12 June 1945
Time 1112
Dear Kids,
Polly [Note: Dad's sister], I just received your letter yesterday. It seems to have been
wandering around the Pacific for a long, long time. The mail in general, though, is
starting to come through in pretty good season now.
Everything is going along pretty good now. We have some showers built so we can bathe
every day now. Our chow hall is about completed and while we are still eating field
rations for the most part, the fare isn't too bad. It hasn't rained so much lately so we
are slowly digging ourselves out of the mud. They have started building a ship's store
today and when that is built I expect that I will be back at the old job again. Guess I
will more or less have charge of the Ship's store in addition to keeping the records for
all the Ship's Store activities. It probably won't be too bad a job if we can only get
hold of some merchandise to sell. We brought a stock along with us on our last move but it
was badly pilfered on the way. I will have quite a little work at first determining the
losses and charging them off and getting back on a sound financial footing. Also we will
be using invasion currency entirely.
As you may have guessed, there are many orientals on this place. I haven't been out of
camp much so I haven't had much of a chance to observe them. Later on, my ship's store
activities should get me out and around a little more. Transportation is a tremendous
problem right now. When it rains, everything gets bogged down in the mud. I am trying out
a new typewriter we just unpacked and it doesn't seem to work just right. It misses a
letter once in a while and then too the letters you punch on the board don't always seem
to come up on the paper. I suppose a new typewriter is something you folks dream about
anymore. I am trying to wangle a new one for the store.
Of the military situation as it affects us, I'm afraid I can tell you nothing. We have
frequent air raid alerts and they always generally come at the time when you are through
work for the day and want to settle down to a nice quiet evening of reading and
relaxation. So far, the battalion has been very fortunate. One of the storekeepers was
accidentally shot through the arm by a forty-five automatic and was evacuated. We have a
very convenient cave about fifteen feet from the door of our tent which we can use if it
gets a little too hot. Well, there isn't much else that I can tell you. I have been doing
all sorts of jobs around the
warehouse from digging holes in the ground to stevedoring. Just now got through unloading
a truck load of tents and what I mean, they are mean to handle. All our cherry-pickers and
cranes are busy on other jobs. So we get a detail of men and wrassle the big stuff around
as best we can.
I shouldn't wonder but what I might see Bill out here some day {Note: Dad's brother Bill
Taake]. If he comes, I think he will probably be among the first to come out here from
Europe. He will find conditions considerably different from what he is accustomed to.
Well, we are digging a place to lay a floor for an addition to our warehouse and I expect
maybe I better help a little. Our warehouse is a native building which we have fixed up
and we are now adding lean-tos to it.
So long and the best of everything to all of you.
Love
Fred
Fred J. Taake, Sk 2/c