11/2/44: Europe: The liberation of Belgium is complete.
11/3/44: The Japanese launch more than 9,000 hydrogen balloons with incendiaries attached, sending them on westerly winds to North America. Fewer than 300 of the balloons will reach their targets, but one is found and detonated in Oregon, killing a woman .
11/4/44 V-Mail, Italy
Hi Snooks:
I haven’t written for a couple of days, as I haven’t felt so well. I picked up a slight case of sore throat during the last week, and it is just now going away. As usual, no mail today. It will all get here in one big spurt. It always does.
Arthur Dixon and Bill Mallory just got back from leave in the States. I haven’t had a chance to talk to either of them yet, but they assure me that it hasn’t changed a hell of a lot during the war. One of these years maybe I’ll get to check up on it.
I haven’t been able to find my pet Italian grammar for a couple of weeks. I found it this morning. I loaned my raincoat to a guy a couple of nights ago, and when he returned it, it looked as if it had been the one Sir Walter Raleigh put down for Queen Liz to walk on. I tossed it in the tub last night to let it soak. This morning, I found my grammar in the side pocket, swelled up like a dog—dead for three days. It is now drying out, and I hope to be able to use it again someday. I’ve got so many books over here it will take ten years to study them all.
Our new WAC is a honey. She ain’t purty, but she works like hell, doesn’t have much to say, and takes shorthand. The latter is something I haven’t been privileged to use since I was at RCA. It sure is nice to be able to say, “Take a letter.” I think we will keep this one.
The Italians in this part of the world consider themselves very superior to the southern Italians, and they are in many respects. But one thing I don’t care to see is a man who has nothing, is given something, and then turns around and acts superior to the donor. I’m afraid there will be much less love lost in this part of Italy than down south where they may be poorer,but are much more hospitable.
Lunch hour is over and I have some letters to get out.
I love you, lug. Cy