Letter 3/1/45

I must admit, I've been putting off this post for awhile now, mainly because the letter I'm transcribing today is one of the more difficult letters to decipher in my grandfather's collection.  He already has pretty awful handwriting (which he has since blessed my mother with), and on top of that the V-Mail cameras that captured this letter were a bit funky, and that's putting it nicely.  The right side of the page is quite darkened, and there's a lovely black line running through the page from top to bottom slightly to the right of center.  My grandpa's already hard to read notes home have become decidedly harder to read with this letter.

Nevertheless, my eyes will take the strain today and see if we can't make it through this.  After all, our eyes are only young once, right?

Mr. A Kumasaka
287 Main St
Keansburg, NJ
U.S.A.

T/5 A. Kumasaka
ASN32609377
Hq Btry 863 FA Bn
APO 410, c/o P.M. N.Y.

1 March

Dear Folks,

I received Dad's letter of Feb 19 yesterday, in which he said that he hadn't received any letters from me in over a week.  I'm sure there was a mail delay, because I have been writing at least twice a week since I came over here.  I hope my letters have caught up by this time.

Things are about the usual with me just now.  I'm keeping up pretty well with my sleep, getting enough to eat, and getting cleaned now and then.  Today I had a shower -- a hot shower -- and my second one since I came to these parts.  The shower belongs to the Infantry, but the attendant lets us use it when it isn't crowded.  The water it uses is taken from a nearby river, and heated by a special unit on a tractor.  Then it is piped inside a tent to us eager Joes.

In closing, I want to wish Dad a happy birthday.  I'm sorry I can't be there to celebrate.

So long for now.  I hope everything is O.K.

Love,
Archie