January 26, 1945 Friday

Dear One,

                There’s not much doing just having a little “sack time.” It’s raining so they haven’t sent any working party’s out.  Last night Herb and I went ashore on liberty-the last time we’ll be in Jax.  I guess but I don’t harbor any regrets to speak of.

                I had a slab of leather put on my shoes and we had a banana split and saw a show, “Meet Me in St. Louis” (you ought to do that little thing) with Judy Garland.  You’d like it a lot more than I.  It was more of a girl’s picture.  We got back about 12 and that’s that.

                We got the work on our draft-a bit more anyway.  We’re supposed to leave for St. Louis on Saturday-tomorrow.  Then I found out some more about what our work will be like and our future.  I won’t go into that though because I want to see how true it is before I say anything.

                We get our special pay this morning so that’s a good sing that we’re going to move, besides we’ve been put on restriction.  No one is allowed off the Base so that means too that we’ll ship Saturday.

                About the familiar ensign, I’m glad you confide or discuss such things with me.  That’s one thing that never troubles me because I know you can take care of yourself.  That’s one of the traits I’ve admired you for and entrusted you with.  Those of virtue, chastity, or the right type of standards.  We’ll agree that a person’s thoughts and usually their actions can be foreseen by their talk or in other words a smutty tongue betrays a smutty heart.  I’m confident you’ll keep sailing on the right course.  Just watch these sailors and soldiers and steer clear of those cocky loose living officers.

                Sometime I’ll see that show, “The Very Thought of You,” but it was a bad deal to have lost the game with the U.  You be sure to send those snaps after awhile.  If I don’t forget, I’ll enclose the pictures Herb and I took at St. Augustine.  It was one of the luckiest breaks I’ve had for quite awhile.  Remember I told you we lost them-three buck’s worth of snaps and negatives.  They were lost for near a month and finally someone turned them in at the U.S.O. just the other night.  They’re not as good as the others I sent.

                Boy I’m glad for you that things are on the sunny side there.  Music going well-that is quite the change of a life, of circulation.  I’ve been able to get out on a weekend but most of the time it’s been palling with Herb or Lou or Jim or just by myself.  So you can see it’s you who is going to have to be tolerant and understanding if and when I ever get home.  So you see cap’n when we’re together and I appear strange, just shake me and I’ll be all right.    

                Well young-un, there’s not much more to say now except that laying around here waiting for our orders I have a lot of free time and just lay on my sack (like most of the boys) and put  a pillow over my face to keep the light out of my eyes and I can see you much plainer that way too.  The clipping is what some of the boys have been singing here.  All my love, Harriet.  Paul