The Forgotten Group

Monday 3 Sep. ‘45

Luzon

 

Dear folks,

Guess it’s time I took a break as its 2:15 already. We still haven’t any mail. Our mail clerk left 3 days ago but hasn’t come back. Not much new around here today. The points are lowered to 80 and the age to 35 if the man has 2 years of service. I’ve got the 2 years but that’s all. My new score is 46 and I don’t ever expect it to do me much good. The way I see it they should forget about points and discharge men on the basis of service time. Older men and those with dependents were the last in and will be the first out. In the meantime we sit back and wait while the best years creep away from us. I know I shouldn’t sound discouraged but it’s pretty hard not to. There is a large group of us who are from 20 to 24 and have between 40 and 50 points. Most are fellows who were in college. So far we seem the forgotten group. But maybe times will change before long. If they carry out present plans, at least some good ratings will open up for the boys. If we can’t get home we may as well grab all we can.

It’s a rather cloudy day today. It rained during the night so I was able to get my water supply off the roof. Last night we went about a mile to see a movie and it was the same one we saw Sat. It was worth seeing again anyway. There is none tonight so I guess I’ll get to bed early. I should clean my rifle since I fired it yesterday. It’s good I never needed it as the shells don’t feed right. I sent out my laundry this morning. Supply collects it and gives it to the natives to wash for us. They take it down to the river and beat the dirt out. I don’t know how long the material will hold out but it gets the stuff clean. I don’t know what it will cost. Our pay is supposed to come in with mail. That’s about the story for today. These envelopes get stuck due to the damp weather in case you notice the tear.

So long,

Arlington