644 4/30/1945 Jim Erwin to Sadie Erwin

Jim Erwin 497th Service Sqdn. 44th Service Group, APO 487, NY Monday, April 30, 1945

Sadie Erwin Box 44, Enumclaw, Washington

Dear Folks, Starting tomorrow, the group has new hours. We get up at 4:45, eat breakfast and have a work formation at 5:30. Have sandwiches at ten, through for the day at 1:30. Eat a light dinner at 2 o’clock and a good meal at 6:30. The days will be getting so hot soon that nobody will be able to work in the afternoon. The special service office is going to be open from 5:30 a.m. until 5 o’clock p.m. Two fellows will work from 5:30 a.m. until 1:30. Two others will have from eight until five. We will rotate each week. Anyway, I’m going to stay home from now on, write plenty of letters, go to bed early and let the Red Cross women alone. Can’t stay up until two in the morning and get up so early. I’m months behind on letter writing anyway. The two pair of shorts came okay. Thanks very much. The socks came too. A little book came from Stella that I enjoyed reading. Just received a hockey program and nice letter from Gladys. The program has a nice big picture of Cully on the front. Am sure glad to have it. The Indian merchants were selling their articles at rock bottom the other day. They heard that Germany had surrendered and didn’t want to get stuck with the stuff. If the Americans leave this theatre they won’t be able to sell their junk to any body. It’s all junk too. Lt. Dariotis knows one merchant in town that has made over a million dollars since the Yanks have been in India. The Indian government only taxes money that is put into the banks. The hair brush came about a week ago. Feels swell to use it on my head with this short haircut. Thanks. With the fellows having so much time off now, we might start another softball league for late in the day. Don’t remember if I told you or not but Bernice sent me a fountain pen. An Eversharp with a lifetime guarantee. Really is a lovely pen and like it very much. I also found a Ronson cigarette lighter. The best that’s made. Am sitting pretty good now. Something will probably happen to my watch now. We were paid today and I’m now out of debt. Even have enough left to run on. This coming month and rest following, I’m sending you fifty dollars. I’m also going to put twenty dollars in the soldier’s deposit here. If I can’t make that I can cut down on the twenty. We have ten or eleven months left overseas so should have a little saved up. Want to buy a convertible after the war. I also want to go to the University of Washington and not to Pullman. Will be so much closer to home. I never wanted to take out insurance but was forced to do so. I’m trying to cancel it now and having a bad time of it. I’ll let you know right away if it is done. You will be sent a copy of the papers. Hope you don’t mind. I can just about live on the six dollars and fifty cents that my insurance costs. I’m going to send you a list of food that I want. It’s going to be on a separate piece of paper. Get what you can, give it to Stella see what she can do and then maybe Helen and Gladys can add on. Okay? You probably won’t be able to get some of the stuff but would like to get some of it. If there are a lot of ration points on any of it, just skip it. Had the roll of film developed. Light shows a little from the crack in the camera but the pictures are okay. I’m going to get some more of them printed. If I can’t will send you the negatives and hope you can. I’m sending some pictures that the photo lab has taken of the group from time to time. Some of the pictures are from Florida. Am sending them home so you can save them for me. Had a wonderful USO troupe show last night. Best one we ever had. Have been getting quite a few lately. We’re having fried chicken for dinner this evening. Starting at noon, I’m on K.P. so guess I’ll get full today. Special Service has been getting some Saturday Evening Posts in. Please send the ones you have and then you won’t have to get any more. We read them in the tent then put them in the Day Room and the rest of the fellows get them. They sure get their value out of them. Two of us in the band are on K.P. this afternoon so were going to have the band over and practice in the mess hall. The Indians do all the work. Hope nobody ever asks me what I did in this war. It will be a little difficult to tell them what a rough war I fought. Our biggest battle is the monsoon season. It is compulsory to take one atabrine tablet a day. It is for the prevention of malaria. I take two a day just to make double sure. Anybody that gets malaria now will be court-martialed. I went with a girl in Florida and she is still writing. One of the old faithful. I write about one every two months to her. She still thinks she is in love. How do you like that. Even her mother writes to me. Is she ever beautiful too. Sure a shame I’m going to be a bachelor. Heard that Hitler has been killed. Germany is all finished but signing the papers. The war might be all over before our rotation comes around. Bye for now. Love, Jim