Sgt Roman F. Klick 36620923
HS 1393 Engr APO 709
c/o PM SF Cal
10 July 1944

It seems that we just aren't the type of people or letter-writers to let things stand at one letter every so often. Here I just answered you a few days ago and had enough on my mind to answer or rather write another one last night. However, I was tired and didn't write, yet this morning at work I received two V-mails from you and now I must write or fall behind.

What I wanted to tell you about is the driving we did this Sunday, yesterday, from one end of the island and then back to our outfit, then all over creation and down to the other end of the island. I was semi-officially in charge of the party and also the driver since it just happened that way although it wasn't an officially organized recreational trip. We just thought up the idea of asking the Adjutant for his jeep Sunday and, as it happened, he said "Okay".

Compared to civilian cars, the jeeps are veritable power houses with their four-wheel drive and low transmission. We climbed steep hills, road straight thru rivers and over the thick soft beach without the car batting a piston. Perhaps I told you this before but back there in New Caledonia we didn't have so many jeeps and the type of car which we could get and most often did get was a weapons (personnel) carrier which ranges up into the ¾-ton and the 1½-ton class. Therefore, I still get a kick out of the way we can knock around in these small ¼-ton cars.

There is also a difference in driving conditions between a civilian car back home and a GI car overseas. For one thing, after a full day behind the wheel or even in the passenger seats, the sitting and bouncing become rather tiresome to that part of the anatomy which is sitting (and not on upholstered seats). Another thing is that the roads in this part of the world are nothing like our city streets and state highways for they are meant to last the duration of the war and not forever. Of course, in time one gets used to that. Still one more thing and that is the speed limit (over-all) of twenty-five miles an hour keeps a person on the alert at all times for speeding hereabouts is nothing like back home. There, if you get caught, so what, you pay a fine and go home. Here it is a different story for you not only have your license rescinded but you get the black mark of a Courts-Martial to boot plus losing whatever rating you have. Quite a few teeth in the law out here, eh?

Now to answer your letters received today. As for sending anything, I just can't think up anymore things which I may need. I told Aunty Clara just what I could use and would like to have and it really wasn't much for there are very few things we do need. Some of the most useful things to me, she has already sent like an egg-beater, a bowl, a fruit juice can opener and several canned good

The Chicago Stadium could cool itself off (maybe) by freezing the rink and then building a platform for the convention over it. That way the air passing under the platform (pushed by fans) would circulate throughout the Stadium and effectively cool it off. What is surprising to me, though, is that they manage to keep it do warm in the winter time during the hockey season.

On the baseball side of the picture, I was glad to see Orville Grove nominated as one of the American League pitchers in the All-Star game this year and was surprised to see Phil Caveretta make it for I have begun to consider him as an old-timer standby in the game. He has been with the Cubs for quite some time now, eh?

Here we are down to the bottom so good weather, good collecting and good health.

So-long,   Roman