Saipan, M.I.
Dear Mom, Dad and All,
As you can see from the heading on this letter,
I've finally started on that 8,750 mile long trip home. I arrived
here by C47 plane yesterday and am living in a pyramid tent in a grove
of pine trees overlooking the blue Pacific. I expect to be here anywhere
from two weeks to a month waiting for boat transportation. At the
moment there are 16,000 enlisted men and about 1,800 officers here in this
Western Pacific Base Command and Casual Section awaiting transportation
and I am somewhere near the bottom of the list. I will be very lucky,
in view of this, if I am home for Christmas, but I sure hope I make it.
Although this spot is very pretty, the climate its quite different to Tinian
and it has rained off and on about fifty per cent of the time. The
mud is terrific and I don't mean maybe. The quarters we are occupying
are those of the old Sixth Marine Division. The tents have screened
sides and wood floors and aren't too bad. We are lulled to sleep
by the pounding of the surf on the rocks about two hundred feet below the
bluff we set on. I have my camera and some film with me, so if the
sun ever happens to shine I will try and get a few pictures of it.
Saipan is rugged and mountainous somewhat similar to the rocky bluffs around
Taylors Falls. The harbor is filled with ships and the docks are
lined with them unloading supplies. There are thousands of tons of
boxes and materiel piled along the waterfront. It is all run by the
Navy and in a few weeks the Army will be gone completely from the island,
in fact there isn't much of it left here now except the casual camp and
a few B29's and personnel of the 73rd Bomb. Wing.
Love,
Bob
23 Oct 1945
We have an officer's club of sorts where we can get
cold cokes in the afternoon and one bottle of beer a day after 6:00 PM.
There is a PX for candy and toilet articles and a mess hall much too small
for the number of men who must eat there. The food isn't bad at all.
Tonight we had mashed dehydrated potatoes, green beans, stewed beef, bread
& jam, cheese, sliced pineapple and chocolate ice cream. Coffee,
too, of course. There is a movie, which is on now. I
don't know what's playing and that's about all the entertainment there
is, other than card playing. There are no duties to perform, except
that of duty officer which we may get once while we're here. Outside
of doing your own laundry there's nothing to do but loaf.
The place is rampant with rumors of ships coming and going,
but none are reilable. Around 2,000 left last week, and they are
coming in faster than they leave so far. There are three aircraft
carriers in today so that may mean action soon for those near the top,
but I'm afraid I've got quite a wait.
I'm going back over to Tinian tomorrow if I can get there
and pick up a few things I left behind which will make life a little more
comfortable, namely an air mattress, a pair of overshoes, a pillow, and
a few similar items.
I told Eve I'd try to send her a cable when I go aboard
ship so she can let you know. There are no facilities out here.
This camp is pretty much isolated from the rest of the island activities,
but I think the Red Cross will see that it gets sent for me.
There are no provisions for receiving or distributing
mail here so we must use our home address as a return address on our mail
and ask people not to write us here. I will pick up any mail there
is on Tinian when, and if, I can get back there, but we are 15 miles from
the air field here and it takes some thumbing to make it. Then you've
got to thumb a ride on a plane after you get there.
So I'll just be sitting and waiting mostly until my ship
comes in and I get on my way. It will take from two to three weeks
to get to Frisco or Seattle depending on how fast a ship I get on.
I'll let you hear from me when I get there.
Until then, I guess I've covered the situation here pretty
well, so I'll sign off and go get my beer ration. It's hotter'n hell
here in the tent, temperature about 85, humidity about 90% and a cold beer
will go right well. For tonight, then, I'll say goodnight and my
regards to you all.