Yv / ft h b>iT WtF / f 3 y? « ** m~a~ g» Tf i.m^-^-r *CV KU 1 r " — i! am i|- irm_ t£V i^U Thursday, ct. 15, ^1 Another Letter From 'Mom' to Her Boys Serving US Thursday, Oct. 15, 1942. Dear Boys: With the midnight oil burning, a cup of coffee at my side and the typewriter in front of me, I think perhaps I can stay awake long enough to get my weekly let­ ter off to you. That is my greatest pleasure during the week, and my duty too. I like to feel that it is my duty for then I know it is some­ Letters to 'Mom' thing I really must do for you all, From Service Men and I love it. Letters this week from "Beany" 'Budge' Colby Provides Jones, who is at Camp Claiborne, La., Walter Marko now in Norfolk, Music 'Down Under' Va., Sammy Andersen, "Budge" Australia, August 27. Colby and Kirk Roe in Australia, Dear Mom: and Carl Weicht who is enroute to I certainly was glad to receive Camp Callan, Calif. In a note from your letter of July 10. I do hope Carl, he writes: "Did you ever im­ you will forgive me for not answer­ agine that I would finally get to ing your last letter but I will write your beloved adopted state of Cali­ a nice long letter now to make up fornia via a troop train? I certain­ for it. ly never thought I would land We've been having good luck in there, but Uncle Sam has been con­ receiving mail from back home, and siderate enough to assure me a let me tell you it's really fine to good climate for my basic train­ look forward to these letters. ing." Camp Callan is near San Yes, I received the issue of The Diego so I hope, Carl, that you will News of June 25 and enjoyed every enjoy it very much. California is a bit of it tremendously. In my last grand state. letter from Mom and Dad, they • said they are having The News sent Perhaps you would like to know to me so I will have that to look the boys in service who were lucky forward to also. enough to be chosen as the recipi­ I was glad4 to find in the column ents of The News as Christmas "With Service Men," where some gifts from two public-spirited and of the fellows are stationed and patriotic citizens, A. W. Bierman what they're doing. I'm looking for­ and M. D. Martin. Altho Mr. Mar­ ward to finding where some of them tin only comes here occasionally we are in future issues. still claim him as a resident. Mr. We've been playing quite a lot Bierman will have as "his" boys, for both our soldiers and the Aus­ Leonard Revier, Willard and Rob- tralian people. The people here . ert Truax, Gordon Blohm and "Wil­ really enjoy having a Yankee con­ lie" Robinson. The boys claimed by cert or dance band. We have quite Mr. Martin are Harold Martin, Pal­ different instrumentation in our mer Nelson, Otto Holta, Robert bands than they do down here. Most Svien and Robert Fremouw. The| all the concert bands are brass boys will each receive The News | bands, whereas we have our reed for a year. I can think of several instruments. As far as arrange- j other boys whom I am sure would j ments go, I think that ours are| enjoy having The News if a friend more modern than theirs in concert i or an, organization would like to music and way ahead in the dance send it to them. How 'bout it, boys? band music. I heard an Aussie • Army band and it was really won­ Without betraying a confidence derful, an all brass band, and of and feeling the soldier boy who course they had altogether different wrote to me within the last few style than a band of our type. weeks would not mind as long as About a month ago we received I do not give his name, I want to thirty new stock arrangements for give you his message to me, which our dance band and were we ever probably is felt by many of my boys glad to get them! The dance band and which certainly brought tears library was getting somewhat stale to my eyes. He wrote "Mom, just a to us and with all these new tunes, note for you. May God have mercy hit parade of June back home, on all of us and send us back home we're set for some time. "Don't Sit clean and unharmed. Only God will Under the Apple Tree" and "Tan­ ever know how I miss my darling gerine" are the favorites of our wife and mother. Please* say a fellows. You'd really be surprised prayer for us all." I want you all to how much the boys like to have know that I never go to bed but us play for them and we too like what my last prayers are for your to play as much as we possibly can. safety. Perhaps a few words writ­ We certainly were fortunate in ten by General John J. Pershing having our dance band chosen to may help you all. They are: play for buffet supper parties given "Hardship will be your lot, but in honor of two of our Generals. trust in GOD will be your com­ Both were really gala affairs with fort. high ranking officers and celebrities "Temptations will befall you, but present. your Saviour will give you At one of the parties they had strength. real "Yankee Hamburgers" as the main course. The General wanted "Let your valor as a soldier and to show the Aussie officers just your conduct as a man be an in­ what kind of hamburgers we have a L spiration to your comrades and in the States, and were they ever ax* honor to your Country." * delicious.»If you want a hamburge down here you may ask for that but • ten out of ten times you'll get I must tell you about Charlie "Lamburger." Stroebel, the eldest little son of Dr j I certainly was surprised here re­ Charles and "Bubs" Stroebel in! Rochester. A group of us were get- j cently in running into the fellow tine- a treat in a rlrnsr stAro tho I who played bass fiddle on Fuzz otner aay wnen tne waitress asueu with him in 1940. We're trying to | Charlie what he would have. He get him in our band as we could j looked up in a quizzical way and use him in both the concert and j said, "Oh, I sink I'll have a Sunday dance bands. afternoon." She asked him what You asked if I had seen Sammy flavor and he said "Chocklit." So, or Allen. No, I haven't seen them some time, just for fun, have a since we arrived here. It's so hard "Sunday afternoon" if you can get to get around asgLfi|ake connec­ one in the far-off countries. I know tions here. I'd' surely like to get in you can in the good old USA. touch with them and hope to very I'm w3§ting for letters from some soon. more of my boys. Hurry up for I You ought to see some of these look each day for them. Good Nite wallabies and kangaroo-rats. They and God Bless you. —MOM. are of the kangaroo famil/; but the midgets. Some of the fell#ws have them for pets and they're really Chaplain Sovik in cute. One of the boys in our outfit Solomon Islands can't do a thing hardly but what • The following letter from Ansgar tM'little fellow is in his way like P<>vik, Assistant Pastor of St. a little puppy dog. John's Lutheran church now serv­ Gee, but the time has surely been ing as chaplain with the U. S. flying by tho. It's not going to be Marines, was written at Guadal­ so long now before we'll 4iave our canal, Solomon Islands, Sept. 3: "I job finished and we'll be back wish that I could drop in on you home. I must close for this time folks in St. John's some Sunday and again I will say thanks loads morning and join you in worslMp. for your letter and please write I have at least two services here again soon. With love each Sunday—sometimes more. In —BUDGE. the field, Sunday gets to be like (Robert, son of Mr. and Mrs. A. every other day of the week—there Colby, plays first! trumpet in the is always so much work to be done. band.) But everything considered, attend­ ance has been good, I think. And I Walter Marko Now find that there are lots of men coming to me for Testaments. I Aviation Machinist Mate jl&ly wish that I had lots more of • Walter Marko who recently grad­ them. An§£;I know too, that they uated from the Navy Pier Training are being made use of, wftich is School, Chicago, receiving the* rat­ more important. For manyi:4his is ing of aviation machinist mate, 3rd the first experience with death class, is now stationed at Norfolk, coming close to home, and while I Virginia. "Waddy" writes to Mom: don't subscribe to a fear psy­ "Well, here I am in Norfolk, Va., chology as a basis for accepting and what a place! I have no defin­ Christianity, the serious thinking ite hut address yet but should have that fear sometimes generates is a before long.