Letters from George

Dear Marian

How is everything with you and the family. The last letter I wrote to you wasn't mailed until four or five days after I wrote it. After I abused it and everything I must have got it mixed up with the letters that were sent to me. I found it in the box with the other letters after Christmas. Since then I have received two letters from you but this is the first chance I've had to answer them.

We have been firing our rifles all week and it takes a couple of hours to clean them up for the inspection the next day. I never shot a gun in my life before I came here, except that bee-bee gun. The first time I shot this rifle the kick and the noise of the explosion almost scared me to death. I didn't know how to hold the darned thing and it puffed my lip all up. I do pretty good with it now though. We shoot for a second monday, I don't expect to make expert but I hope I at least qualify. After the second firing the ones that qualify might get furloughs.

I got the cookies and fruit cake. Please send me Mick's mother's address. I would like to send her a card and thank her and in the meantime will you tell her that I appreciate it. I got the gifts from Father Doyle, you, and the other sisters. I got the three dollars Alice sent me. I wrote and thanked her but I guess she hadn't gotten the letter yet when you saw her. So far I haven't had any trouble with mail.

I got your Christmas card it was really pretty. We couldn't buy any good cards here at camp but they were actual pictures of scenery either within the camp or of the mountains surrounding the camp. I got more Christmas cards this Christmas than I did all of the other Christmases together.

The camera works swell. It takes good clear pictures but I'll be damned if it will take a good one of me. I take swell pictures of the other guys with it but when they try to take [a] picture of me they either leave half of my head off or I move or something crazy happens. I'm going to try once more today. I would like to have a picture of Gary. I bet he was a honey Christmas morning even if he was too small to know what it was all about.

I don't need anything honestly. Money really stretches in the army. I used to go out every night when I was home but now we can only get out of camp once or twice a week so I can't spend much even when I want to. Give my regards to Mick, his mother, and Gary.

Brother George