736 6/9/1944 Jim Erwin to Stella Benson

Jim Erwin 497th Service Sqdn. 44th Service Group, APO 487, NY Friday, June 09, 1944

Stella Benson 1204 Lafromboise St., Enumclaw, Washington

Dear Stella and Harold, Has really been some time since I've written to you. Think it's going to start raining pretty quick. It sure is hot so hope it does. I'm drinking a bottle of Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer. It's plenty warm but tastes good anyway. Everybody gets one case a month. This country is hot, stinks and I'm getting sick of these natives. Everyone is a beggar and they hang on you all the time. We are sure having a soft time of it for a while. If we want to eat breakfast we get up if not, just stay in bed. While eating breakfast our native bearer cleans the place up and makes the beds. After chow a dozen of us play three games of volley ball, take a shower and go back to bed until dinner. After dinner we write or play cards. There is usually a soft ball game after dinner and after that, trucks take us to the open air theater on the field. How could anyone have it any easier. There is a pretty fair sized town about an hour's drive away and can go in there any time any day. The place stinks but has a few good points about it. They have a couple places to get chicken and steak dinners. A bar to get cold drinks and it's possible to get ice cream. Most of the women are jet black, filthy, wear few clothes and actually have five types of venereal diseases. There are a few English women and quite a few Anglo-Saxon girls. The latter claim to be English and in most cases are attractive, probably have only 3 types of V.D. and are just a high Indian class. I'm through with women for the duration, that's for certain. Indian mothers open their houses to their little girls 12 to 15 yrs old and collect the money. The prices run from 2 rupees to 5. American money -- $.60 to $1.50. Good thing, huh. They don't care what they do to make money. The low class natives use the streets for toilets. Really smells good. There are about ten of us that have our bunks on the front porch. It's cooler out here. Our no. 1 boy just came around to fix our beds and put our mosquitoe nets down. He shines our shoes every morning throughout the week. Every man pays him 1 rupee a week ($.30) The crazy natives are having a parade over in the village. They are beating on drums and carrying some guy up to their temple. They have been praying for rain for about five days now. It goes on day and night. We went over to watch them the other night. Guess they didn't like it as they kicked us out. We should move out soon. Think we know about where it is and it should be cooler. This morning the native kids had an elephant and some of the fellows had a ride. Early in the morning monkeys hang around the mess hall for a hand out. While on the train, a native at a station had a snake and a mongoose. For so many rupees he would let these fight. It's possible to see almost anything. The camp is nice here and the food's good so isn't so bad. It certainly is an experience. Take good care of yourselves and family and write when you can. Bye for now, Jim