Imperial Valley press., 1944-08-18

Lieutenant Lamar Gillett, son OF
Mrs. Nellie Gillett of El Centre who
has been a prisoner OF the japanese
since the fall of Manila, IL a card
dated January 30, l943 said he had
received his first mail from home.
Nobody knows how glad l was 10
get this mail" he wrote. He wrote
a letter to his sister, Mrs. w. j. NC
Clelland. about the same time in
which he urgec all his friends IN
Imperial Valley to write to him. He
said he could not write as often or
as much as he liked and therefore
urged his friends to keep writing
even if he did not answer. He SAID
ne remembered all the blrthcay
cakes his sister used to bake for
him, that he appreciated them then,
and would appreciate them much
more when he came home again.
Gil!ett asked for snap shots as ne
IS lonely and would like to have
some pictures of his family and
friends to keep him company. He
asked if she received the Christmas
present he sent her two years ago
before his capture. 1t took nine
months for one of his cards to reach
his mother in El Centro. On a card
dated October, 1884, he said he had
not had any mail from nome ana
didn't know whether his mother
knew where he haC' been for the
last two years. His family and
friends have written frequently to
him from the time they were in
formed where to address his mail
Lieutenant Gillett is an army
fighter pilot and was held prisoner
in the Philippines before being
transferred to q prison camp some
where in the Japanese islands.
Word has been received from
Lieutenant Joe Suchma, who lived
in Calexico and worked at Haas
Brothers in Ell Centro before the
war. He is a bombardier on B-24
and is stationed in the Admiralty
Islands Thus far he has been on
eight missions to Rabaul, zap, and
Woliai Some of the time his plane
has to travel a thousand miles from
it base to bomb enemy objectives
and then return 1000 miles after
the bombing. At these times the
tombers have no fighter cover. He
wrote that he saw his first Jap in
the air on a Yap strike. The Jap,
in Suchma's opinion, was a pretty
good fighter but the turret gunner
on Suchma's plane shot him down.
AL in all" he said, things are bet
ter than I thought. The living con-
ditionS are good and the meals more
So We sleep in self-made tents on
the beaches. We get fresh vegeta-
bles and butter flown from Australia
and have steaks for supper fire.
quently There is an open air the
ater here with a different picture
every night There is lots of rain
and it is hot and humid Since I
left the states l have found much
worse weather than we have in
Imperial Valley"
Howard S. Ferguson son of Mr.
and Mrs. Z. H. Ferguson of Holt
vile, is taking army specialized re-
sery training at the State college
of Washington at Pullman, Wash
ington. He is one of the 17-year-
old enlisted recruits receiving college
training prior to call to active army
duty. He is a graduate of Holtville
Union High school.
Keys Mitchell chief specialist in
charge of the navy recruiting station
in the FL Centro post office building
10 months, has been transferred to
San Diego where he will report for
duty August % for reassignment.
Private Lyman Monroe, marine,
son Of Mrs. M. r. Monroe, former
Calexican now living in Fresno,
came TO Imperial and Coachella VAL
leys recently for his first Today
leave since entering the service last
May. His mother an6 as many Of
his relatives as possible journeyed
TO Coachella for a family reunion
While he was home. He visited his
sisters, Mrs. Carl Hardy of FL Cen
tro and Mrs. w. b. Conn of Calexico
Do FALSE Teeth