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

The time is fifteen minutes until ten o'clock in the evening and this is my first letter of the day to you. Today was the Bulldozer distribution day with a Home Edition being in the offing. It is now in the mails to both you and to Pat. Personally, I am almost ashamed to read that paper or send it home lately for the Home Edition isn't anything that the people at home are interested in, in my opinion. First of all, the paper is for the entire Engineer Group and therefore, only a small section is donated to the one unit and then units like ours are divided into companies which leaves a rather small space for an individual company. Yet, I was satisfied with the H&S contribution for my reports for Dock Haley did fill up several paragraphs.

We just came back from the show at the Navy this evening for the show in our area was "Buck Benny Rides Again" which all of us have seen at least once or more on previous occasions. The picture which we went to see was okay and worth the extra effort it took to go down to the other movie area. "Song of Russia" with Robert Taylor and Susan Peters was quite an unusual picture in the fact that there was no unhappy ending to it but rather that there was a continuous stretch of happiness there for both Bob Taylor and Sue Peters. There were a few situations which might have developed in tragic instances but did not and at the end of the picture both of them have returned from the front lines of Russia to the symphonic orchestra stages in America.

No mail was received today by yours truly in the afternoon but the morning mail was on the okay side. Aunty Florence's birthday card arrived today and in case I don't get the opportunity to send her a letter within the next few days, please thank her for me today. Also, I received a birthday card from the Michalaks with a brand new, crisp $2 bill in it. That, I appreciated very much for it immediately reduced my debt to Lewis from $5 to $3 and, although I have a lot of nerve for thinking this way, you never know but that before the next week is out, I'll have paid Lewis back the $5 I borrowed so that I could purchase that Schaeffer's pen.

Two of the V-mails were from you dated the 13th and the 14th of July. Gee whiz, I hope that you really didn't hurt yourself by falling down. How do you imagine to fall down on the sidewalks in the summer time? (Manage to is what I mean). I remember that I never did get such a scare as the time when we were buying my loafer coat in Jack's men's store, you fell down off of that little hidden step they had in the back part of the place.

By the way, before I go any further into this letter, I want to tell you about last night. Jack came into the office and began talking to me. We sat from about nine o'clock or whatever time it was that he came in and talked until way past twelve o'clock. Here I had finished my letter writing and was all set to go to bed and catch up on some lost sleep and I only ended up by losing more sleep. Yet, Jack sure had some stories to tell and he tells everything in an entertaining style so that one never gets tired of listening to him. But now he walked into the office again and for twenty minutes it looked as if we were going to get started all over again until I kept turning towards my letter and trying not to continue. That is one of the easiest things in the world to do and that is to get involved in a conversation that runs away with itself. Jack was telling me about his sister-in-law Rita of whom he hadn't mentioned before and that led to from the time he met his wife until the time he became married to her. Jack and I know each others families so well by this time that I think we could go to each others home towns and enter into all the family gossip as if we were on the inside line all the time.

This morning I completed the first part of my Morning Report Check system and now I am going to work on a system for standardizing all Morning Report Procedures although I'm going to run into a bit of trouble from different quarters in that respect for the Army Regulations do not have such hard and fast rules concerning the procedures and leave quite a good deal of it up to the discretion of the men in charge of those procedures.

At one o'clock today all the rifles in the company were inspected and gigged. I couldn't figure out what my rifle was gigged for but evidently the oil had dried from a certain part of it and a rust spot no bigger than the size of two pin heads had formed in a dark corner of the chamber.

At three-thirty we had our Orientation class and didn't learn anything there which we hadn't learned before for ourselves over the radio. At four-thirty or thereabouts, we went out to stand Retreat and also for another inspection. The inspection was a quickie and the Lt. didn't even take my rifle but just looked over my uniform and general appearance and then checked my bayonet. However, just as the companies were getting set for the Retreat, the rain came down in torrents and the Battalion dismissed their formations.

Immediately I came into our barracks, the first man, and changed completely in less time than it takes to tell about it. After I had changed, the word came around that the formation was to be held anyway in spite of the rain and that we were to fall out with raincoats. What was I to do? Here I was in my one-piece fatigue suit and the fellows were putting on their raincoats to go back out again. Here is what I did do --- it was unauthorized and most likely incorrect yet I did and was able to stand the formation. I slipped on an old pair of khaki pants right over the fatigues, put on my raincoat and went out. The only part of my uniform that was visible was the legs on the khaki pants since the raincoats are buttoned up around the collar. It doesn't pay to make a habit of such tactics but this was an emergency. Of course, it was simple being the first one in the chow line after the formation was over since all I had to do to get ready was to slip off the khaki pants and get going to the mess hall.

Tomorrow morning we are having another inspection and then Saturday next is going to be a real extra special one so they say. Personally, I've reached the point where I can't work up a fervor over an inspection. I clean up my articles, cot, gun etcetera to the best of my ability every day so I see no reason for doing anything more on an inspection for there shouldn't have to be anything extra to clean.

Somebody said they heard that Roosevelt, in his acceptance speech, said that everyone should be home again within four years. If Dewey makes a better offer like three years, he will get my vote. Lowest man wins.

So-long,   /s/ Roman   Roman