Laurel outlook., 1944-08-30

bridge to prevent it's use by the ad.
vancing Allies.
bership card in the Shellbacks. At
tending church services On IN oper
deck. Seeing nothing but water day
after day and wondering where Sc
much water could come from (ther
Handing in New Guinea and finding
QUIT. Coming ashore in big am
phibious trucks called Ducks in the
middle of the night and in a hare
driving rain. Helping to get sever
al hundred men located in tents
without the aid of lights of any
kind.
| am a member of a medical de-
tachment of a general hospital. 1t
is not functioning as a hospital now
since we are only in a staging area.
When and where we will set-up
and operate a hospital l don't know,
but I'm of the opinion that it will
be a lot nearer Tokyo than New
Guinea.
We have improved our camp site
and made it a fairly comfortable
place to stay. Streets lave been
g~raveled as we'll as walks over the
area. Wooden floors have been built
in all tents. We have piped water
and installed shower baths. An
outdoor, open-air theatre has been
fixed up, and we have a public adj
dress system with record-player at
tachment and several hundred rec
ords of most any type and kind
you'd want to hear. A very at
tractive chapel has been fixed up
and regular church services are held
for both Catholic and Protestant.
We generate u own power and
have a lighting system that covers
the entire camp. Also have field
type telephones installed in various
Some of the discomforts we have
and there are plenty-are too
much rain and the pestilence of
numerous insects, including the
Notwithstanding anouheles mosqui-
toes. The excessive rainfall and
continued ,dampness is the source
If much displeasure. I've waded
water up to my hips, and mud
Up to my shoe-tops. I've worn wet
and soggy-wet shoes for
,hree days at a time and slept on
| wet anvas cot, all of which has
| tendency to create miserable feel
ng. The continual state of damp
less causes shoes and all other
Gather goods to mold and deter
crate. 1t causes bed clothes and
wearing apparel to have an almost
%ontinuous musty odor bordering on
he soured side. The presence of
he dreaded misunderstanding mos
Iuito results in a person having to
jeep fully clothed in the daytime
nd sleeping under an insect net at
light, plus the added feature of
aking atabrine daily. Atabrine is
he substitute drug for quinene. AS
re a number of other drugs, it is
derivative of dye, is yellow in
olor and eventually turns ones
kin a beautiful" yellow.
By comparing our living condi- |
ions with those soldiers stationed
lsewhere | can prove that we are
wing a life of ease in a tropical
aradise, or on the contrary | could
rove that we are living in a hell
ole and undergoing many hard
hips. Personally / wish that con-
WILLS "SlC QUILL ClidI L COulu UG |
ack home; to be able to sleep in
good bed once again with a pill
wv on which to lay my weary head.
o once again enjoy a good meal.
nd, above all to live among my
A lot of other boys would
Ike the same thing.
l have purposely steered clear of
lie subject of food. 1 will say, how
yer, that we do have some-and
very day too!
I'd like to suggest to the home
,lks that they donate generously
the Red Cross and the USO.
hey are both doing a wonderful
b. The Red Cross is doing a
onderful thing in aiding and en-
.ntaining the sick and wounded,
lille the USO is doing it's bit to
Zip entertain troops everywhere.
The boys overseas need all the
Zip they can get. 1t is a nerve
racking life to say the least
I'd, some don't make the grade.
Please pardon me while l bite my
.gernails). If you have relatives
friends in the service write to
yem often. Mail from home is
e best morale builder there is.
1 won't say that I've been more
rtunate than a lot of other service
en-, but l will say that / think
We been less unfortunate than a
eat many of them. So far, in
ver two years of service, l haven't
zen shot at or had to sleep in a
However, the day may
me when I'll have to experience
or both of them. Medical units
e not immune to any type of war
re. The medics, in a lot of in
ances, undergo many hardships. A
eat many of them accompany the
lacking soldiers on the field of
tile armed only with a Red Cross
m band.
some day the so-called
ns-of-heaven will be taken care of
implicitly and We'll be coming
me. Sons of heaven-I don't be-
We heaven would own any of