June 15, 1944
Page 1
Dear Mother, Dad, and Grandpa,
I have been doing nothing but loafing all evening, and I have just managed to get up enough energy to write a letter. I can readily see why all Southerners are lazy. It’s undoubtedly the extreme heat. Funny thing, although the days are almost unbearable, the nights are pleasantly cool. It’s quite a contrast.
I was on guard last night. From 8 to 10 P.M. I was PX guard on the inside, so I did nothing except stand in the PX for 2 hours. I slept from about 11-2 and then walked around the PX from 2-4, after which I went back to sleep in the guardhouse for two more hours.
I managed to sleep in spite of the springs I was lying on and the mosquitoes.
Tomorrow I have K.P., so I will be through with those details for about 2 more weeks.
I have increased my code speed – I passed 12 words a minute today, and I am now working on 15.
Page 2
Yesterday I fired the Thompson 50 cal. machine-gun or the “tommy-gun.”[1] It is a marvelous weapon. I like to fire it much better than the Garand M1 rifle or the carbine.
I don’t think I will go the to Lake Charles this weekend. Only 15 are allowed to go from each company this time, and there are still several openings. But they are sure planning things for 3 more consecutive weeks, so I may go on one of those.
I am happy to say that I am catching up with my correspondence, I wo wrote Stella Rice and Doly Cohn, I also wrote Ed Lowery, but I don’t have his new address. I wonder if you could send it for me. I have his address when he was in the Infantry, but he’s in the Engineers now, isn’t he? Also, please send me Thelma Kohnopf’s address.
I signed up for a class in conversational German which is set to start in a few days. It is purely voluntary, and is to be held for only a half-hour each evening after chow. They are doing this to give us a head start, for I believe it will be on our regular training schedule later on.
Isn’t the latest war news wonderful? Our offensive against Japan, I mean. I hope they lay waste every one of their cities. One What a swell feeling it is to hear of Tokyo and other Japanese cities being heavily attacked. Also our invasion of the Marianas Islands is heartening.
[1] Epstein is mistaken here, the Thompson Sub-machine gun is actually chambered in .45 ACP.
Page 3
They are only 750 miles from the Bonin Islands which in turn are only 500 miles from the Japanese mainland. The Bonin Islands constitute the innermost defense guarding Japan proper. I also look for an early invasion of the Philippines by MacArthur and his men. The President said the other night that Japan could now be defeated more quickly than heretofore thought possible.
As for Europe, other landings should be made soon –perhaps in Southern France, Belgium, the Balkans, or Norway. It looks like Montgomery has outwitted Rommel again.
Sam Harris sounds very, very foolish. He must be suffering terribly since he has to go to school.
Jerome Rubenstein must have been in a terrible accident. He certainly was lucky to come out alive.
Well, there isn’t much else to write about, so I will [undecipherable] come to a close. I’ll write again on Sat. Let me hear from you. Lovingly,
Front of Envelope
