I’m Resting From Here On In

Friday 18 Jan. ‘46

Manila 8:10 p.m.

 

Dear folks,

We’re working again tonight (rather conveniently so as otherwise we’d be on detail cleaning equipment) and while I’m waiting for some more work I’ll write a little. It’s been quite a day, hot and rainy and still raining. We got all the dope on demobilization today in a circular from AFWESPAC hqs. All men who will have 30 months service by April 30 will be discharged or enroute to the U.S. by then. The men with longest service are to go first and as soon as possible. So for the first time I’m “eligible.” I can be discharged any time now. All I have to do is get back to the States. The last group of men who left were the ones who will have 41 months on April 30. I’ll have 40 by then so I’m next the way I see it. If any more leave this month, and since it’s urged that they get the men out as soon as possible I think there will be some, maybe it won’t be very long. For the first time they have come out with a clear cut program which lets us see pretty much how we stand on all this. 45 points will be good before April 30 also but we can forget about the points so far as we are concerned. As it’s turned out we will get out the same time or later than we would have we never come overseas. It’s swinging away from points and going all on length of service now. Anyway I feel sure that within a month at the most I’ll be headed home. That’s pretty optimistic for me but it looks like a pretty safe statement this time. Oh does that sound good – back to civilization again.

The Col. was around today and didn’t like the way things looked so the clamp was put on. All the officers (poor things) were restricted to quarters for a week, we spent an hour this afternoon picking up all the trash in our area, and tonight everyone had to work on equipment at Bn. Supply. However we got a lot of transfer orders this afternoon so Voth and I and our one remaining clerk worked here instead. We have orders on all but 18 men of the whole Bn. now and I’m one of the 18. I understand ours were cut yesterday so we’ll know tomorrow where we’ll go. I have a hunch it will be the 4212^th Engr. Service Group myself but I may be wrong. I’ll be assigned to some outfit but the only time I ever intend to report there is to get my orders to go to the Repl. Depot for home. Our deactivation was moved to Jan. 25 so we ought to be able to string out our work here to last past the middle of February. By then I expect to have my real orders. If we do finish here before it’s time for me to go home, I’m afraid the next outfit won’t get much work out of me. I figure I’ve done just about enough and I’m resting from here on in. One outfit that we’ve been transferring a lot of men to wanted Voth to come up there as Pers./Sgt. but he turned it down. If I were to be out here another 2 or 3 months I’d try to get the job and the 2 more stripes that go with it but as it is I’m not interested in jobs or stripes. I’ve got all I want and I just want to go home. Engr. Service at Base X wanted Voth and I too until they saw how much service we had and decided we wouldn’t be around long enough to make it worthwhile. That’s what I like to hear.

No mail today and the movie for tonight was cancelled due to all this detail business. It was to have been a Charlie Chan picture, probably pretty good. Last night we saw a crazy sort of musical, “That Night With You,” with Susanna Foster & Franchot Tone.

Well that’s about it so I think I’ll finish up here, take a shower and get to bed. Be seein’ you

Arlington