Dear Mom & Dad,
How are you this fine winter day? I sure hope you are all right. I got back OK and everything is going nice here now. I sure had a wonderful time while I was home and I sure hated to come back here. Dad, I didn’t realize you worked 4 to 12 Sunday and I’m awfully sorry I didn’t get to say good-bye.
Well the weather here was swell when I came back but yesterday it turned cold and now everything is frozen again. I hope they have arm weather down her in the summer time. This morning we fell out and were carrying lumber for board walks and we almost froze to death. About 9:30, sergeant Smith called me in the office and told me from now on, for the next four weeks I am to report to the gym at 9:00 in the morning until noon, and I asked him why and he said a lieutenant from the base was holding a class teaching jiu jitsu and there was supposed to be one man from each company there. Then when the course is over, we are supposed to be instructors in judo in our respective companies. I’m really enthused because I knew some of it and this lieutenant is a judo artist, so when he teaches us we’ll know the stuff pretty well. He taught us wrist locks and how to break bear hugs today. In a course of four weeks we should know plenty because we go up there every morning six days a week, and that would be 24 lessons. I am supposed to get gym shoes and trunks now so when these guys pay me, I’m going to town and get some.
How is everyone else there at home? Tell them I said “hi” and to write to me. I’ll close for now, hoping to hear from you soon. I’ve quit writing this letter four times to play ping-pong, so if i is hard to read, you know why. Bye for now.
