War souvenirs Archives - Moss Letters

22 April 1945

Dear Folks:

In keeping with my promise to write often here is another letter. I was told today that a Red Cross message had been received, which was sent by you. I know how you must be worried and what a strain it is on you, much more so than you indicate in your letters. But I am really fine and feeling well and in little danger. I’m sure before the year is over I will be home then all this period of worry about me will be over. I can well imagine how you feel with Phil gone, but we’ll have to ride it out, and remember it is always darkest just before the dawn. So believe me Mom, I’m okeh.

Today was Sunday but it was noon before I realized it. I had intended to write a slug of letters today but something always came up to keep me from it. Getting the news each day for the paper takes some time and in addition I collect individual stories for the hometown papers. Anyway about four, I managed to get a bath such as it was, so now I feel pretty good. For dinner today we had steaks, yes, good fresh steaks. Some of the boys killed a cow and they did a good job in butchering and cooking it. We are eating from the kitchen which beats cooking your own rations.

They say the good souvenirs on this island are lacquer vases and dishes, supposed to be rare collector’s items. I hope I can manage to find some, although Dick and I resolved not to hunt military souvenirs as it is sometimes too dangerous and it’s getting too close to rotation to be taking any chances. In Dick’s jeep the other day, he already had a candry sword taken from a Jap they killed near his foxhole.

I rode through the civilian camp the other day and had a close look at the people. Almost all of them are really young or very old, the rest behind the Jap lines. The old people are sorry sights. Their skin is deep wrinkled, they are bent over, and they look all the worse for the black clothes they wear. They are unemotional although some bow low from the waist as though we were Jap gods or something. I guess they are cooperative and harmless. The young children smile and wave or laugh. Our troops hardly notice them and probably they will be better off than ever after it’s all over.

Well I’m going to amble over to the radio for awhile and hear a little music and shoot a little bull, then get ready to turn in.

So much for this time.

Love,

25 October 1944

Dear Folks:

I have wanted to write you all day and I hope this letter gets to you with all possible speed. I’m afraid my last two epistles didn’t sound too cheerful, and you may have thought I was quite the old grouch, and probably you felt a little bad about them, so I want to make amends for them and try to make you believe I didn’t mean all of it. I received two letters from you last night and they were such good ones that I felt like a two bit heel. So please attribute them to the mood I was in and not any kind of a criticism of you. I know how you feel and how you must worry and I shouldn’t do anything to make it worse for you, so accept my apologies, and believe me when I say I didn’t mean them.

Well today was sort of a red letter one. No, not furloughs or a big stack of mail or anything like that, just some fresh meat. A couple of ex-cowhands took a jeep and shot a young cow from one of the herds that run around here. They slaughtered it and got it ready and the cooks did a good job of turning out a real supper tonight – really hit the spot. If the spuds hadn’t been dehydrated it would have been perfect.

Saw the movie ‘Mr. Skeffington’ tonight and I thought it was superb. One of the best I have seen in a long time. No war or flag waving exhibitions, just a good peacetime cinema. I thought it was great and the moral behind it was very good. Bette Davis is tops in my book.

In Dad’s letter last night he said the souvenirs had arrived OK. Was the box broken up and was everything there? There are so many regulations connected with the mailing of souvenirs that I wondered if anything had happened to them. And don’t forget to mail me the clipping that Si Parker had about them.

And another bright spot on the calendar this week. For the first time since last May I had a coke. Yep, we were issued ten of them – I don’t know how long they will last – but I look on each one as a precious treasure and hate to drink one. Even though we can’t cool them very well they still taste pretty good. The beer situation is getting better and I think I have about six or seven cans left. Usually drink one every night just before the show.

Gee mom it sounds like you were pretty worried about me when I had the fever, but really it wasn’t as bad as I believe you imagined. It’s all over now and I feel fine again. As a matter of fact I feel better than I have for some time.

I can just visualize how much trouble you went to, to get Dick’s and my boxes ready and you don’t know how good it makes me feel to know that – well that’s just the kind of parents they are and whatever they would do for us they wouldn’t think it would be enough. As each month goes by I wake up a little more to the fact that you are both the best in the world, and then those inconsiderate things I used to do and the worries I caused for you come in my thoughts, and I wonder if I can ever show you all the respect and love you both deserve.

We haven’t received any second class mail in weeks so of course that means I don’t get the Free Press, so you be sure and throw in all those clippings – even the little ones about anybody I used to know. I suppose soon the mail will come rushing in like a broken dam and I’ll be reading for weeks to catch up. Of course the first class is coming regularly and in fine time. I’ll bet you’re really busy taking care of Dick’s and my letters, and I’ll bet you never wrote so much in your life – even love letters.

Shirley Carroll’s dilemma is indeed a sorry one, but it seems to be following a typical Carroll pattern. If it hadn’t have been this, it would have been something else. Perhaps she should have been more careful, although I do feel sorry for her and thought she would make out better than most of them.

The little mention of the fiddle is something I often think about, and I get a deep urge to play it again. Your ears must have been very sympathetic when I picked it up. And my gas models often put a curb in my daydreams. I’ve thought that after the war I would start in again as a hobby, and have a little more to do with (it).

Well the lights around the area are going out one by one and I seem to be one of the few left so maybe I better be thinking about hitting the hay. But be sure and pick out all the nice things in those sour letters and forget the bad ones. I guess we all get (into) moods and I don’t know what made me that way.

Love,

12 September 1944

Dear Folks:

The mail boat came through today and I rated five – not a bad take. Mom’s two letters were full of quite a bit of interesting stuff and I thought they deserved an early answer so here I go. Also got the pictures of Stevie – boy he looks like a real jewel and you don’t know how much I would like to see him. I had wished that Katie would have been in one of them but maybe I can get one of her later. It’s no wonder you are so proud of Stevie and I’ll (bet) he’s created the biggest stir in the household since our last baby – I mean yours. Well guess I’ll take out your letters and use them to get some ideas. First I’ll write about Dick. I first heard he had been injured when a fellow from our outfit came from Saipan and said he saw Dick there. I didn’t know how bad he was hurt so immediately made arrangements to get over (there). When I saw him he looked good and was having life easy on a cot with sheets – white ones too. He told me what had happened and made me promise I would write nothing about it to you. He was afraid you would become unduly worried and no matter how much we would try to say it was only light injury, you would still be very upset. So I said okeh although I thought we should tell you. He was hurt while rounding up groups of snipers still holding out in the limestone caves on the northern end of the island. His group suffered heavily and he was lucky to get out. He was caught and forced to hug the ground for two hours while they got him out. Of course there’s a lot more to it, but someday he’ll be able to tell you – if he will. You wondered where he got hit. He had pieces in his feet, his legs and two in his back, and also well er—he got a piece that missed his private parts by a fraction of an inch. He laughed about that, and joked about what might have happened. You can imagine. And oh yes, they have American nurses – quite a few of them. The day I visited Dick it was rainy and muddy and they were running around in slacks and GI shoes, more like doughboys than women. They were the first white women I’d seen since leaving Oahu. Also at the hospital they have Chamorro girls working. They are very shy and modest, but soon pick up some common GI slang.

I sent the souvenirs home about the 6^th or 7^th of August but I think I told you about that. I insured them, so if the box don’t break up you’ll probably get them alright.

I don’t hardly know what to say about the Christmas deal, but you know since I’ve been here what I’ve missed quite a bit is fruit juices. So put in a couple cans of tomato juice, some orange juice, and something like that. Also any other canned treats that you think I might like – maybe chicken, olives. Right now I’d give a fortune for some of that stuff. And I would like to have you buy Dick a watch like mine with my compliments – I’m afraid his would break up with what he has to do, and one like I have would be just the thing. I would also like to have a birthstone ring, and a couple of watch straps – they go fast in this damp climate. And rather oddly maybe some pictures of home from the outside and some inside ones too if you can get them. I always wonder how the different rooms must look now. A cigarette lighter that will work in the wind with some flints would be a good thing. I know they are hard to get but perhaps you might run across one. A couple of good card decks. And here’s one—some licorice. This must sound like the flimsical whims that come over pregnant women but I would be glad to get any one of them. And also stick in a law book. Gram got my last one from a publishing company in Minnesota – I wish I could give you the exact name but I can’t think of it. I want one on Torts. You know I sure miss the books I left behind but they would be badly beat up if I had brought them along. I get so impatient for the war to get over so that I can get in a position where I can study it for good. I’m going to get Dick by the ears and if nothing unforeseen comes along we’re both going back to the University and take advantage of the tuition and expenses deal. The two of us would be eligible for $118 a month and we could get along famously on that. That would be considerably better than my first year I spent there although it was a year I wouldn’t have missed. I think Dick would be glad to do it.

I wished you and Dad would have stayed in Denver and had a good time and I’ll bet the telegram changed your plans. When I get back we’ll go away for about a month into the mountains and be the damndest laziest people you ever saw. It’s always been one of my wants to take you two someplace where there wouldn’t be anyone to bother you.

Well Mom I think I’ve answered all the questions I can. You know I guess I’m a screwball but I miss my fiddle and when I hear some good music on the radio wish I could pick it up and piddle around with it. But I can never listen to any good classical music because everyone else wants swing. The office has been humming despite our field conditions, and it would certainly be a relief to be able to get away for a while.

One thing I did overlook. Word flashed around partially rumor and partially fact that the army was developing a point system whereby the ones with the most points would be released first – after the defeat of Germany. It works on the plan of service, overseas service, dependents, and medals with so many points for each. Lately it has become as socially important to know how many points you have as it is to wear shoes. It is the high ranking subject around here, as it must be in all outfits but I can’t see myself being released until it is over.

I started to finish once and maybe I will this time. Jack showed me a clipping of the letters in the Free Press and I didn’t think they were so long. Jack sent you some pictures of us that are pretty good and I’m fortunate to be near him.

I guess this is the final act but I won’t say goodnight or goodbye this time, just lots of love and a toast to a quick end of this mess.

Love,

7 September 1944

Dear Folks:

Now if I had a cigar I would be enjoying a truly pleasant summer evening. Beside me I have two cans of Regal Pale Beer, and their presence probably makes this the biggest day since D-Day. It was our first issue and consisted of three cans to last four days. It was the first I have seen or smelled in four and a half months. After each few lines I smack my lips like a well fed dog and sit back in great satisfaction. But this wasn’t all that made today memorable. Most of this business affords little cause for celebration but occasionally something comes along to make things seem brighter and build you up for a while longer. For the past three weeks our mail had, for some reason, been held up and we had nary a single communiqué from the home front, and yesterday it came rushing in. My own take was twelve although my stable mate who is married with a child rated forty-six of them. Among them was a letter from Mrs. Dick, one from Mark Gardner (whom I went to school with in Lincoln), Glen, Bill, Gram, and Kate along with three from you two. The one from Mrs. Dick was especially well written and her last paragraph was a treasure. I wish I could quote it to you. She wanted me to tell you that I had received it, so whenever you get down that way, give her the word. (At this point I open my second can of beer).

Yesterday I finally got around to packing the souvenirs and getting them sent. First each item had to be stamped by the Joint Intelligence then the box had to be passed by the local censor. You will probably wonder what is coming off when you get it. It’s a big box and is pretty heavy. In it is a Jap sword which is a highly prized souvenir and commands quite a price. Other items are a belt on which the sword is worn, a Jap battle flag, and a bayonet with scabbard and belt. I was with Dick when he found the sword and the other items he got himself. I sent it yesterday the 6^th of August (I think he meant September) and insured it for $150. Dick was especially anxious that I got them sent okeh.

I felt quite honored at the compliments about my descriptive letter about Saipan. The fellows in the office told me about the same thing that you wrote and when I was writing it wondered what in the heck I was putting in it and what was there to write about. I let Dick read part of it and he said ‘Gee whiz you writin’ all that?’ and then he shook his head quite characteristically.

The paper enclosed is a mainland issue of the Dispatch as you can see – I thought you might be interested. A few points that aren’t often written about that the folks back home wonder about. Yesterday I was quite domestic – ran off a batch of laundry and ruined the King’s English saying this was a woman’s job. Hung it up to dry later and then it rained and soaked them good. I should of got married when I was at home. I read the little article about the veterans plan at the University and want to take advantage of it if I’m not ‘retained’ too long. But then I have a lot of ideas as to what I’m going to do when this is over, among others – getting married, seeing some more of the world, a job, and the highest priority right now, getting back to school. I’d work like a son-of-a-gun at it if I could get back. No more fooling around. Well it’s getting late sunset (the prettiest I’ve seen) and the electricity ain’t so I’ve got to put the cover on this thing and take a bath. I had intended to write more tonight but it’s just getting too dark to see so here’s adios for this time.

Love,

Attached with the Letter: An article from the Saipan Post Dispatch, August 10, 1944

THE SAIPAN POST DISPATCHA Newspaper for Enlisted Men

Published by Army Garrison Force

Vol. I No. 41 (Mainland Issue) Saipan, M.I. Thursday, August 10,1944

EDITOR: This issue of the Saipan Post Dispatch has been prepared for the folks at home. Today’s issue contains in capsule from an historical resume of the Marianas. Certain portions of the masthead have been deleted to meet censorship requirements; subsequently daily issues of this paper are not to be mailed until further notice.

SAIPAN: The Marianas, of which Saipan was the capital, form a chain of 14 islands and one group of three small islands. All are of volcanic origin. They constitute together with the Marshall, Caroline and Gilbert Islands, the insular area of the Pacific known as Micronesia. The four principal islands of the Marianas are Saipan, Guam, Tinian and Rota. It is believed that the Marianas were originally people by the migration wave from Indonesia which settled in the rest of Micronesia, namely the Caroline, Marshall and Gilbert Islands. There are many resemblances between the Micronesians and the Polynesians. The latter settled in the remoter parts of the Pacific and differ in language and culture. In the Marianas, the Chamorros, of all the various Micronesian peoples, strongly resemble in physique, culture and language, the inhabitants of the Philippines and the Dutch West Indies.

In December 1520, Magellan with three ships sailed into the Pacific, and on March 6, 1521 discovered the islands of Guam, Rota, Saipan and Tinian. Eltano, Magellan’s subaltern, revisited Rota in 1524. The Spanish explorer, Leaisa, reached Guam in 1526. Admiral Logaspi landed on Saipan in 1564 and proclaimed sovereignty over the Marianas. Quiros, another Spanish explorer, reached Saipan in 1596. In 1668, Spain dispatched soldiers and missionaries to bring the Marianas under Spanish Control. The islands were then named the Marianas in honor of Queen Maria Ana, widow of Philip IV of Spain, by the Jesuit missionary, Diego Luis de Sanvitores, who arrived in Guam from the Philippines. The Spaniards ruled until 1898 when the American cruise ship Charleston, commanded by Captain Henry Glass, steamed into the harbor at Guam and opened fire upon Fort Santa Cruz. Through its capture, Guam was separated from the rest of the Marianas. In 1899, the Germans purchased the Marianas from the Spanish for $4,500,000 and ruled them, Guam accepted, until 1914. In October 1914, a Japanese naval squadron took possession of the German Marianas Islands. The principal objective of the Spanish administration was religious proselytism; the Germans wanted commercial expansion; the primary ends of Japanese policy were political and military. Great Britain by secret agreement in March 1917, recognized the claims of Japan to all former German possessions in the Pacific north of the equator. The approval of Franco and Russia was obtained by Japan. At Versailles, American pressure was appeased by the origin of the Class C Mandate which differed from outright annexation only by imposing on the mandatory power a number of obligations. The Marianas attracted little attention until 1932 when rumors gained currency that Japan was fortifying Truk and several other islands. Japan denied this and when she withdrew from the League of Nations in March 1935, most American jurists opined that she should forfeit her mandate and the islands revert to the League. Japan, however, kept the mandated territory, defining it as “an integral part of the Japanese empire.” After 1938, when Japan discontinued the submission of an annual report to the League, all pretense of international supervision vanished, and the islands were increasingly treated as a closed military area.

The native Chamorros at one time were skilled navigators and canoe builders; when into-island commerce was suppressed by the Spaniards, the Chamorros lost their skill and never regained it. The Carolinians were expert navigators and when they were allowed to settle on Saipan during the nineteenth century, the Spanish government, which had practically no means of transportation at its disposal, stipulated that the Carolinian settlers should make an annual voyage to Guam via Tinian carrying the produce of the region.

Saipan was colonized by Captain Brown, an American, between 1810 and 1815. Brown brought along several Americans and a few families of Hawaiians intending to set up a colony to trade with the whalers. Spaniards snuffed out this enterprise in 1815. Whalers visited the Marianas from 1825 until 1850, but their appearance had little effect upon the economy of the Marianas. In 1869, an Irishman named Johnson leased Tinian and did a prolific business in cattle and pigs until 1875.

The native Chamorros who numbered between 70,000 and 100,000 in the 1650 period have decreased through war, famine and disease to a little over 5,000 in the entire Marianas today. An infusion of Filipino and Spanish blood helped to save the Chamorros from extermination. Even the mixed group, which is now dominant, when added to the full-blooded Chamorro population does not exceed the 5,000 total. The trend created by the Spanish conquest virtually depopulated the natives of the Marianas. Severe epidemics of smallpox, measles, whooping cough, and scarlet fever, introduced mainly by visiting whalers, ran rampant through the Marianas and served to offset the natural population increase.

SAIPAN SHORTS:

….Tinian has been conquered. The expected banzai never developed.

.…The first motion picture show for American Troops on Tinian was held July 31^st. Several thousand yards forward death stalked friend and foe.

.…The superman halo attached to the hips in the early days has disappeared. The burial of over 22,000 Japanese soldiers on Saipan brought home to Tokyo factual evidence of American power in the Pacific. The fanatic fight of the Japs to sudden death makes the war in the Pacific one of the bloodiest in the annals of American history. On Saipan, American casualties were over 15,000.

….Over 50 movie spots are operated on Saipan; some daily, others periodically. The Garrison Theater has a potential capacity of 7,500 two-high sandbag seats facing a raised screen in front of which is a regulation boxing area. This arena when completed will feature boxing bouts between Army, Navy and Marine pugilists. It will also be used by chaplains for religious services. Temporary staging will be added when “live” shows arrive on Saipan. The island will be dotted with theaters constructed similarly.

….The 100-minute rainfall last night failed to dislodge 5,500 Garrisoin Theater patrons. It seems that nothing short of an earthquake will discourage the crowds that attend the outdoor movies every night.

…..Chamorron, Korean and Japanese youths between the ages of 8 and 15 are given calisthenics daily.

..…A Jesuit missionary and 6 nuns escaped to the civilian camp a few days before Saipan’s fall.

….The Chamorro baseball team at the civilian camp has already trimmed an Army and Navy team. Baseball scouts should include this spot in their ivory hunting itinerary.

…..One word every Chamorro boy and girl knows is “okay” and they use it habitually.

…..The communication miracle wired throughout the entire island is colossal enough to secure a bow from AT&T.

…..The Engineers have received many commendations, including one from the Navy.

….The Signal Corps Repair Shop has done an outstanding job in the maintenance of motion picture equipment. They have gone out of their way on innumerable occasions to render technical advice and labor in order that “the show might go on”.

….The record of medical units on Saipan stands out in bold relief. During the changeover from foxhole operations to permanent hospital facilities, with American nurses, they have written a new epoch in medical history. The dispatch with which these units handled casualties in the bloodiest battle in the annals of American warfare reflects the extraordinary ability and skill of these responsible for its organization and operation.

….Congratulations to Connie Mack on his 50^th anniversary in baseball.

….The Saipan Post Dispatch dedicates this issue to the St. Louis Post Dispatch as full payment for usurping part of their famous name and incorporating it into the masthead of the First American daily on Saipan, which as been published since July 1 (1944?). If we can approach in excellence the distant shadows cast from Pulitzer’s bulwark of news reporting, then Ralph Coghlan, Fitzpatrick, etc., can rest assured that the traditions of their perennial sheet will not be ravaged by a mimeographed upstart on bloody Saipan. We salute the St. Louis Muny Opera, Jack Shumacker’s famous turtle soup, Phil Hitchcock, Larry Goodwin’s St. Charles St. Lounge, Luke Sewell’s Browns, Cardinals, Ruggori’ Steak House where the late O. O. McIntyre dined, Parkview Hotel, Coronado, Anheuser-Busch, Griesedieck, Hyde Park, Alpen Brau, Falstaff, the Star-Times and Globe Democrat.

….The next issue will be dedicated to New York City

24 July 1944

Dear Folks:

I received Dad’s letter today acknowledging the first one I mailed from here and I’m so glad it made you feel better. Also had one from Mom but it was several days older. I guess the first thing on this communiqué will be about yesterday. Minatare moved 7,000 miles across the Pacific to Saipan when Dick, Jack Conklin and myself got together for an afternoon’s reunion. Until yesterday the three of us had been unable to get together at one time, but we finally got CO’s okeh. Dick attended services at the 27^th Division cemetery just after dinner and met Jack and I at Jack’s outfit about three o’clock. This tripartite reunion means more than you realize. While we were there Jack took several pictures and he’ll send them as soon as possible. We thought also that it might be interesting to have it put in the Star-Herald with a short story below it. Jack will send the pictures to his Dad, and he left the writing end of it up to me, but now I don’t know how much the censors will allow. Probably by this time you have received my three page letter and there should be some material in that. Jack wanted me to write his dad with a little story to go with the picture but you can get all the information from his folks, and you can fit something together. About the first thing we do at these meetings is exchange news about the ‘old country’ and each adds to his bit of gossip. It seems there are a million changes back there and very few of the old faces will be left. Vic Sage getting wedded drew quite a comment, and every time someone has a baby we wonder how they could grow up so fast. And Jack Lupher too – it seems they are all marrying the Russians. Maybe it’s a good thing Dick got out when he did. And speaking of Dick, he does a lot more talking than before and because he had so many harrowing experiences than Jack or I, he had quite a little to say. I don’t suspect he will be writing much now but I’ll do his share and let you know all I find out.

The money enclosed is some of that I found that I told you about in a previous letter. This little guy I got it from must have been a paymaster or something of the sort for he sure had a wad. I’ve given away quite a slug too. The 100 yen note is pretty scarce. The holes in the bills were caused by a bullet which I found bedded in the center. The exchange rate is 20 yen for an American dollar, and the smaller bills I believe are 50 sen or a half a yen. As soon as I can arrange it I’m going to send home the sword and a few other items that Dick and I found – Dick found most of them. The souvenir racket runs into some big stuff here and some fancy prices are quoted for some things. Swords are quoted from $500 to $1,000. But ours weren’t boughten, they were found. Dick and I tried to imagine Mom’s little gasps if she could see some of the things.

I believe this is about all of interest this time. A Bob Hope movie is on tonight. Our ‘theatre’ is a hole scooped out by a bulldozer and the seats, the scooped out dirt. Well, adios and ‘buenos noches’ for now.

Love,

18 July 1944

Dear folks:

Time out for another communiqué from Saipan and what I did and saw this morning should give me enough material for a good one but I don’t know how much you like to know about this stuff – I mean maybe you would rather not hear all the worse aspects. Dick came around this morning about ten in a jeep and asked me if I wanted to see some of the island and I said sure so we took off up through Charan Kanoa and on through Garapan to the north where the Japs held out the longest. Dick had been around there before and knew where to go. He wanted to find a Jap pistol and at the same time show me some dead Japs, and as we got near the area I didn’t know whether I was going to feel right or not. Finally we pulled across a young cane field and came to stop about fifty yards from the beach. I noticed the stench was terrific and the flies could be counted by the hundreds, and I felt a little hesitant at having to look around. After putting a shell in the chamber I got out and Dick and I walked into the underbrush and trees. We didn’t go far before we could see plenty of dead Japs. Many of them had committed suicide by putting a grenade on their stomach and some had taken off one shoe, putting the end of the barrel in their stomach and fired their rifle with their big toe. I saw several of these. They have odd and many ways of killing themselves and one group looked as though they had lined up laying down and let the man in back of him blow his brains out. We must have walked three or four hundred yards down the beach and the dead were scattered all through the area. Some civilians had refused to give up and stayed with the soldiers and there was many of them all ages, some in family groups. A number of the soldiers had bottles of sake and more of them had nothing but a stick with a spike on the end for a weapon. Some had attempted to crawl over the rocks on the edge of the water and swim away and in one place in an opening in the rocks there must have been a dozen. Dick found a very good looking officer’s sword in good condition. They are about the most prize souvenir to get and we felt darn lucky. Well about eleven thirty we started back down the wreckage littered road. I thought a lot of things about what the war all means and how come all these people and soldiers are dead, and will they do the same thing fifty or a hundred years from now, but that’s all of no avail. Garapan is a little smaller than Scottsbluff and the town was leveled. If you can imagine the Stockfleth Chevrolet Garage when it burned and then apply it to every building in town you can see what a mess it must be. It must have been a neat little town sitting below Mt. Tapochata but it is wreckage and debris from one end of the town to the other.

I still ate a pretty good dinner when I got back, and now it’s about time to take a good shower and get the smell off me. Also this morning I found a pack of Jap money – there must have been about seven or eight thousand yen in it. The exchange rate is twenty yen to a dollar. How can I sleep with so much money? Ol’ Dick’s quite a soldier and hale as ever. He doesn’t write much I guess but he’s okeh and wanting to get home as much as I do. Guess this is enough for this time – will give another communiqué on my experiences in a day or two.

Love,

18 July 1944

[Harold types]

Dear Folks:

Dick came down to see me today and I thought while we were laying around we just as well write you a letter – or try to. Right after we had dinner we walked along the beach road from Charan Kanoa to the end of the island looking for an army cemetery but couldn’t find it. While we were looking for the place, Dick showed me the places where his outfit landed and even where he dug his first foxhole. And we found a lot of Jap caves that were well concealed and topped over with a lot of dirt and leaves. They dig in like [illegible] caves are transforming the face of the [illegible] saw several thick walled concrete [illegible] from the point we had a good view of Tinian [illegible] over there must be thinking – if they can see what is going on [illegible] there is (a) sugar factory that stands out on the landscape. It took quite a beating from navy shells and girders and machinery are flung everywhere. From the factory runs a number of narrow gauge railroad lines. The army captured a few locomotives and now you can hear their high pitched whistle as the guys chug along using the cars to haul supplies, etc. The trains are small and look more like oversized toys. We haven’t had a look at Carapan yet and I have been itching to get up there and see what goes. The town is about ten thousand so there must be quite a lot to see. I haven’t seen a newspaper or magazine since I left Oahu and today Dick walked in with a Time magazine. I’m anxious to review it from cover to cover. I was asking Dick what I should write about and he said to mention that we will be sending home some souvenirs soon when the situation permits. I told you about the bayonet and the flag. In addition to those Dick got a wallet with quite a sum of Jap money in it, and many pictures of the officer’s family and what must be his wife. Also he got his insignia of a 2^nd lieutenant. He’ll probably have some more before it is all over. The weather here is about the same as on Oahu but right now is the season when the monsoons begin and the past few nights there have been heavy rainstorms. They say hurricanes strike near the island about once every two years and I hope this isn’t one of them. Today is pretty hot and sultry and the sand all around is hard on the eyes.

We were both wondering about Phil and whether he has come into the army yet. Every once in a while you see a crude handwritten sign over a foxhole saying Frisco 7752 miles, Tokyo 1521, and then we realize just how far away we are. Guam lies about 103 miles to the south and just to the north are the Bonims(?). It’s going to be a long boat ride home someday but we’re ready to accept it any time. And remind us never to take another ocean voyage when we get home. The food was pretty good on the boats but the chow lines are hard to buck, and the accommodations are hardly first class. Well I’m going to turn this over to Dick and let him add a few lines.

[Dick handwrites]

Today being Sunday I went to communion and then to see Harold. We’re taking it easy now after a little uneasiness. I’ll write some time later.

Love,

Dick

15 July 1944

Dear folks:

I should have much to write about this time for the censorship regulations have [been] cut down and now I can tell you some of the many things I have wanted to. As you guessed I am in Saipan on the Mariane Islands, about 3200 miles from Hawaii and I don’t know how far from the house. [illegible] which is the capitol and most heavily populated of the Mariane group. Looks much like the islands of the Hawaiian group. The island is about fifteen miles long with a mountain of 1500 feet in the center, and which was the most fought for point in the battle. Three miles to the south is Tinian which is still swarming with Japs [the rest of this sentence was blacked out by the censor]. The boat ride from Oahu was a long one and a hot one. Each day as we progressed nearer the objective the Chaplain gave a short talk about the islands, the makeup of the naval forces, the enemy strength, the battle plan and so forth. We didn’t know where we were going on leaving Oahu and when we were told it was Saipan I think we were all pretty surprised. I was myself for I thought we wouldn’t take such a big hop quite yet. On our boat were mostly Marines [the rest of this sentence was blacked out by the censor]. Aside from a few submarine alerts and unidentified aircraft warnings the voyage was quite routine. I remember the night before D-Day when we first caught a look at the island. It was about three o’clock in the morning and we could stand on deck and see the battleships, cruisers and destroyers bombarding the island with their big shells. About a half hour later we had breakfast and it was a big one. Ration and a half for each man including steak, potatoes and the rest of it—more like a Sunday dinner. About this time H Hour was coming around and although the artillery doesn’t go in as assault troops, I really said a prayer for the Marines who hit the beach first. The Chaplain also had the boat quiet for a minute and said a few words. From our position on the boat we could watch the battle although we were quite a ways out and could only guess as to how we were making out. A few hours later rumors began to fly—we were going right along, then we were taking a beating and all versions were having their round. Almost every evening on the boat the Japs would send over a few planes and that began my first war experience I guess you’d call it. On the boat you go below and sit in the hot holds listening to the announcer give the location and speed of the enemy planes over the loud speaker and hope to hell they will miss you. One night I remember I was sweating more than usual, our own pom-poms and anti-aircraft started a barrage and I thought if they ever hit us we would go straight to the bottom. The first day after D-Day some of troops were ashore. I wasn’t among them and secretly I wasn’t disappointed. The scenes of battle were everywhere, the effect of the naval shells, the Japs own mortar fire on our troops and many bodies lying around, in all positions and all stages of decomposition. Sights that you hope you will never see again. Along the beach, in and out of the water, were wrecked tanks, alligator debris and a thousand things necessary to the campaign. The smell was terrible and the dust from tanks and vehicles was so thick you could hardly breathe. Well the first thing for the night was dig a foxhole and that first one I built was a stinker. I thought it was all right but when our artillery began to fire the thing almost caved in and the sand was all over me. I couldn’t hardly get out of the thing for fear of being shot and I wasn’t feeling too brave anyway. About the second day after I landed Dick came into camp looking dirty and disheveled. I knew he must be having it pretty tough in his outfit and I was pretty worried, but he had a big grin and I felt better. He had a lot to tell me, he gets up close to them and sees the Japs firsthand. He said he killed two Japs the day before and he had a nice flag taken from one of them. Well a little after dinner he had to leave, and that was about ten days before the battle was over and I felt anxious again, and kept hoping the thing would be over in a few days. Can you imagine Dick doing what he is doing? Every evening without fail the Japs would send over a plane to drop flares and keep a line on the situation, and who came to be known as “Bedcheck Charlie”. Later two began to appear and he was called “Bedpan Charlie”. One night they were circling over and dropped a few bombs, and I was laying in the foxhole hoping he wouldn’t get any closer when we opened up with our anti-aircraft and in a few minutes he was hit squarely and caught fire immediately. He dove to the ground and set off a mighty explosion. When he was hit you could hear the dogfaces for a mile or two around. All gave a big cheer. The guys that knocked him down were big favorites after that. About an hour later they bagged another Jap plane and he made a big flame too. Our jeeps have a radio that can get Frisco and at six o’clock we would listen to the news especially anxious to hear what they had to say about Saipan and hoping you were listening too. But when it came time for the GI programs, an air raid would sound and we would hit for the foxhole. Radio Tokyo is easy to get also and of course we always heard their version too. The reports would be exactly opposite and their reports of casualties about four times what we thought they should be. Tokyo also has a night program called the Zero Hour and dedicated to the American soldiers in the south Pacific. The nerve of the guys. Tokyo Rose speaks perfect English and tries your patience by recalling for you how nice it would be to be home and that sort of stuff. But the music is pretty fair and we don’t mind listening. Well the battle went on and I hadn’t seen Dick for about eight or nine days and I was hoping he would show up. He was in the front lines about five or six miles from our positions and it wasn’t too easy for us to get together, but he showed up with a lot of souvenirs and more dope. Said he killed two more one of them a Jap officer, and from him he got his bayonet, a pretty good one. About this time we were pushing the Japs back over the mountain and getting them cornered in the northern point, and Dick thought it would be over in a day or two so I thought easier about him. In our battery we have a shower and that felt damn good to Dick who hadn’t cleaned up for sometime. Our rations were mostly K-rations, single boxes one for each meal and pretty good. We had plenty of them and nobody lacked enough to eat. Cigarettes and toilet supplies are also issued gratis. On the fourth we celebrated by eating a first meal from the kitchen. By this time Aslito airfield was well in our hands and many of our Thunderbolts were already based there, and they looked mighty good. During the night the Japs from Tinian would send over a little artillery fire but it did not damage [anything] and I believe we knocked them out in short order. The report of the Jap navy being around didn’t make me feel better although I was sure we could stop them. Jap opposition from the boats in the sea was practically nothing as far as Saipan itself is concerned. The Jap soldiers were interned in stockades or wire enclosed areas and separated. I wanted to see them so one day we took a walk down and had a look. There are about forty thousand civilians on the island I believe and there were plenty of them crowded in the wire. The women had nothing on above the waist and they had no modesty at all. They were dirty, thin, bewildered and there was more small children than I ever saw. The Koreans were separated from the Japs. Later we saw the two Jap prisoner soldiers. I get a hell of a hatred when I see them, and I wish they were all dead. About 85 percent of the population is Jap with the balance, Koreans and Chamorros, who are a half Filipino and [half] Spanish. Later things began to quiet down and the battle was coming to an end. At this time the Japs got saked up and made their last ditch stand and were successful for a while. Dick was in on that and told me that he was caught on the beach by the Japs and had to be taken off on an alligator. He has had some close shaves and told me of times he thought sure they would get him, but he just laughs about it. He killed a Jap officer with a grenade and then shot the hell out of him to be sure. He looks very good, and now that the campaign is over we’ll have it easy at least for a little while. He was down yesterday and the day before and it’s mighty swell to have him around.

Well the campaign for Saipan is over and now the island is humming with repair work and defensive installations, but each night we can see flares on the mountain where the Marines are rounding up small pockets of snipers or civilians. Many Jap trucks have been put to use and one of them is a water wagon and that has helped to hold the dust down. One Jap truck was caught in our area, a repair truck and pretty well equipped. Some of the dark boys fixed it up and used the motor for a pump. The Japs had plenty of bikes and you can see them everywhere, many wrecked ones but many in use. Most of the civilian cars are Fords and in Headquarters the boys got a 1940 model in good shape. They have it running in good order now.

It looks like the Japs kept the other nationalities in pretty much servitude from the stories they tell and the looks of their homes. All of the houses I have seen are grass and tree limbs but everyone has a reinforced concrete cellar and stocked with Jap array supplies. In Chalan Kanoa the buildings are thick concrete. Apparently the Japs were making every house a strong point.

Well the biggest part is over now, and twice in the last week have seen a movie—old ones but they looked good. And we even have a little time for a bridge game. Doesn’t seem to add up does it? We are pretty close to the Jap homeland and are set for big things now—from now on it will be the clue chips.

I have written quite a bit (probably the censor is using every profane word in his vocabulary on me) but I know you will be interested and perhaps there are many other things you wonder about. Dick and I are fine and not the least bit worried. The main topic is when will we get home. The rumor is that President Roosevelt made a statement that a surprise was in store for the Saipan soldiers. Have you heard it?

The mail has been coming in good but we haven’t received any papers or packages since leaving Oahu but I can understand that. I am anxious to take those dozen back Free Presses and get together with Dick about that. I think I had best stop now—this has been quite a job.

Love,