December 30, 1945

(Letter from Vic in Racine, Wisconsin to younger brother Paul in Berkeley, California. Photos show Vic's discharge paper, and letter of thanks from President Truman.)

Sunday morning,

Dear Paul,

I suppose you've been wondering why you haven't received any written word from me. Well, to begin with I intended writing from Camp Anza, Calif. soon after sending the telegram and Jap propaganda books. We were alerted for shipment momentarily so I didn't try to write just then.

However, train delays held us up 'til noon of the 14th Dec. Believe I mentioned in the telegram we'd landed on the twelfth. North of the Hawaiian group the skipper of the "Sea Corpora" was notified to change his course and dock at San Pedro, Los Angeles P.E. If we'd followed the original schedule and put in at 'Frisco I'd have easily seen you. Perhaps I might even have spent the Xmas holidays there because of lack of transportation facilities.

Anyhow, the reason I didn't want you to come down to Camp Anza is because it must be five hundred miles south of you up in the isolated foot-hills of the San Bernadino Mts., and we might've left for Wis. anytime.

Our train for McCoy with guys from Wis., Upper Michigan and Minnesota finally arrived there early Tuesday morning, the eighteenth after numerous delays. They certainly have a busy schedule for seperatees and we hardly stopped for breath during our two day stay there.

About 11:am Thursday the twentieth Dec. we got the final discharge ceremony and our discharge papers. We were given $50 cash of our mustering out pay and a check which included the other fifty of the first hundred (we get the other two hundred bucks in two monthly payments) plus 5c a mile rail fare to our home towns plus back pay plus all soldiers deposits we were accredited with.

I then caught the noon Hiawatha into Milw. but missed the North Shore to Racine and had to wait for the next one. Anyhow, I got home around 5:30 p.m. that same day. I went out a few times the first few days. Several days back I came down with malaria and've been home since. I had one helluva job getting quinine here in town.

Perhaps to-morrow I'll go up to the Wood Veterans Hospital in Milw. for an exam 'cause I still have something like a jungle-rot on my back. At McCoy I filed claims for that & malaria.

Paul, I'm short some negatives and wonder if you have any of mine out there. If so, will you please send them to me? I'll write again soon.

Your brother,
Vic

P.S. - Did you receive the cookies &tennis shoes that mother sent? Thanks for the books and Xmas card. How's the weather out there? In southern Cal. it was damn chilly & we all froze there moreso than out here.