My Parents WW II Love Letters: 35) The Nights Are The Best- Aug. 22, 1944

APO 920 = Base H, Biak, Dutch New Guinea
Mokmer Airstrip, Biak- Schouten Islands, Dutch New Guinea

Somewhere in the Vast Pacific Southwest
Aug. 22nd (1944)

My Darling Betty,

This is another try at writing down all the thousands of things that I think of during the day. I say to myself, “I’ll write Betty this or that.” When nite comes then I can’t seem to think of the things I wanted to tell you about. The nights are the best time of all over here. The nights give me a feeling of security and peacefulness that can’t last in the daytime. At night I can sit and dream & wonder about the things of both the past & future. Thoughts & plans for the future are the things that seem to preoccupy my mind on such evenings as these. I believe that my words are not adequate to fully and truly state my thoughts concerning our future. I hope that you can see the future through my thoughts rather than through my words. Sometimes it is easy to overlook the necessity of communication to make these same careful, tender thoughts as real to others as they are to myself. It is easy for me to sit and say to myself “If she were near I could simply talk to her and tell her of these careful plans and thoughts.” Then I look back at these crude inadequate words on a piece of paper. “How?” I say to myself “Can she have the required trust and faith in my love, with only these simple letters to hold us together?”

Yet, there are other things strong, silent and ever present that can deepen that love and hold it forever in perfect trust. Darling believe in me and try to feel these things I speak of. Someday I will be able to hold your hand in mine and explain as best I can the series of events and the train of dreams & thoughts that have brought about this deep love I now speak of.

Your letter of the 27th of July is one that I will never forget. The first time you ever said anything like that. I somehow feel the deep sincerity with which you wrote those beautiful things. Please feel free to write me any thing that you many have doubts about. I hope you can see perhaps a little more clearly just how I feel. Please! Please! Darling have faith in me. It means every thing to me.

We are living a very comfortable life here right now resting up so to speak. We are doing pretty well on the food here of late. We are getting fresh meat once in a while. They now have the Group’s ice cream machine in operation and tonite at supper we got our first in several months.

I got some pictures back from the sensor yesterday and will enclose some of them in this letter. Please exchange them with Mom & Pop as I am sending them a different set.

Well darling, that’s about all for this time. Keep your wonderful letters coming and stay away from the “wolves” Ha! Ha! I promise to stay away from the girls.

Your most sincere lover,

Jack

“Honey” Enclosed find fourteen (14) Photographs.

Notes:

Jack's Photographs---It is hard to tell which of the few photographs I have belong with which letters. I've included some here with Jack's captions. I do not know the location or dates of any of these photos.