Sun., Nov. 28, 1943
I received your letter a few days ago and as you know I'm always glad to hear from you. I haven't had time or I would have written to you sooner. I also got a Xmas card yesterday from Mr. & Mrs. Ed Roberts. I think they are a little early. How about it. Dora sent me a bunch of Xmas cards so I guess I'll get them ready one of these days so I won't have to address them at the last minute. I wasn't going to send any this year but since she sent them to me I guess I'll mail them out as I can mail them free.
How is Pop doing after his dog bite. OK, I hope. Did they ever kill the dog? I hope those people pay for his doctor bill or won't they? I guess he will be afraid of dogs from now on. Does Skipper still come up there looking for me. I kind of miss him. I guess I should have him here with me as one fellow went to Jacksonville the other week and bought a small alligator for $2.00 and brought it back here for a pet. It is about a foot long and he has it in a box outside of his hut. The Captain said he could keep it here as long as he kept the box clean.
I went to get my pictures last night that I had taken but they weren't done yet. I'll go back about Tuesday if I have time. A fellow in my hut took my picture with his camera last Sunday but we haven't gotten them back yet either. Dora sent me my camera the other day so I'll take some pictures when I get a chance but I don't think it will be today as it is cloudy.
I guess I'll have to do some washing today as I never got my laundry back this week so I didn't send any back. It was lost or sent to another company. I hope it shows up in the next day or two. The Army does everything backwards. They give you 3 suits of summer dress clothes and 2 suits of winter dress clothes and still you don't have time to wear them and they give you only 2 suites of work clothes which you wear nearly all the time. We should have another suite of work clothes at least. They call our work clothes "fatigues." We get our laundry done for $1.00 a month.
Well I just had dinner. We had creamed chicken; potatoes; rice; carrots; slaw and ice cream. We get chicken and ice cream nearly every Sunday.
Three weeks from today I guess Dora will be down here. I'll try to get a pass so I can meet her in Jacksonville on Saturday. She can stay here in camp Sunday; Monday and Tuesday. I hope the weather is nice then yet. I think she will stay until after New Years. Traffic won't be so heavy then. I don't know if she will come on the train or bus.
Well I think I told you all I know so I'll close and hope to hear from you real soon. I'll write again when I have time. How is Henry Lee and Mary? Do they come and see you a lot. I guess they are getting big. I guess I won't know them when I get home. So long--
Gus
Dad write that he can mail Christmas cards for free. The majority of the letters that he has written home so far have "Free" written on the upper left of the envelope where the postage stamp would normally be. Occasionally he has sent her a letter by Air Mail, and those envelopes have a stamp on them. The letters that he wrote his mother once he was in Europe all seem to be in envelopes with U.S. postage stamps.
Wow! I had never heard anything about my grandfather ("Pop") getting bitten by a dog. From my dad's reaction, it must have been pretty bad. Dad loved dogs, especially Skipper. Skipper had belonged to my mother's youngest brother, Don Cool. The story as it was told to me as a kid was that Skipper decided that he loved my dad, so Uncle Don eventually just gave in to the inevitable and gave him to Dad. When Mom and Dad moved to California, Skipper came along. Mom talked about going to the local ice cream stand and they'd always buy three ice cream cones, one for each of the and the third was for Skipper. He was in a few of my earliest pictures, which is why I heard stories of him. He died shortly after my first birthday, I think.
Dad asks in this letter about Henry Lee and Mary. They were the children of his brother Henry. At the time this letter was written Henry Lee was 7 and Mary was 3.
Ed Roberts and his wife, who had send Dad a Christmas card a bit earlier than was usually done, apparently, lived in Staunton just a few blocks from the Haferkamp family.
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