September 4, 1945

(Letter from Vic in the Philippines to younger brother Paul in Berkeley, California. Photo shows group of Japanese soldiers who have surrendered.)

Tuesday evening,

Dear Paul,

Well, I presume you're wondering why the sudden increase in number of letters from me. I've caught up on all of my correspondence fortunately, and have some spare time on my hands. Later this evening I'll circulate around the battery looking for some worthwhile reading material.

Had a tough day yesterday spreading gravel around the area and stood guard last nite. On my last trick I helped the baker make soughnuts. To-day I did quite a bit of bunk fatigue and wasn't clipped for any detail. To-day we went on a training schedule of sorts. This calls for early reveille, calesthenics, orientation lectures and what-not.

Did you hear these parts mentioned over the radio in regards to the surrender of Nips? Heard part of a newscast earlier to-nite and they mentioned a nearby town where the Nips-ve been congregating and processed. The first delegation of them who came in several weeks ago said they thought 2,000 of their men will be accounted for in our div. sector, but some estimates run higher 'cause it's argued that some Nip remnants haven't had communications with other parties for many weeks. Such be the case, some Japs may stroll the hills for a time yet.

Paul, since you began studying radio back at Tri-State have you constructed any sets? Imagine some of that practical stuff is required. If you built a receiver how did it work? The post-war commercial sets should be a great improvement over the older models. Trouble is, a good set with several bands and phonograph rig runs into the bucks. Say, what do you think of future plans for the use of radar and television?

I've been thinking of hunting back home and would like to get a Savage 99 .300 cal. for deer and possibly an over-and-under .410 that's handle the 3 inch shells. Am not certain such a gun is in production but read that such a .410 will be popular and am enthused about it. Read a good brief on the use of rifled slugs for shot-guns and found they've a fair degree of accuracy. Up to a hundred yards it's easy to hit a buck with these power houses that weight 415 gr. and have a velocity of 1,400 odd foot seconds.

Remember when we were up at Ray's folks place in Nov. of '41? Bob Hoey & I both took a few practice shots with slugs at a good distance and found my auto more accurate than his pump. Remember the buck that strolled past him while we sat in the car in disgust after no luck? Do you ever figure on hunting in Cal.?

Last nite we had the pic, "Valley of Decision", (Greer Garson-Gregory Peck) at our bn. theatre. I thought it was good tho it skipped plenty of material on the union and didn't follow the novel thru exactly. That was the first mentionable movie we'd had in many weeks. For the most part, they're grade b-pcs and they're old at that. Saw the above mentioned film between tricks on guard, and it rained buckets during most of the show.

Do you own a bike? Don't recall you stating definitely whether you did and thought perhaps you rent one when going out cycling. Yes, there's certainly much worth-while scenery to enjoy out there, and you could go on innumberable sightseeing trips and still have plenty more places to visit. Did you ever get over to Sequoia or Yosemite? I got around some on hitch-hiking trips while stationed at Camp Roberts and enjoyed the State. Will sign off now.

Your brother,
Vic