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New Guinea
July 13, 1945Dear Sis,
As I mentioned in my last letter to Hilda, I will be evacuated to the States as soon as the next boat leaves from here. In that letter I also mentioned that you had nothing to worry about, as far as my physical condition was concerned; I just need a change of air, that’s all. I guess you have received Colonel Good’s letter by now and I presume that you had it framed and put it on the mantlepiece, ahem, that letter must be a pip, I am sure.
For the last thirty days I have been living the life of Riley – clean sheets, mattress, pajamas, etc. However, I’ll be glad when I get out of the hospital atmosphere; this has been the first time that I stayed in a hospital, and I know it is also the last time (unless somebody breaks my neck when I come back). I, for a change, am now going through the experience of not getting any mail; by gosh, I don’t like it – especially now. I am very glad that I’ll be able to take some of the load off your shoulders (ADDENDUM: “you great big, beautiful doll”); you’ve been doing your and my share of good work while I have been over here, unable to be of help because of the great distance. Get ready for a big conference as soon as I return; I have been doing a lot of planning and I want to compare notes with you. As soon as I arrive, I’ll get in touch with you to let you know where I’ll be staying. In all probability I’ll be granted a furlough after a while.
Well, it’s no use to write anymore, as I’ll be talking things over with you over the dinner table. I am looking forward to seeing you and am anxious to meet your husband. Give my best regards to all the folks and tell them that I’ll be seeing them soon.
Love,
HarryP.S. Don’t write anymore letters, please.
Harry’s mock newspaper headline alludes to the U.N. Conference that took place in San Francisco. When I was looking at old newspapers in search of the article posted on July 9, many of the June newspaper headlines were about the U.N., including a copy of the U.N. Charter in one edition of the paper.
We saw Lieutenant Colonel Good’s letter in the June 18 post and Harry’s follow-up letter to Hilda on June 20 to allay the family’s fears that the first letter caused when it arrived.
Without going into specifics, Harry assures his sister Eva that upon his return he will be able to help with their efforts to bring their mother to San Francisco from Istanbul. As we saw in the July 10 post, at this point Helene is interned in a hotel, unable to walk freely through the city, and having no resources to make her way to the U.S.
In Harry’s “addendum,” he quotes the title of a 1911 song that was featured in several films and sung by many artists.