Camp White, Oregon
10 January 1943

Dear Aunty Clara:

I never, since I have been in the army, have wasted so completely and absolutely a Saturday afternoon, night and Sunday morning, afternoon and night. Saturday afternoon I was off duty and slept it away. Saturday night was the night of the party and it turned out to be a brawling beer party. I had to stick around because I was commissioned as a policeman to break up any brawls etc. During the hour I went over to the Shack to have something to eat all the fighting started in the mess hall. By the time I got back it was all over.

I got to bed at 1:30 Sunday morning and slept right straight thru chow and did not get up until 10:30. The morning was spent in sorting out my letters and getting my notes up to date. I went to chow at 12:00 and wandered into the dayroom for a spell and took up with a new fellow from Fort Belvoir, Virginia. He asked for a game of ping-pong and I accepted. Well, they have a sort of rule that anyone can come up and challenge the winner. So what do I do but beat him three games, beat the next guy two, and the next guy four games and finally I was sick and tired of the whole thing and lost to the last fellow. Then I am nailed again to play a game of darts. OUCH another half hour bit the dust. Then when I finally did get back to the office to write some letters, I was sent down to Post Headquarters in a jeep to pick up the MRU (machine Register Unit) for December. I tried writing a letter to Ray and Dotty and tried three times before it got into shape. By that time it was supper. After supper I made the identical mistake I had made at noon of wandering into the dayroom before coming back to write. I was there an hour before getting away.

After I wrote to Ray and Dotty, I began answering Dolores's letter. I had to go get the SOS insignia to send her and while I am in the barracks a fellow suggested we go over and have a bite to eat at the Shack so I go. That would have been alright but the place was jammed and I didn't get back for an hour and a half. Marie wrote me a letter so I have 9 letters now unanswered and it looks as if this coming week I will not have a chance to answer a single one. We not only have the payroll coming up and that should have been begun this evening but we also have quite a bit of Personnel work to handle in addition.

I owe letters to Tommy, Auntie Lillie, Uncle Jack, the Klicks, Aunty Florence, Bobbie Boyer, Marie, Infiestas, etc. It is disgusting especially after the valiant try I made last Sunday to catch up. I think I am going to send out a raft of postcards once more telling them to be patient with me. Do you realize that of today I have not received a letter from you for four days!

I did not get up at Reveille Saturday morning and I heard Sgt Davis of Hq Platoon shout out, "Headquarters Platoon All Present Or Accounted For, Sir". So I do not intend to stand Reveille again until otherwise told to do so. It is a lot warmer upstairs than downstairs although much more inconvenient.

It is eleven-thirty now so I guess I will call it quits. I'm sorry I can't write more and if you do not hear from me for several days you will know that I am really, really up to my neck in work.

If I live by this week, I will live forever. On Jan 14 I will have been in the Army two months.

Solong mon cher tante,
/s/ Roman