Cpl Roman F. Klick 36620923
Co "A", 353rd Engr Regt
A.P.O. #502, c/o Postmaster
San Francisco, California
September 20, 1943

The day started off lousy and I was crabby for the most part but circumstances in the evening changed the entire picture of things and I feel swell right now. The reason I feel so good is that I received a letter from you dated September 9th in which you have quite a bit to say and I have just finished answering Dolores's letter. The letter I told you I received yesterday dated the 9th was dated the 8th instead. It is a great relief to know that one more of my must answers have been taken care of. The only two extra priority answers that I have left are Ray Bernett's letter and a letter to Bob Hesser. By the way, the letter to Do was not just the ordinary one page V-mail but ran on for two complete pages. It happened this way, I was writing along and reached the bottom of the page before I had finished what I wanted to say; therefore, I started another page and since it doesn't look good to write only a half a V-mail, I continued on to the end of the second sheet.

The day was lousy during its first part because I was supposed to have it off and I sure need a day of rest. I woke up for Reveille, breakfast and a report which must be turned in every day. I had the typewriter in my tent and did the necessary work there. When that was completed I climbed back into bed and intended to sleep until I felt fully rested whether it took me till noon or evening. But not ten minutes after I laid down and had just begun to get that drowsy feeling, a messenger came from the Personnel Office bearing the sad tidings that my day off was cancelled by emergency work which had just come up. When I got down there I found out it was not emergency work at all but just the whim that it be gotten out today and in a rush. So today was shot as far as getting that long needed rest was concerned, or for washing out clothes or for writing letters.

During the noon hour and between four and five I laid down on my cot and tried to get as much rest as I could. I doubt whether that is much help because my tiredness is not all physical tiredness but rather from having just been awake too long so that my mind becomes numb.

Anyhow, the good news over the radio helped me refresh myself too. Slowly but surely we are pushing the Germans back further and further. I wonder if they plan to fall back to certain predetermined lines and there make a firm stand.

When I was in the H&S dayroom this evening listening to the news broadcast, Harvey Beaumont jokingly said to Pop Wanner that they should throw me out because I was in A Company. Pop said that they could throw A Company out but they weren't going to throw Cicero out. We have more fun than you could imagine over this continual kidding each other about the places we come from.

T/5 Solomon Gordon of the Special Services was broken in on running the movie projector today by Lt Yantis. Lt Yantis mentioned something about not being able to go up the Island this evening with the movie machine but I for once made no break to offer to go up for him. I ran it four times last week and that took a good chunk out of my available time. I have to rush like anything to get a chance to write to you on those nights and I wanted to salvage at least one small part of my week end by having tonight free to myself. As it was I believe both Gordon and Lt Yantis went up the Island. One of the primary reasons for getting Gordon in on this movie business is to take over in just such cases because when I had first talked to Lt Yantis about the machine I said I would like to run it but not every night of the week. He is rather busy lately and will not be able to take it even on the nights he is supposed to so Gordon will be able to help out in those situations. There is also another angle to this and that

Cpl Roman F. Klick 36620923
Co "A", 353rd Engr Regt
A.P.O. #502, c/o Postmaster
San Francisco, California
September 20, 1943

I have been getting out of going to the administration school being held in town every Tuesday and Friday. It is not that I do not want to go to them, it is just because someone had to run the machine between the two of us and it was elected that I remain behind while Lt Yantis went to school. Most of the boys think that I'm working this purposely but I told Lt Yantis that it didn't make a bit of difference to me which I did. In fact, when you go to town, you are back in camp sooner than you can get back from the other outfit.

Goldenberg was in the big tent this evening with his gang from Company B where they were planning their program for Thursday night. It will probably be okay because Goldie seems to have that showmanship born inside of him and he will know just what will and what will not go over. Incidentally, the other night he blew Chow Call and he is improving to such an extent that whenever he gets tired of his lst Sgts job he has it made to become a bugler.

I ran across the four golf balls I brought along from the States and if I get the time I think I will practice several of the tricks the visiting jugglers have shown me on the stage. They are all simple variations of the simple juggling I learned from Cliff but to the audience they appear to be much more difficult than they really are. Then too, I have learned from them how it is possible to inject a bit of showmanship and humor into the art of juggling.

The PX ran out of candy today but Jack Molyneaux had a few packages of those sugar wafers and he gave me one of them. That, however, is a low for me in the candy line. Sometimes I wonder if maybe the situation doesn't work out this way: when I have no candy to eat, I am not so thirsty and therefore do not drink much water; when I do have candy to eat, I take a couple paper cups of water after every bar. Could it be that it is the extra water and not the candy which is producing the benevolent reaction?

The time right now, according to my watch, is ten-twenty, but that means it is ten-ten. You see, I have not been changing it every time it gains five minutes and I guess that covers more than a week and a half, that gain of ten minutes. That means it is the best watch so far because the last one would stop and the one before that gained ten minutes a day.

The flashlight is the thing which turned out to be the Jonah. Last night I went to switch the thing on and I only got the faintest gleam which turned into a red spark and then it went out completely. Tomorrow for sure I am going to investigate and see what the trouble is. I know it isn't the batteries or the bulb because if I unscrew the cover and hold the lid in place with the switch on, it will give a strong light.

The entire company is going around congratulating Barney Frank and Larry Isaacson wishing them a Happy New Year. Some sort of Jewish holiday called the Rosh Hosanna which means New Year is coming up within a few weeks and it is printed in the DB. It seems that most of the Jewish fellows in the regiment are Russian Jews. Simanoff was surprised to hear in today's news broadcast the mention of the recapture of the town Priluki, the birthplace of his father thirty miles east of Kiev.

An odd sight is to see the brown skinned native women walk by the camp in white dresses. The dresses are the purest white you can imagine making the contrast between that and their dark skins very remarkable. The majority of them walk barefoot.

The mail may be taking a bit longer to go out nowadays for from what I hear tell, a letter such as this, written on Monday night, will be censored on Tuesday night and will first leave the regiment Thursday morning.

So-long,
/s/ Roman
Roman