With several other letters from Feb/Mar in an envelope postmarked March 6
Wednesday (probably February 23, 1944)
Dear Folks,
Now I am living in the woods. You should see where we are bivouacked! It is really a jungle. It is pretty heavily wooded and just covered with bushes. And on top of this all of the area is full of holes and ditches of every imaginable kind. You can hardly get through in daylight and boy what a job of it at night!
We took all morning Monday to get out here then on Monday afternoon we each dug us a fox hole by our tent. Everyone must have a fox hole in order to protect himself from a tank attack (under combat conditions so we must do it).
Monday and yesterday we had the most beautiful weather you could want. But it rained some last night and it has been raining off and on today.
I had the honor(ha!) of being on K.P. yesterday so I wasn’t out with the company. But of course they let us off to go on the night problem last night. The night problem consisted mostly of a march.
We were supposed to get this morning off to rest up from last night but since this is the first time we have had daylight to even wash we aren’t resting much.
I have spent the morning mostly on details with just enough time off to wash, shave and clean my rifle. It is just noon now and I am expecting any time to have to stop writing.
I got 2 letters and a package from you on Monday night. We can’t have lights out here so the batteries won’t do me much good for the next two weeks but boy the candy bars sure will. I may not get much of the reading done but I am going to grab every second I can.
I am still well and coming along O.K. and I hope you are too.
Pardon my scribbling.
Love, Donald
I forgot to tell you that they cook the meals back at camp so we rode back there to do K.P.