THE BLANK UNDERSCORE IN THE FOLLOWING LETTER DENOTES
A SEGMENT THAT WAS REMOVED BY THE MILITARY CENSOR
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August 12, 1944
Somewhere in New Guinea
Hello Ma:
Well, this is the first letter which I have written to you in quite some time. I spent about ten days in the hospital with a jungle fever called "dengue." It comes from mosquitos. I had a 101.8° temperature [38.8°C] when I left to go to the hospital, but by the time that I got there I had a temperature of 102.6° [39.2°C]. I didn't have it bad though. A friend of mine went to the hospital the day before I did with a temperature of 105.6° [40.9°C]. He had the same thing that I did. Well, I am back in the outfit again and am O.K.
So, Kitty wants to join the WAACs does she? Well, I don't think much of the idea. Steve and the other boys don't think much of the idea either, do they? Did they tell you why? Of course they didn't. Well, it's like this. The German city has its brothels. The Japanese army has its geisha girls. And the U.S. Army has its WAACs. The U.S. Navy has its WAVEs. And it isn't just my imagination either. I have been in camps where there were WAACs. There isn't a soldier in my outfit who would ever think of marrying one. In the movies at night here, whenever they happen to show some WAACs or WAVEs in the newsreels, you should see the soldiers' reactions. Most of the boys just laugh. Others "boo" and "hiss." So, they are supposed to relieve soldiers of office work, are they? What a bunch of bunk. It's all very ridiculous. Recently, they shipped a group of WAACs to ____________. Now the Army is thinking of making that port the rest leave place for the soldiers. Now what do you think that looks like? Yes, join the WAACs. What a bunch of propaganda the public will fall for. Oh well, the government likes to waste money anyway, it seems like.
Do I still get those Flying or Popular Aviation magazines? If so, I would like you to send all of them to me. Those that you have. Renew my subscription if it should run out. If it hasn't already.
Well, the news looks pretty good for the Allies. We took some more bases from the Japs, as you know. It seems to me that my outfit has been at one base too long. But something to break up the monotony I hope will happen before long. The time just seems to drag by lately here. I and the other boys wish that we could move up into combat like we once were. Time passed quickly then. There was always something doing, it seemed like.
I received the other "candy letter," but as it was in a liquified state, I had to deposit it in the trash can the same as I did the other. Mail service is bad again about now. Same reason, you know. Big things doing. We still get our beer rations. Well, that's all until next time -
Earl
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