July 11, 1944

(Letter from Vic to older brother Rudy and wife Ann, sent from Bougainville, Solomon Islands to Passaic, New Jersey. Photo shows Vic beside a radio command car.)

Tuesday evening,

Your letter of the twenty-eighth June arrived yesterday along with one from Git. Haven't heard from Paul within the past three wks. or so. Why don't you all write more often? Guess that film wasn't so hot, eh?

The folks'll be receiving some Kodachrome prints during the next two months (about five) that you might be interested in seeing. They're scenes from here taken months ago by a fellow in the Btry. The prints have to be made up at the Eastman plant in the States so his folks will mail my completed ones home. Is film available back there nowadays?

Am enclosing several articles from Time and Newsweek that you may've missed. I won't state that they're entirely authentic. Might be interesting to keep them on hand so I might comment on them with you personally sometimes. Incidentally that sometime will be anywhere between six or eight to twelve or fourteen months from now depending upon whether the two yr. overseas term is dropped to eighteen months in this theatre for rotation eligibility. Unless, of course, the war over here should be won in the meanwhile.

Even if the war ends rather abruptly at a reasonably early date I can't imagine all the troops being transported home immediately. Possibly a percentage of personnel will remain as occupational forces, and transportation for those giving back to the States won't be immediately available for everybody.

However, I'm not counting on us winning the war easily. But things are really starting to roll. When and where we go into action next is quite naturally a big subject with us and we hear it's going to amount to some show. Beyond that I couldn't state anything even if I had any info. Well, I'll keep my eyes open for something in the souvenir line for you in the future. At present we're still living a quiet life - one you might classify as a tropical version of garrison life.

George "Yuts" Conrad dropped me a line recently and said Mike Princippi, Sgt. in U.S.M.C., was at his former location. Mike might be able to fly up here too, 'cause he's in the Marin Air Corps. Yuts moved back down the line to another base so we probably won't get together again.

Max Mueckler wrote from New Guinea the other day and told about being 'busted' from Sgt. back down to Pvt. There's a good possibility that Jake Valentine is on his way home from that area at this time.

Write soon!

Best regards,
Vic