We Saw “The Unseen”

Tuesday 1 Jan. ‘46

Manila

 

Dear folks,

Well here goes a new year once more. I have some rather strong remembrances of Jan. 1 about 3 years ago when I was spending my last free day. I went to a basketball game at night. We had a pretty good day around here. Last night I went to the movie “Black Swan” with Ty Power and Maureen O’Hara. It was an old one but I hadn’t seen it and enjoyed it quite a bit. I sat around talking with the fellows until about 12:30 and then went to bed. Yesterday afternoon the general was out looking over the place and since he thinks it is the best area in Manila he is going to use it for USO troopers to live in when we leave. He wants deactivation stepped up so in the next couple days it may happen. The way it looks to me it would be a good thing as we might get started on our way sooner that way. Certainly no one with over 45 should go to another outfit unless it is one slated to go home soon. Anything is liable to happen in the next day or so. Some reports are that 45 pointers will be on the list by Jan. 10. It is probably a rumor but it shouldn’t be too far out of the way as I see it now.

I slept until about 11:00 this morning, got up and showered before dinner. We had a regular holiday meal – turkey, potatoes, gravy, dressing, corn, asparagus, ice cream, fruit cocktail, mince pie, iced cocoa, and biscuits. After dinner all of us caught a truck and went to the Bamboo Bowl football game. You know all the bowl games they have on New Year’s day. Well they had a team from around Manila and one from Leyte Island playing at Rizal Stadium for the final game of the Philippine Olympics and called it the Bamboo Bowl game. It was a pretty good game and we won 14 to 12. We got there too late for a seat but had a good spot on the 45 yard line. If they counted right there were about 35, 000 GI’s at the game including a few generals. Tonight we saw “The Unseen” a pretty fair picture. That’s about the size of New Year’s day in Manila. No mail today but yesterday I got Gram’s letter mailed the 19^th and a Xmas card from Marie and a letter from Edna. If things happen as they are expected to we will be busy for a change in the next week or so but we have a lot of the work done in advance fortunately. If Bugs and I could get out of here on points before deactivation that would be really swell but I suppose that won’t happen. There’s plenty of shipping here now and maybe things will come about faster than we hope. There are a couple more carriers in the harbor today and they hold about 4,000 men apiece. Well that is about all there is to say for today so I’ll be on my way. I’ll be seein’ you and maybe not too far away,

Arlington