Based on the letters of Earl Philip Reinhalter (1922-1953). Edited by his son, Earl Philip Reinhalter (1950-).


<- PREVIOUS LETTER September 29, 1943
Brisbane, Australia
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THE BLANK UNDERSCORES IN THE FOLLOWING LETTER DENOTE
SEGMENTS THAT WERE REMOVED BY THE MILITARY CENSOR
 
Sept. 29, 1943

Hello Ma:
      I received a letter from you today. Also, one from a girl in Georgetown. Are you well again now? No, I as yet haven't received the magazines. Mrs. Roosevelt, in her travels in Australia, visited the town closest to my present base. No, I didn't see her. In fact, I had no desire to. I _______________________________. ____________ bomber could be doing a whole lot better job by dropping bombs on the Japs than by "joy-riding" some civilian around, even though ___________. Soldiers don't think much of that so called "goodwill tour." Likewise, the civilians back in America probably think more of ___________ [General MacArthur? - Ed.] than the soldiers under his ____________. After the war, I'll tell you why. I hope Gordon's business turns out O.K. Our baby kangaroo just hopped in our tent and then out again. The boys feed it with a baby's milk bottle and nipple. One of the boys has lined his field pack with kangaroo fur and at night the baby kangaroo sleeps in there just as it would in its mother's pouch. The baby kangaroo has a small pouch just about big enough to hold a pack of cigarettes. Sort of an animated smoking stand or something. No, we haven't taught it to light them.

      Well, this morning, I had my two teeth filled. I am now officially a corporal and in a few days expect to be in O.C.S. at long last. Today, I turned in my gun. Well, I cannot think of anything else worth mentioning just now. So, until sometime later -
Earl




James H. Wooden, Jr. feeds a baby kangaroo in Australia, September 20, 1943.



 
NOW AVAILABLE AS A KINDLE BOOK!

The Kindle book includes the letters; all 23 issues of the unit’s wartime newsletter “The Squadron Pulse,” which was originally edited by Leonard Stringfield; all 12 issues of the “Pennant Parade” newsletter that Stringfield published while sailing home after the war; complete text of the U.S. government booklet “Pocket Guide to Australia,” which soldiers heading Down Under were given to read; more than 200 photos; pre-war and postwar family history; and over 700 explanatory endnotes.















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