56) Writing by candlelight and raising poultry for fried chicken.-Nov.14, 1944

Tacloban, Cancaboto Bay, Leyte, Philippines
APO 72 Leyte, Philippines

Somewhere in Philippines, Nov. 14, 44
Betty darling,

I received 2 more of your wonderful letters. They were dated the 16th & 18 of October. Dearest you are so understanding and sweet. I really don’t mind all the things I have to go through over here. Seems like just reading your sweet letters and knowing that you will be there waiting for me when I can come home, somehow makes it all OK!

One of the fellows just brought in some mail and I expected a couple of letters from you. I only received a letter from my Grandmother. She says that the leaves are really pretty now that you’ve had a frost. Sure hope to be there to walk through the leaves with you by next fall. Of course it may be a long time before fall that I get there. Lets hope so anyway. We really have so much to look forward to. I can really foresee a happy life-time for us together. I hope you can see far enough ahead to realize what a wonderful thing it would be. It would make all this and all that happens from now on over here seem worth while even more so than it has seemed so far. That would make me happy beyond description.

Notice this change in ink. And another change which is much better. The first ink was this new stuff made for the Parker “51” and I grabed it by mistake. Seems that it isn’t good in just any pen. This that I am using now is O.K. I guess. As yet we haven’t gotten any lights in the tents and I am finishing this by candle light. I started writing just before it got dark.

Glad Mother decided to go to New York for a while. I think she deserves a little vacation. I sure am proud of my Mom the way she handles the business and all. She sure is a swell businesswoman. I’ll bet she and all the old friends up there really have a swell time together. It has started to rain and blow a little while I’ve been writing. I just noticed it. I really hope we don’t have a bad storm again! I am beginning to see what they meant about this being the rainy season. Guess by the time you get this thing, back there will really be in full swing as far as winter goes. Should be getting quite cold about now.

I don’t believe I have written since we got our poultry farm started. We have a pen out in front of the tent with 3 ducks & 2 chickens in it. We are going to have a fried chicken dinner soon. We intend to save the ducks till Thanksgiving and have a big duck roast. Wish we had some of your pies to eat with it. Also you to cut the pie & maybe even roast the ducks for us. Oh well! Can’t have all the good things at once.

I am reading a pretty good book right now. “The Cup And The Sword” by Alice Tisdale Hobart. I am about half way through it and it is pretty good. Seems to be a historical novel about the wine industry in California. Maybe you have read it.

Well darling this will really be about the last page. Can’t seem to think of much more to write about. Except that you are the one and only love that I have. Darling remember that you are the only one I really think about all the time and long for.

Yours always,
Jack


NOTES From the 9th FS Unit History:

• Nov. 11th--Hundreds of small anti-personnel bombs were dropped during the night , but our unit suffered no casualties. 
• Nov. 12th-- The enemy made raids during the day on shipping in the harbor, with hits on two Liberty ships. Two enemy planes fell to our anti-aircraft fire.
• Nov. 14th-- a surprise bombing and strafing raid on our strip. Major Jordan and Capt. R. Swift, about to man their planes, were forced to drop to the ground. A bomb exploded about 30 feet away and a strafing pass went right through the area. Neither pilot was injured, although Capt. Swift extracted a sizable piece of shrapnel from the parachute he was about to don! Personnel in camp were treated to an aerial show overhead when a Dinah, hit by ack ack, burst into flames and crashed. Two 38's got on the tail of a lone Oscar and the wingman shot it down after the lead plane overshot. It is seldom that ground personnel witness such action, and the sight was most welcome.
• Nov. 15th---The weather, very treacherous in this area, closed in suddenly on while 7 of our planes were airborne. Three were able to land safely at Buri, but four others, after flying all around the island of Leyte trying vainly to find an opening, finally were forced to crash-land. Lt. Hovik landed in a rice paddy near Carigara Bay, killing a water buffalo in the process, but suffered no injury to himself. The remaining three bellied in near Bugho, southeast Leyte. All planes were total losses although several trips were made later to salvage parts.
• Nov. 17th---An enemy dive-bomber, a Val, flew over camp just at dusk on the 17th and attempted to bomb the airstrip. It was shot down in flames by our ack ack - a spectacular sight.
• Nov. 18th---started off with an exciting series of raids. One enemy plane was seen going down smoking after a P-38 attack. A second was lost from sight with a '38 in a most favorable position on its tail. Some enemy planes made suicide dives on shipping in the harbor. One crashed into a Liberty ship, setting it on fire; another missed and fell into the water while a third was blown up by ack ack before reaching its objective. One plane dropped anti-personnel bombs on our strip, damaging 3 planes and slightly wounding T/Sgt. O. Wallace, S/Sgt. Colborn and PFC B. Peterson.
• Nov. 19th--- 2 more Japs made suicide dives at shipping, but both completely missed their targets and crashed into the water. Ack ack fire was practically non-existent, and their inability to hit their targets is difficult to understand. Then came several uneventful days, and Thanksgiving came and went without disturbing the even tenor of our ways. 
• Nov. 24th--- In the morning an enemy twin-engine bomber, probably a Frances, was hit by ack ack fairly close to camp. It caught fire, and after proceeding a short distance, crashed. A sleek looking Dinah flew over camp heading for home. One of our '38's gave chase, and even though the enemy plane had a great advantage in altitude, F/O H. Hammett was able to get behind it and shoot it down. 
• Nov. 26th--- an enemy plane heading in the direction of camp was hit by ack ack. It started burning, but crashed before reaching our vicinity. There were a few anxious moments when it looked as if our camp was about to become the plane's last resting place! 

Ken Clark’s Unit History posted on www.flyingknights.net    

55) Betty - Busy with college classes and pledging to a sorority

From Betty (Louisville, KY)

Nov. 20, 1944
Monday afternoon

My darling,

Got your letter of Nov. 7th today. I was really glad to hear from you.

Those tropical storms must be something. It sounds funny to hear that you get so cold in the tropics. Don’t catch cold.

Say! That 49th Fighter Group is really going to town. I don’t wonder that they are unsurpassed in the air. Look who’s helping them on the ground—Sgt. Riley.

Don’t mind me. I’m a little prejudiced. I don’t really care much for the fellow—no, not much!—An awful, awful lot. Who is this guy Riley, anyway? I’d sure like to meet him. I feel real good today. That’s the cause of all this nonsense. I’m really quite sane at times. The reasons I feel good (1) I got a letter from you, (2) I got an 88 on a Spanish test and (3) Just on general principles.

The reason I was so thrilled about my Spanish grade was that I didn’t think I was doing a bit of good in there and now I’m greatly encouraged. Wish you were here with me. It would be much more fun.

I’m not gettin a thing out of Physical Science. The only reason I’m taking it is so I can pass my sophomore comps. We’re having a lot of Physics in there now and I don’t know a thing about it. She’s a real dumb teacher anyway and she doesn’t do a good job of explaining. I’ve got to pass it some way or another, but as yet I haven’t found a way. Here’s hoping.

My English prof. is a scream. He teaches over at the Speed School (part of U of L) but he was the only one who could take a class at that time. He’s real young and cute, as I have told you before. He said the other day that our grades were terrible—he didn’t want to flunk anybody if there was any way to get out of it, but he didn’t care if the whole damn class flunked. When he said that I almost died laughing. I was just thinking – could you imagine Trawich coming out with something like that? That I would like to hear.

The K.A.’s (a fraternity) are having a party for us (Pi Phi’s) Saturday night. It ought to be loads of fun. The K.A.’s and Pi Phi’s are real close. We’ve got half of their silverware at our house and they’ve got half of ours. We’re always borrowing from each other. More fun!

I’m supposed to go to Fort Knox Friday night. I haven’t been for so long. I just haven’t had time.

Tomorrow I have an 8:30 and a 9:30 class. Then I have to tear in town to get to the Blood Bank by 10:45. Then back out to the house for lunch and afternoon classes. I hope it won’t take them long to get my blood ‘cause I’ll be in a hurry. It will be exactly 8 weeks since I went before. You have to wait at least that long and should wait longer. Mother didn’t want me to give it again this soon, but I wanted to and it won’t bother me. It’s silly to write you about this, it’s such a little thing, when you’re doing so much. It seemed like a lot at first, but now I realize it isn’t. That’s why I want to give it as often as I can, because it’s such a little for me to do.

Enough of this serious talk.

Mother, Horace, Anne, and I went out to see your folks last night. We had a swell time. Your dad teased me the whole time and I blush something terrible. I can’t help it and it makes me so mad.

What have you decided to do after the war? You say you are not going back to school, but what do you want to do? I’d really like to know. I haven’t noticed that you have said anything you’d like to do.

Guess I’d better study my pledge lesson for tomorrow. I have to memorize some stuff, all the punctuation and everything. If you make more than 2 mistakes you have to do it over.

Be careful and leave those Philippine girls alone. I’m jealous.

Remember that I love you and I want to see you more than anything else in the world.

Forever yours,
Betty

Notes:

1. Pi Beta Phi Sorority:  Betty was pledging to the Phi Beta Phi Sorority Pi Phi website link
2. University of Louisville-- Betty was starting her Freshman year at U of L.  She lived about 6 miles from campus and was able to take public transit (street cars) to get to school.