631 10/29/1944 Jim Erwin to Sadie Erwin

Jim Erwin 497th Service Sqdn. 44th Service Group, APO 487, NY Sunday, October 29, 1944

Sadie Erwin Box 44, Enumclaw, Washington

Dear Folks, Have three long letters of yours to answer so had better get started. All of them made very fast time. Cliff and I were on K.P. today. The wogs do all the work so was just like a day of rest. I’m glad you enjoyed the party and like the new Mrs. Smith. Next day Two fellows came over so the four of us played bridge. We played every day at the first field but this is the first time since. I was on the losing side but had a lot of fun. The news in the Pacific is really good. Our theatre is now just India – Burma. China is one by itself. Perhaps the getting of the Japs out of China after the war will be left up to the Chinese. Hope so. That will mean a quicker trip home. Our regular day off was Saturday but there were inspectors all over the field so we worked. Yes, your package with the handkerchiefs should be coming soon. They have been on the way a long time. I had intended on having money taken out of my pay each month from the orderly room but never signed up for it. Cliff and I have been saving our money for these furloughs that are coming up so haven’t sent any home. Last weekend I bought some things for a girl and spent a little. Don’t know when furloughs are going to open up so am going to send one hundred home after getting paid tomorrow. The Luby girl has really gone to the dogs. Did she ever have the baby that was on the way? A letter finally came from Shirlee. Very sweet one and apologized for not writing more often. It’s the first letter from her this month. I haven’t written for about three weeks and am not going to start in again. If she can’t find time to write once a week, she isn’t worth thinking about. She and her girlfriend have an apartment by themselves now and that doesn’t appeal to me either. The funny papers have really made swell time. The package with the political speeches came and the package with the Sunday and daily funnies arrived. Both packages came in less than two weeks. I really enjoyed the daily papers and would like to have them continued. We have swell music on the radio each night. The movies are much better now so enjoy them much more. The movies don’t cost us a cent. The theatre is just a bunch of beams with a roof on it. The sides are all open. The seats are benches. The theatre is cleared before a guy can count to twenty. Everybody piles out through the sides. Chuck’s last name is L_______. He is twenty-one and hails from Detroit. The people in India are poor all over. Not just in parts. They’re certainly a sorry bunch of people. There is absolutely no incentive to get ahead. Because of their caste system, they will never rise higher than the caste they’re born in. I asked an Indian that was educated and holding down a good job what the poor man would get out of India’s independence from the crown. He said nothing. They would stay where they were and continue to do the hard work and barely make enough to exist. That was their place in the world and would remain there. If they were allowed an education, ideas might be formed and that wouldn’t work out. Wonder who Cliff has on the string for the store. Didn’t Jess Black offer him enough? Marvin will be happy to receive the gum. It will probably take months for him to get the package though. Did Kenny join the Marines too? If he did will like that better than the Army. Who wouldn’t? The town has had poor teams ever since Chuck Smith left. Maybe the boys are just getting smaller. After the war, things should change. A lot of the senior boys joined the service. The admission was high enough even for a good game. There is another new coach this year I think. Get film whenever you can. I’ll try to get what’s possible too. You can send my camera and keep yours. Mine is smaller and will be easier to carry around. Any camera at all will be swell though. The post office is certainly touchy about you folks at home sending things. I would really like to have the Post so will ask for it in each letter. Think it would be nice for you to send the things in the package near Christmas time. Hope everyone will like what I sent them. You keep the newspapers. The girls wouldn’t want them anyway. Did you find the pictures that were inside the paper? Johnny Ulman really helped you out of a spot by fixing your tooth in such a short notice. Hope he took enough time to do a good job. We had a dental inspection recently and my teeth were all okay. Sure hate to have teeth fixed. Bob’s wife does look nice. Wonder if they will live in Washington or stay in California? Get Bob’s address for me and I’ll write to him. If Harold went bird hunting, he probably got a couple birds. He usually comes back with something. The food rationing doesn’t sound so bad now that nearly all the meats are point free. Guess everybody likes pork too well to lift the bar on that. I sure love it. If you could only get more gas now things would look pretty good. Eight gallons a month is very bad. We heard that this theatre has an eighteen month rotation system. If we stay here, it will mean only a year more. That would be ok by me. I would not doubt that we will end up somewhere in the Pacific though. Cliff thinks we’ll be around the Philippines within six months. That would be better than this too. William was fortunate in being sent to the Walla Walla Air Base. The class ahead of me at school was sent there and thought that perhaps we would too. It is plenty close to home. Maybe William won’t have to return overseas. That is the big worry of the fellows returning now. If the one year law is in effect they won’t have to worry about it for awhile. The Red Cross is on the field but still a long way from where we are. The distance to there is only a little part of this field. Read your letter over and see that it is Warren that is in Walla Walla. The paper said that he received his wings and commission. Never thought that the army would even take him the way his hand was. The other squadron took off Sunday and we are off today. A cool breeze is blowing and is a beautiful day. A bunch of us played volleyball all morning. Imagine Cully has signed a contract by now. The Hawks certainly wouldn’t let him go. Glad said Wally was home and they would be happy to see him. Wally certainly has been fortunate to stay in the States all this time. He probably won’t ever leave it. Dad is sure kept busy with the wood. Just gets it piled up and a couple more loads arrive. They should be all through for awhile now. Glad to hear Jean B____ is to attend the U. of W. Maybe she will take up some music courses and continue with her violin. Has she gotten over her husband’s death pretty well? It’s swell that Grandma has a place to stay. Aunt Ruth is really nice. They make company for each other. After the war we’ll have to visit all the relatives back there. Use the blankets every night now. The weather has finally cooled off. In a few months it will be hot again. The days are still just the same though – hot. The first field we were at, the wogs did the laundry by beating the dirt out on stones, etc. They use boards here. If the clothes weren’t of good material, wouldn’t last any time at all. Haven’t heard from Jack in some time now. Perhaps he has gone to sea. Should hear either from him or Gert soon. Paul Morgan is probably in California by now. He wrote recently that he had left Seattle for Astoria and was leaving the next day. Every time Elizabeth writes, she has a new beau. She must be the same cute girl. Probably plenty conceited too. She use to be. Will close again for now and will write again soon. P.S. Please send the Saturday Evening Post. With love, Jim