1944 december 20

Dec 20, 1944

Wednesday 1900

My Dearest Katherine -

Because I was a bad boy last nite I decided I’d better slip you a quick word tonite. I am guilty of wasting my time in a movie again, last nite. The show was “30 seconds over Tokyo” and I thot it would be good. I was disappointed! Another thing, we had to move last nite so they can paint our barracks. We moved into a brand new barracks, but it hasn’t the regular sized lockers and as a result we are practically camping out. We hoped they wouldn’t move us until after the holidays, but here we are. Next week we will move back to our newly paints Bks, to move again as son as they can arrange to still other bks because of the change that was recently made in our school day. Sounds complicated and is so I won’t try to explain further at this time.

Your pkg arrived yesterday as well as one from our folks. Missinterpereting your letter I busted into the pkg. It is well that I did, too, because the box was so big. Otherwise it would have to stand outside the dinky locker I have here in this bldg. I am sorry to say that the pkg of slippers was busted open so that I could see what it was so there was no point in saving it till Xmas - now, was there? So I finished opening it and the slippers are just what I wanted. How did you know? You needn’t be concerned about their being brown because that is perfectly oK. Do you suppose Brad & Elaine would mind if I ate their popcorn balls before Xmas. I just couldn’t resist them, so ate one yesterday and one today. They were very good my darling. I am very pleased with you for all the trouble you went to to get the stuff together and mail it. I love you for it. Of course I peeked into the chocolates & snitched one but I will save the rest until Monday. The cake too will be saved. I have eaten a lot of peanuts but expect the rest to last quite a while. The other pkgs fm Karen & Farrell will also wait for the proper day. I’ll bet you are jealous of my opportunity to open pkgs ahead of time. I saved your folks pkg until tonite when my resistance weakened. It contained 2 boxes of Mildred’s cookies. One box was a fruit filled variety the other was mixed. I will not promise to save them.

It makes me sad to hear your reaction to my letter of the 5th. When I wrote it I had fears of improperly conveying what I felt in the exact light of understanding. Oh, how true it is that I miss you and need you. And that continues to be so, more and more. You seem to think that I am forgetting your necessity to me in an adventurous spirit of desire to travel into the dangers of war. Darling, I must have messed up my words that day, to give you that idea. I thot I just tried to give an idea of what possibilities are along with my preferences. Of course it is all supposition because my ideas are based merely on the things I have heard second-handed. And as I have said, it is said that the graduates usually get their choice. Now, if I can explain my objections to instructing it should clear up my choice of desired service. Instructing would give me exactly the same surroundings I have seen during my entire navy career and the association with this part of the navy which seem sto have as its sole purpose, lowering morale. Perhaps that doesn’t tell you a thing, but men I have talked to from the service navy say it is entirely different and they treat men like men. Perhaps that still doesn’t tell you anything, but there is another angle. After spending a solid year (by the time I graduate) in an inactive state (inactive in the sense of having idle hands), I feel an intense need of getting my hands busy. That could be accomplished by getting out there someplace & working on the gear I have studied, but it wouldn’t have to be abroad necessarily. It could very well be done at a continental base. You understand, my dear, that any sea voyage I should undertake would be only for the purpose of transporting me to a land base someplace because the majority of our work is done at bases only. I understand there is one actual flying job, which is on a volunteer basis because of its danger. Then there are a few jobs on ships which carry planes, including carriers. All of the rest are at air bases on land.

Considering my desire to have you with me, there probably aren’t a lot of places where that would be practical. I well know the hardship it would cause you & would hesitate for that reason alone, as much as I need you. So, darling, please don’t miss-understand me. To be located where I would have you with me would be wonderful and don’t think for a minute that I won’t be on the look-out for possibilities. There is another point. I wouldn’t want to makeup my mind and tell you with any degree of certainty in my voice that sure I would get a land base on the west coast where I could have you with me - then be disappointed!

By the time I get thru with this school, conditions might be entirely different.

My sweetheart, I am so proud of the way you are taking care of things at home by being so ambitious and original with your various ideas for presents & cards and of the way you are handling those things together with the enormous job of the ordinary household  and babies. I hope you realize my pride & believe it.

I should have written you last nite. Perhaps I can write again tomorrow nite. It will be our duty day & I will be restricted to bks. My section also has duty the 23rd & 24th. No school Monday!

I love you, my darling, and wish that I could be home to give you a nice big Xmas kiss or so.

Also, Karen, Farrell, Elaine & Brad. I love youse,

Rex