I’LL BE SEEIN’ YOU

Tuesday 11 Dec. ‘45

Manila

 

Dear Folks,

Tues. night at about 9:30 and I just came from the movie. I had not been doing so well at writing the last two days as a lot has happened. Things started rolling in a hurry. Sunday we shipped out the men with three children and then in the afternoon we got orders on the men with from 55 to 59 points and they are all gone now. The last ones left this morning for replacement depots and will probably be on boats on their way home by the end of the week. Miller left this morning. I hated to see the kid go but I’m glad that he can get home. We got him a Staff before he left. That is the first deal I have ever tried to promote in this outfit and I made it. I kept at a couple officers for about a week until he got it. Now all I have to do is fix myself up. I have given up any ideas of leaving this outfit promotion or no promotion. There are a lot of ratings going to be open from now on and I may be able to get the Staff and still stay here but if I don’t it doesn’t matter that much. At the present time only 55 pointers are eligible for discharge but they didn’t stop at 55 thank goodness. As soon as they were all sent to depots we started getting orders today on 54 point men and by the end of the week we will have lost all men with 50 or more. They aren’t eligible for return as individuals but are going to units that are going back to the states so they will be on their way in about two weeks and ahead of the point schedule. That leaves us high men in the outfit and from the best dope I can get we may be on the merry way about the second week in January and folks that’s the best news I’ve heard since the war ended. It sounds almost too good to be true but it looks quite possible the way things are shaping up. 45 points won’t make us eligible for discharge until Feb. 1 but we can be returned to the US before that if we are in Category IV units (those scheduled for return to the US for deactivation over there) so according to Base X they are going to use that method to get ahead of the points. Now maybe I am getting all excited about nothing but it looks like the real thing this time. At least it can be no longer than 6 weeks and maybe only about three or four. We should be out of the islands by the end of January unless something gums up the works. We are really getting a good workout on all this but it is worth it to see these boys going home to know that we may be next. We were all afraid that once the 55 pointers were cleared that we would sit around until January to drop it to 50. After we lost our 60 men in Oct. nothing happened for nearly 2 months but I think things are rolling now and won’t slow down again. Sentiment back home and increased shipping out in the Pacific have made a big difference.

Other than all this there is nothing else much to talk about. The only thing we ever talk about is that anyway. They are trying to keep the positions all filled all the time so there are plenty of promotions. Some men leave and make openings which are filled by another man who leaves maybe two days later so they are taking care of the boys as much as possible. If it is possible the Captain who is adjutant will fix me up before I take off. There are several fellows with three or four more points than I who will leave maybe two days before I do so there will be openings to use if they will let it get by.

I may be off the beam but I think we will be out of this outfit by about Jan. 10 and maybe on our way by the last week in the month. I think I may be able to keep that St. Patrick’s Day date with you after all.

Well so much for my optimistic self. Mail hasn’t been so good. I got one letter Gram’s Nov. 29 on Sunday and that’s all for about a week now. I still haven’t written to anyone and I don’t think I shall now as I don’t care to have a lot of letters tagging round after me. I’ll let you know when I think you should stop letters to me out here but I imagine about Jan 1 is a good date. If it looks different I’ll let you know. Tonight we saw a very good movie “Princess and the Bell Hop” with June Allyson and Hedy Lamarr. It was one of the best we have had in quite some time. Sunday night they had “Lad, On a Train” with Deanna Durbin which was very good also. We had a group picture of the section taken yesterday that came out fairly well. I am sending one along that was taken here a few days ago outside our headquarters bldg. It is a bit dark but not bad. I have others but I don’t want to put them all in the same letter just in case it might get lost and then they would all be gone. Miller left me a German box camera but I don’t know what kind of pictures it takes yet. I hear the PX has a little film so maybe I can get a roll.

Well that is about all there is to say tonight and I just hope I’m not getting over optimistic about things. Take it easy and I’LL BE SEEIN’ YOU,

Arlington