Monday · Dec. 28, 1942
Hitting the jackpot.
Letters, packages, and a ship full of PX supplies.
Dec. 28, 1942 · 11 P.M.
My Darling Wife
I have been hitting the jack pot and I won’t have time to answer your letters tonight. Your letters of Oct 17, 20, Nov 2, 13, 4—and Oct 15 came in—including the one with power of attorney. Ditty’s letter of, a letter from Bert Rolfe of Nov 2, a letter from Dad of Oct 23, letters from Kitty of Oct 26, Nov 4 a carton of cigarettes from Ditty, a pair of slippers from Grandmother, a couple of copies of the Los Angeles News, a legal newspaper, copies of the Newspress, 2 letters from the Infantry Journal. Hundreds of bags of packages are being sorted for distribution and I should get some. Whoopee. I’m going to answer all the letters as soon as I can.
Oh yes—a letter from Capt Hudson Liddington.
In the midst of all this, we hit the jackpot in another way. I found a ship with lots of P-X supplies and proceeded to buy $2600.00 worth—cigs 6¢ candy …
… gum, cigars, writing paper, tooth brushes razor blades, [stocks?] all kinds of face and laundry soap, Clorox, tooth paste, shoe polish. 10,000 bags of P/Nuts, cashew nuts, Listerine mouth wash, shaving brushes etc. The men can hardly believe it. They haven’t had a break like this since they left the states. I worked on it till late last night, all day today—and probably will try to get another $1000.— worth tomorrow. Hot man
With packages and purchases we will all be fixed up swell.
I met some M.P.s today—L.A. cops, Santa Barbara sheriff deputy, and they did have a Glendale cop. I’m trying to find out his name.
I’m overwhelmed with my mail. However while I was getting mine, three of the officers were getting 50 letters or more each and quite a few packages. Maybe …
… I’ll get ahead on the next load
Honey, you’re a darling sweet wife. The letters you did send were wonderful and I know from reading them that we’re going to be the happiest most loving couple in Glendale when I get back home again.—And from what you write about Linda, I have a princess beyond compare. I wish I could see her in one of her capers. She apparently has my spirit & a temper—mother can compare—but I’m not a total loss am I? I wish I could hug you both right now.
I hope you’re feeling better honey and taking pills or something to build you up. I wish you were snuggling in bed with me now—it’s real cold and my bed roll is nice and snug. I would really give you the works—and you wouldn’t want a kiss or hug for a long time after I got through with you—
Must get some sleep—see you in my dreams
All my love
Your John
About this letter
Mail from October and November floods in, including letters from his sister and his father, and John spends two days buying supplies for the battalion.
THE PX RUNCigarettes at 6¢, candy, gum, cigars, soap, Clorox, shoe polish, Listerine and 10,000 bags of peanuts.
READING CLOSELY
“The men can hardly believe it. They haven’t had a break like this since they left the states.” John also ran the enlisted men’s clubs, buying ship stores off Liberty ships in the harbor.
He left the date blank in “Ditty’s letter of.”
Several of the M.P.s had been policemen in Southern California.
The Big Picture
A hard Christmas
On Christmas Eve, Admiral Darlan was shot dead in Algiers by a Frenchman opposed to Vichy. Darlan had made the deal that brought French forces over to the Allies. On Dec. 27, Gen. Henri Giraud was named to replace him.
The same day Darlan died, Eisenhower called off the attack on Tunis. On Christmas Day the Germans retook Longstop Hill. Mud would stop any new attack in the north for about two months.
The race for Tunis was lost. But Hitler was now sending troops and planes to Tunisia that he needed elsewhere.
Where he was
Near Oran, Algeria, now on the 3rd Battalion staff as intelligence officer (S-2). The 1st Division was still training around Oran while British, American and French troops held a line in the hills west of Tunis, more than 500 miles to the east.
In this letter. In 2003 he remembered this job: he “had to meet every Liberty ship that tied up at the quay and purchase cigarettes, candy, peanuts, and other ship stores” for the men’s clubs, sold at cost. “The clubs were a great success.”