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- January 4, 1944 envelope
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- January 4, 1944, p. 1
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- January 4, 1944, p. 2
Letter transcription:
Lieut. R.S. Yegerlehner USNR
USN Base Hosp. #4 Navy 133
F.P.O. San Francisco Calif.
Jan. 4, 1944
Dear Mother,
There was no mail today but I didn’t hardly expect any since those came yesterday. We will have to wait now for several days again I suppose.
I could see nothing bad about D.’s mother in the picture where she was holding him on the Johnson’s front porch. You said you were trying to get him to hold still and yours wasn’t so good.
The order came thru that we can now say we are stationed somewhere in New Zealand – so here I am. That is as much as we can say. It really is a pretty country and young with respect to ours in the length of time it has been settled. Natives here often ask what we knew of or thought of their country before the war. I just don’t know what I did think and of course now I’m prejudiced and no use asking you, for you have a different idea now than you had before I know. In some ways I think the people here are about like ours were 50-60 years ago. There is no hurry. The trains stop ever so often
[page 2] for 20-30 minutes and everyone gets off for a cup of tea. Imagine going on a day’s trip in the U.S. and stopping 3-4 times while all left the train and had a cup of tea and a few cakes. I’m still not a converted tea drinker, and don’t ask anyone of them to drink Ice tea. That is simply unthinkable.
The pictures – You said those boys looked English – They certainly are. To hear them talk is just like listening to some bloke over the radio direct from England. It doesn’t sound so funny coming from older people but when a kid comes out with that talk it seems as if they are putting on the dog. I think
I think Bob & I were the only Americans those boys had ever seen or at least talked to and were they thrilled? I suppose our kids would be the same. They have a daughter about 14 and of course we had to autograph her book. I mean write our names in those books girls about that age carry around with them.
Well, Maybe I can write more about the natives next time –
Love Daddy
©2015 copyright owned and transcribed by Deborah Sweeney
Post originally found: https://genealogylady.net/2015/09/19/new-zealand-roscoe/
Genealogy Lady 
This is priceless: “The trains stop ever so often for 20-30 minutes and everyone gets off for a cup of tea. Imagine going on a day’s trip in the U.S. and stopping 3-4 times while all left the train and had a cup of tea and a few cakes. I’m still not a converted tea drinker, and don’t ask anyone of them to drink Ice tea. That is simply unthinkable.” Little gems like this that popup here and there make these letters SO worthwhile. 🙂
“They have a daughter about 14 and of course we had to autograph her book. I mean write our names in those books girls about that age carry around with them.”
Maybe that book survives somewhere in an old desk or attic. Sigh.