Wilson College - World War II

252 (or is it 251? I've lost track. Last time I ate was yesterday morning, Saturday) Navy #3247 (Mil. Govt) FPO San Francisco Sunday 17 June 1:50 am Morning, Darling This is just a brief one to carry the promise of a longer letter this afternoon or evening. Last night Tel, taking Yamashina along, made a talk about MG on Tinian and the Japanese people as we see them here before about 150 army men (mostly enlisted). After speaking for half an hour he threw the floor open to questions, any of which might be directed at Yama. It was rather interesting, and quite noteworthy in that a quiet but marked air of hostility early in the evening gave way to good humored tolerance. I won't try to repeat the questions and answers now. I thought the Post article “These Japs Took to Conquest” by William L. Worden an excellent one - very well written, and authentic-sounding. “Siguchi-” the ‘man of consequence’ who had had a sake distillery - sounds like a dead ringer for our enterprising Sasaki, whom Charlie F. set up in business and who, when Charlie left, gave the latter a tremendous amount of basketware, etc. Just so Charlie would know how flattered to feel, Sasaki also gave him a voided bill for the whole business ($196.-) - “just so's you sh'd know what I'm thinking of you” as Charlie tells it. I love you, dear Warren

#277 Tuesday 17 June 1945 My dearest darling, For what it seems to me is the first time since I've been on Tinian, though it may not be, I've had no letters from you in two whole days. Again I'm reminded of how you must feel when the mail is running similarly in your direction. But as Steve (the postmaster) said, it'll be worth it if it means that another invasion is taking place; whether it does or not I don't know - it seems hardly time yet. The officer assigned to “observe” at the Education Office did turn out to be Lieut. Boyle, though CASA had nothing to do with that; the CO., Captain Dodds, assigns men as he pleases. Anyone of three men might have been an appropriate choice, except that one - Baird - seems a somewhat superior personality and was assigned to work with Henry Groehn, who will become Camp Commandant under a new setup to go [pg 2] into effect in a few days (Everything relating directly to the civilians except Public Works and Education will be under his dept; MacQuarrie is to be Asst. Camp Commander, Arthur Smith replaces him as Personnel Officer - but I have a feeling I've told you all that before). Boyle is from Boston, evidently from a fairly well-to-do family; after Harvard he took his M.A. in English Lit. at the University of London (having prepped in England), and before the war he had been teaching in a small school in England. His mother is French; he mentioned being president of the Tampa, Florida, chapter of the Alliance Francaise (just wintering in Tampa). Wednesday 7:30 am This morning I shall make the rounds of several CB units which are rumored to be leaving the island within anywhere from a month to 3 months to build up contacts through which we may pick up food for the school suiji, or discarded athletic equipment, or book, or any of [pg 3] a number of other things. The library is finally being built, much to our gratification - we were afraid progress on it might be held up because of the impending building program (an entire new camp, as planned months ago) for which lumber is now being received and laid out - we are still struggling with the problem of the auditorium roof; all the bomb boxes have been cut by the wielding torch, but trimming the sides (Which are to be the new roof's shingles) may farm out to be a very difficult job for the kids to do. It involves cutting a line along the layer of tin which holds the parts of the box together, bending the sides back and forth until they break off along the line. Wish me luck on the morning's scrounging -I love you, darling Warren