Kwajalein, Marshall Isles
January 9, 1947

Dear Mom,

We're in alongside the dock now and it's much nicer this way.  I go for mail and movie about nine o'clock in the morning and don't have to wait for an infrequent boat.

About the third day here I met a fellow I used to know in China, a swell guy and we sat over here in the radio shack and talked for hours.  He's that ship's quartermaster and mail man so we go to the post office every day.  When I last saw him he was going back to the states on an LSM but they took him off at Pearl because this YFR needed a quartermaster.

I was over there visiting him the other day and met another guy who I knew.  He came over with me and is on an AG here which is fairly small.  He was on the same ship Padulla was when it went out of commission at Guam.

Was sorry to hear of Anna McCrone, the McCrones are really getting it on the chin.

Kid Keene has really had it rough hasn't he, a year and a half in the states.  I hope he's still in the states spring I'd like to see him. About spelling San Francisco -- well I didn't want to embarrass you since you're a teacher.  Really I never noticed -- too anxious to see the inside to notice the address.

Yes that stationary is real snazzy.  Yesterday there was an army intelligence guy down to our ship's to tell us a few things.  He said we were to keep our mouths shut about what we see down at Eneweitok and we would have no cameras (puts a hole in the scrapbook).  We had to fill out a big form stating different facts, our birth, parents, etc., our duties aboard, and sign that we wouldn't divulge any classified information.  They are taking a screw off an LCI that was used at Bikini and are going to put it on us when we go into dry dock Monday.

It's hotter here than at Guam but not too bad.  We rigged a gas mask and air hose Wednesday and I tested it.  The first mask was no good but the next was swell.  So I put on a pair of "long John's" that we have aboard for winter, this was to save my knees from the sides of the ship, an old pair of shoes completed the costume, then with a pelican hook for weight and a cartridge belt filled with lead, the signals arranged, I went down the astronomical depth of ten to fifteen feet to the bottom here by the dock.  Then everybody wanted to try it but after four more had done it the skipper put the kibosh on it.  I'll never forget seeing that fish at Guam last winter and the way he appeared to be looking around.

Well Mom that's all for now, I might write to Rush and see how he is,

Love

Lee