Letter transcription:

Oct. 26, 1942

Dear Mother,

As I stated last night it would either be raining or clear and I was right it was raining. This is the 4^th straight day and the mud doesn’t get any more shallow and of course it’s just as slick. You can imagine how damp things are and how dirty ones clothes get because we don’t change very often. It’s just a matter of slopping around and making the best of it. No, we didn’t get any more mail but I can’t complain because I’ve gotten more than my share in comparison with some of the others.

Some more of my friends are being transferred and it wouldn’t surprise me much if I got changed although it wouldn’t be so bad. The worst part is leaving friends with whom one has been associated for some months now, but only a few months before we didn’t know these fellows so I suppose we can make new friends all over again. If one stays in the stame same place too long he gets in a rut and that’s easy here with so much mud.

I’m writing this just after chow and before the table is cleaned off so you see it’s by candle and there are several fellows in our tent talking so don’t know what all might be in here. Hope there is nothing of a military nature which might creep in. Had hot chocolate for supper and it is taking affect now and makes me very warm & sweaty. Had fresh meat today and it sure was good – roast beef. And they haven’t as put too much pepper in the food for the past few days. The outward conversation is about to get me down. I write more later.

[page 2] There are only three others here now so maybe I can overcome the outside interferences. I’ve been thinking much of writing John & Mark but seems as if things that could interest them are scarce and after all stamps are not so plentiful, but with it all I’ll write them in the near future. Davie probably wouldn’t appreciate a letter so I’ll not write to him when I do the others.

The weather has been so poor we can’t even go swimming gets to wet going back & forth. Then too the ocean may have raised too much during all this rain, but I rather doubt that that has too much affect on that size body of water.

How much gas are you allowed? And is it enough? Or maybe it is not in affect yet. Guess you have probably answered those questions long ago but the answers just haven’t gotten here yet. There probably will be more answers than questions when all that mail does get here.

Well happy birthday again – One fellow here got some Christmas greeting the other day at $1°° each so I’ll not try to send a greeting. I’ll save save a little space for late developments. No late developments got beat at bridge again.

Lots of Love
Daddy