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| Letter of November 12 |
Dear Dad,
Received yesterday your letter of Oct. 30th.
We have at the motor pool three to five Briggs & Stratton motors -- which are used to operate the paint gun, tire pump, grease gun, and a couple other things. For some reason they give considerable trouble. Maybe it's the climate. Recently, the mechanic put another body on a jeep -- the old one had rusted thru in many places, and was beyond repair. Even the frame had to be "patched".
And considerable canned rations had to be destroyed because the cans had rusted thru -- even though they are packed in tar-cardboard and wooden boxes. Knowing the "life" of metal in the states, what happens to it here is unbelievable.
You asked me what the men did at the Replacement Depot while awaiting ships. It takes two days to be "processed" -- otherwise they do absolutely nothing (but then with slight exceptions, that's how it is everywhere -- thousands and thousands of men helping thousands and thousands of more men do absolutely nothing). The 28th here in Tacloban is the shipping center for Leyte and all southern islands. Its capacity is around 15,000. Men have been waiting there -- doing nothing -- since as long ago as September 22nd; and some of those had over 85 points last May. It's amazing how the biggest navy in the world has suddenly disappeared.
~~~~~
Much love,
Franklin
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