back.  I was in the lead, and  unfortunately passed

the first Jap without seeing him.  I was sneaking up on another group of Japs

when my scouts (Filipinos) started whispering, "uck, hoy, pss t," and I did'nt

know what was wrong so I went back to where they were, about twenty yards be-

hind me.  What they were doing was telling me that I had passed some Japs,

and the hoying and psssting woke the Japs up.  I only got one Jap here that

I know of for sure, and we did wound quite a few more.  I threw a hand grenade

in the bunch further up, and I know that I wounded at least five of them.

Of course the rest of the men in the rear opened up, and by the time the Japs

could figure out what was happening we were on our way out.  We went back and

met the Inf Co coming up the trail and took them back up and showed them the

place and they went to work.  While they were plastering the area with mortars,

I took another patrol out to investigate the original firing we heard earlier

in the morning.  We did'nt find anything and returned to where the first Japs

were.

     They were really caught in a hell of a jam.  It was like shooting rats in

the bottom of a pit.  By the time we got back the infantrymen were on the crest

of the main ridge and two secondary ridges bordering a second ravine, which

was below the point where the Japs were asleep on the trail.  This ravine was

covered by thick grass about four feet high, and every time a Jap would get

up or move to shoot we could see him.  The result was something like a multi-

ringed circus, maybe five or six Japs would be moving at the same time, and

everybody would shoot and open fire.  We were shooting Japs anywhere from 25

to 200 yards away.  Only one man was wounded and I counted 92 dead Japs in the

[page 5]

bottom of the ravine.  It was getting too late to go down in the first ravine,

so the artillery (which was brought up during the day) proceeded to blast it,

and continued by firing interdicting fire on it all night.  The next day 44

more Japs were counted in this rainve.  But we ran into a little trouble

there, and a number of men were killed and wounded, but that is another

story, and I have already spent much more time writing this than intended

to do.  However, I will tell you about one of those narrow escapes you

sometimes read about.

     The Jps killed a BAR man, and he fell across his buddy, and covered

himw tih blood.  The Japs came up before the buddy could do anything, and

so he played dead, or rather tried to.  He said that he could'nt stop breathing,

and the Japs knew that he was till alive, but seeing him covered with blood

they must have figured that he was sure to die.  The Japs took his M-1 and

his ammunition, and then held sort of a conference, perhaps deciding whether

to kill him or not.  Suddenly he heard some of the other menm calling to him

and the dead BAR man, as they were only about thirty yards away through the

bushes, the Japs apparently decided that they would give their own position

away if they shot him, so they left him there,  He came out of the whole

thing without a scratch.  Well enough is enough.

[page 6]

     The former Order of Battle Officer here went out on a rcn flight,

and never came back.  A while back they found the place and the bodies.

Since the 11th was going into a rest, and me not getting along with the

G-2 there, they offered me the job.  Well I lose a hundred dollars a month

by coming up here, and I could have stayed with the division, but I have

seen all the combat I want to see, and in a way this is a good break.

I have been feeling pretty sick for the last two weeks, but today I

feel pretty good.  I should be back to my old self in another week or so.

     Well Bud, I have to close now, write again soon.

                                                 love,

                                       [signed] Leonard

P.S. I don't need anything in particular right now that I can think of.

        thanks anyway.

[handwritten] New address:

                  Hq I Corps

                  APO 301 c/o PM

                  San ------

GO TO NEXT LETTER

Leonard's Story: January 15, 1945

In this letter Mac would of course refer to General MacArthur. G-2 is military intelligence, but of a higher rank than Uncle Len, who was S-2. EM would have been an an enlisted man. BAR indicates the Browning Automatic Rifle. And CCC stands for the Civilian Conservation Corps. 

I have been reading up on Operation Te-Go, the Japanese Paratrooper Attack on Leyte of December 7, 1944. The mission of Te was to attack several U.S. airfields, destroy planes on the ground, burn supply dumps and disrupt logistical operations. In particular the goal was to retake the Buri, San Pablo, and Bayug strips and destroy Tacloban and Dulag fields. The harmonicas, jewsharps, and other instruments were played as signals by the paratroopers immediately after landing; for instance, headquarters was to be identified by the sound of a harmonica. The mission was however hampered by bad weather and coordination problems with the ground units resulted. This was to be Japan's last major parachute operation in the Pacific. 

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                                                                                     Philippines

                                                                                     Jan 15th

Dear Arnold,

     So you like my letters?  Personally I think you are trying to kid

me, as some of them did'nt sound like much to me.  When the Hqs moved

back to the beach I was left keep up the Order of Battle part of G-2,

and finally the Asst G-2 left and I stayed behind to run G-2 with one

EM.  I got in a good rest, as there was'nt much to do.  Our action

consisted of patrolling, and little groups of stragglers were being

knocked off at the rate of about three or more a day.  The other day

the remaining elements of the division turned over the sector to an-

other unit, and we all went back to the beach, or as the boys say,

"to a rest area."  When I got down here I found that instead of a

rest I had to go back to work, things to come you know.

     So the 11th Airborne Div and LJN have gone through their first

campaigns.  It was rough in spots, but it was a good starter and some

valuable experience was learned and earned by all.  However, I am afraid

that it is just a sample of the future, and we have many battles to

go.  According to the latest regulations down here, if you have two

years in you can apply for a 30 day leave, and with three years over-

seas service out\here you are eligible to apply for rotation. I am es-

timating my return to the states in 1946 in the late fall.  Any man is

crazy to want to come out here, and I admit I was nuts. If you take all

the letters I have written you and spread them out on the floor, and then

compare all of them, I think you will find that for every little in-

teresting word about something I've/seen or done you will find ten other

words bitching about being down here, or rather what it is like down

here.  It is'nt that I don't want to do my share of the war, but here

is the way I look at it.  Some men will have to go overseas while others

will have to stay in the states, its the way the cards are stacked.

But if you have a chance to stay in the states a little longer, then you

are just that much smarter if you take it.  To think I turned down a

beautiful job in the states.  So brother if you get a crack at sticking

around in civilization a little longer grab it, for I am certain that

eventually you will get over here.  Well I guess you won't listen to me,

so come on over and see what its like, some guys are just naturally hard

to convince.

     Well its all over now, and I can sit back and relax and think of the

tragic, gruesome, miraculous, and the humorous incidents.  Like the time

a patrol was hunting down some Japs they spotted in a ravine.  One of

the men made a wide circuit and crawled down into the bottom of the

gully where the Japs had been sighted, and he was in such a hurry that

he forgot to tell the other members of the patrol that he was going

down there.  Up on the rim of this little canyon the BAR man was cover-

ing the advance when he saw a figure sneaking down along the bottom.

As he opened fire the figure jumped behind a bush, so the BAR man gave

the bush the business.  When the patrol had finally pushed down there,

the BAR man found that he had killed his buddy.  One of the other men

grab him him just he was trying to turn the gun on himself.  In another

incident some troops were crawling towards a Jap position which was

under our mortar fire.  As they had to advance across an open area,

an airstrip, it was necessary to keep dropping the mortar shells in

until the men could reach some cover on the far side of the strip.  As

they were slowly crawling forward on their bellies, a 81 mm mortar

                                             1

[page 2]

shell hit one man right in the small of the back.  No this is not one

of the gruesome tales, as the shell was a dud.  Now of the shells that

were being used very few were duds, but just think, the that hits

this man does misfire.  A few hours later a medic found him, as even

though he had been hit by a dud he was throught to be dead, and turned

him over.  He suddenly regained consciousness and sat up, complaining

about his back.  Upon examination it was found to be all black and blue

with a knot as big as your hand where the shell hit him.  The medic

taped him up, and several days later he was hiking around again.

I always smile when I think of what happened fifteen seconds after

the paratroopers had jumped from their planes, naturally I am refering

to the Jap paratroop attack we had.  Most of us had scorned the previous

air raids, and had not bothered to dig any foxholes.  Even on that event-

ful night it did not occur to me to get into a hole, as I was busy

watching the AA show.  Then in a flight that came right over us the

paratroopers started to jump, practically in our laps.  We stood there

watching them come down, hardly able to believe what we saw.  Then it

seemed like one thought occurred to everyone just about the same time.

"I had better get in my hole."   But, gulp, there were many who did'nt have a

hole.  There was the damnest mad scramble for shovels that you ever

saw.  I could have made a fortune right there and then if I had had

any shovels to sell, but I was more interested in fixing up a hole

myself.  We were just out of range of where they landed, and consequently

it did'nt do us much good to shoot at them, although the machine gunners

around us opened up and did get some in mid-air.  Well thats the way

it goes, I could probably fill several pages of these little incidents,

but many I could'nt write about, and the rest would probably become

boring.

     Well everybody is now talking about cock fights.  The GIs have

seemed to have taken quite a liking to this great Filipino National

sport.  The only fight I saw was one little sparring exhibition the

day we landed here, put on courtesy of some little villager to show

his appreciation of the return of Mac and the boys.  At the first

opportunity I am going to try to see one of the big official bouts

that are being put on here.  You can slap down a 300 pesos bet and

get it covered ($150 U.S. value).  But I will save all descriptions

and wait until I can personally witness one fo these spectacular

bloody exhibitions.

     Brother please, why pick on me?  I don't want to remember any

of this that is too unpleasant, in fact the more I forget the better.

I am going to eat now and will finish this later, excuse please.

                                               2

[page 3]

                                                           16 Jan [45 written in]

     Due to etc, etc I did'nt finish this letter yesterday, but will

try to finish it off this morning.  About the remembering, I would

just as soon forget about most of my experiences out here.  There were

plenty of men from the last war that remembered and tried to tell how

rough it was, people would'nt listen because they did'nt want to

listen, and it will be the same thing twenty years from now.  In fact

those that did listen were the pacifist, and they did more harm than

good by their islolation policy.  These same people believed that any-

thing connected with war was bad too.  So there were the men, including

many generals and high ranking officers, who had fought in World War

I, and who tried to tell the people that it was hell, and that to

prevent another war we should build up our army and navy.  The pacifist

grasped only the first part of the idea, and with their conviction

that anything connected with war was bad, they were for cutting down

the army and the navy and opposed to any ideas of national defense.

Naturally the communist clap their hands with glee and jumped on the

band wagon, and I am sorry to say that many of our church leaders also

had a great deal of influence in this movement.  Even CCC was watched

like a hawk to see that no military training crept into their daily

schedule.  In the last mass-slaughter bout people decided that when

the war was won, then the peace had been won.  This time we are think-

ing a little different, but how far ahead will we think?  There are

men today who are advocating a  large post war army, and already there

are those who think that this is unecessary, and that armies are bad.

I think that every young man should be made to server one year in the

army, in a carefully laid out program that would include more than

just squads east and west.  The men should be mixed from all states,

as from my experience I found that this is a good means of breaking

down many of the prejudices of sectionalism.  They should be given

excellent medical and dental care, which would make for a better

healthier race of Americans.  They should be taught some or several

minor trade practices, such as mechanics, welding, clerical work,

etc.  They should be taught to use their iniative and to develop

leadeship abilities.  in other words they would follow a carefully

conducted program that would not only benefit Uncle Sam, but would

also be a benefit to each individual man.  No, not everything connect-

ed with mar is bad.  Think of the medical, aeronautical, chemical,

electronical, and even fertile (pertaining to birth rate) developments

as a results of this war.  However, it is deplorable to think that it

takes a war to producce such advancements, and weighed against the

havoc, destruction, and misfortune that war evolves it is doubtful

that it is worth the price.  No brother, the placard does not read

"You must remember," but instead it says, "Lest we forget."  It is

easier to kill the cub than to fight the lion.

     Frankly I am rather disgusted with humanity as a whole.  It has

not changed greatly or appreciatably in the last 2000 nor even in

the last 6,000 years.  The Id is just as powerful in man now as it

was then, although perhaps now it does not have quite the same amount

of freedom as it had then.  When man gets to the point where he can

disregard or eliminate the common and judicial laws, and follow laws

stemming from the golden rule, and when man is able to abolish all

law inforcement agencies, then he will not have to worry about wars.

For I believe that war and policemen will go out together, and when

men are able to do this, they will no longer be the men that are about

today.  Brother we consider ourselves covilized just because we

wear clothes, read, make love at home in a bed usually with our wive,

use a toilet, and pay five dollars a year to the American Red Cross.

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[page 4]

But brother lets wise up, we are primitive, crude, and under develop-

ed in the full sense of the word civilized.  Between us and the coming of

Christ there are only 100 generations, back to the beginning of written

records of civilization  300 generations. To nature that is only

a few grains to the twll known drop in the bucket, in other words

we are not too far distantly related from our fathers the Cromagnon

and the Neanderthal men.  There are animals in exsistence today that

can have their ancestorial history traced back for 10, 20, or some

even back over 30,000 generations.  So you see Bud, your chest is

a chamber of primitive passions, and your head a bank of crude ideas.

But your ideas, and perhaps your passions may be the implements that

will give us an impetus to a future world of nobile, pure, and peaceful

ways and means of living in a 1,000, 5,000, or 10,000 generations

from now.  But will the children of your children's children's ....

offspring give you credit?  No, they will say that the man that lived

100,000 yrs ago was a very crude fellow, and the differentation

between you and the Cromagnon will be as great as our's is between

the Cromagnon and the Neanderthal man.  When you look at infinity

you can't see it, but you can see some point between you and infinity,

and if you go to that point and then pick out another point in the

direction of infinity, why eventually after an indefinite length of

time you will reach infinity.  So if we can pick out some point

on the curve in the right direction but within the limits of our

known capabilities, then we know we can and will reach it.  But if

we start off in a direction in which we can't see the end, then

we will reach no end.  In other words, lets look at man as he is

today, and what he is capable of doing or becoming, and then lets

proceed to do it.  When we get it done we can then make another

estimate and choose another mission.  And as long as man has hair

on his chest, will kill for lust, money, or power, and as long

as that type of man is in exsistence, there will be wars.  So the

immediate problem is to prevent that man from doing those things

which are detrimental to the progress and welfare of society, and

when we have curbed and destroyed this threat, then we can proceed

to attempt to change the race and our way of life to prevent

reproduction, not only in a biologicacl manner but perhaps more

important in a environmental manner, of this type of individual.

    Now do you see what happens when you write letters like that!

I won't apologize for what I have written, you started it and you

deserve it.  Well take it easy Bub, and write soon.

                                         love from

                              ye olde crusty caveman (horny too)

                              [signed] Leonard

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