A new PX at the hotel, and a scheme to talk on the telephone

Hello again and apologies for not posting any letters since last week.  I was preparing the following letter for posting when I realized that I had recently come across a letter that Maj. Gillham mentions in this one.  It was from an old civilian friend of his named Glore, and I had wanted to post Glore's letter as well.  However, somehow in the transition from Crosswicks to Atlanta earlier this month the letter has been misplaced.  I searched everywhere I could, and my mother (Monty) did her best in Crosswicks as well.  I am sure the letter will turn up one day when I'm not looking for it;  in the meantime, I shouldn't hold up the progress of the blog any longer, so I'm simply going to post the next letter minus enclosures.  When the letter turns up, I will post it (probably as a retrofit) and let you know.

Tokyo
15 Jan 1946

Dearest Love,

Two letters from you came today;  one was mailed as recently as 7 Jan.  That was a quick one.  Also, the ribbons came today.  Thanks very much, and also thank Dan for getting them for me.

In your first letter you spoke of the flu breaking out.  In the one written three days later you talk of everyone being up and about, so I guess it wasn't so bad.  Did you all get the flu shots from the Army?  If you didn't, you can probably do it now without trouble.  I think it would be an excellent idea.  Your present crowded housing is a natural for an epidemic and the Army is afraid of a bad flu epidemic, so do this at once and without doubt.  I have gotten one since I came here.  Also, some smallpox has broken out and we all had to be vaccinated again; I tested immune.

At the time KW retired I was moving to California, so I didn't get the forwarded mail from the committee working up that book of letters for him until it was all over.  On my own initiative I did write him as nice a letter as I knew how at that time.  It went directly to him and didn't get bound, I guess.

I am sorry the girls couldn't go to NAPS.  And I am sorry you didn't get to Memphis at one time or the other, for I wanted your report on Mother's condition.  I can't believe anyone else on that subject.

I know you are busy and working hard.  Don't overdo yourself.  Try to get out some -- get a change of scenery and some exercise occasionally and you will be better to live with when you are at home.

The cartoon about the Jap clean-up rumor is a good laugh.  You will see when the boxes begin to arrive.

I got a letter from Glore today from Panama dated 2 Jan.  The world is getting small, isn't it?  We had so much trouble getting a room in Wickenburg once that I think he wants to build an auto court there so he won't have that trouble again.  I will enclose the letter.

We now have a gift PX shop here at the hotel.  It opened today and I got you a pair of stockings.  We can only buy one item each day, but I will see if I can pick up a few things for all of you.  Guess who is the main buyer for the PX system in Japan.  Our old friend Capt. (Wolf) Karsten.  It is a wonderful set-up -- for him.  He travels all over Japan and picks up choice silks, etc., which he trades (excuse me, I mean gives) to the nurses and WACs, etc.  He actually has a satiated look about him now.

The 14 Jan issue of Time has quite a write-up under International about MacArthur's first complete report, "written in typical MacArthur style."  I got quite a laugh out of that.

On the telephone call -- enclose a separate and complete letter to me telling all your troubles and asking for decisions -- to sell car?  to move Mother?  where to locate? etc.  Make their apparent solution require two-way discussion.  Be sure there is another letter in the envelope so I won't get too worried.  Then look out for a call about two weeks later.  Wright got one thru to Memphis and said it was swell.

I love you my darling.

Goodnight, Sweetheart,

Bill

****************************

The ribbons (i.e., medals) referred to in the first paragraph included some of ones I scanned and posted earlier.  I am assuming that since Frances' brother, Dan Holsenbeck, had been in the Navy and spent Christmas at 992 Washita with the family, she sent him to Ft. McPherson (which is just south of Atlanta) to pick up Maj. Gillham's medals. 

The "KW" referred to above is most likely Kendall Whittaker, a boss of Maj. Gillham's at Southern Bell Telephone.  It's hard to tell exactly what his feelings are for this boss, since it sounds as if he were writing "as nice a letter as I knew how" under some pressure to be kind.  He had some unbearable bosses at Southern Bell over his long career there, but the worst one by far wasn't to materialize until he was transferred to New Orleans in 1949.  Whittaker was probably not that bad an egg, since it was apparently through him that Frances later got a part-time position at the Fernbank Museum, in its infancy.

The Time article he mentions in this letter can be found online at http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,886828-1,00.html.

Maj. Gillham hears how the family made it home, and talks about his own route home.

Today we find out that Maj. Gillham has finally learned that the family has made it safely home to Atlanta and that they had some trouble just before they made it.  To refresh your memory, the family lost use of the car's headlights on Christmas Eve in Tallapoosa, GA, about an hour east of Atlanta, and the girls were so afraid that Santa Claus would pass them by if they weren't at home.  Luckily, a man at the garage they stopped at was heading into Atlanta, too, so Pop drove close behind him the whole way, using the man's headlights as a guide.  As Maj. Gillham puts it, they "came in with Santa Claus" and made it just in time.

Just to let you know, it's only a few more posts until Frances gets into the act.  Her first letter is from January 14, so I will post that soon.  Stay tuned!

My mother (Monty) remembers seeing the gong that Maj. Gillham refers to in this letter, but she's not sure where it ended up.  Does anyone out in Blogland have any information as to its current whereabouts?

Tokyo
7 Jan 46

Dearest Love,

Yours written Christmas day received, and it was a great relief to know you had gotten to Atlanta safely.  I am sorry you had so much trouble on the home stretch.  You must have come in with Santa Claus.

I was surprised to hear that that box was there.  I didn't think you would get it before spring.  Parcel post must move faster going to the states, as they have a better organized distribution system on the receiving end.

I sent a little box to the children today containing some little odds and ends that might interest them.  Among them are the seashells I picked up a couple of weeks ago.  They are ordinary types of shells, but seem to contain more color, especially when wet.  Notice how some look like they have Japanese writing on them.

I am also sending two big boxes of metal objects from my scrap metal pile.  I haven't cleaned them up but I think they have potential.  If some need minor repairs we can work on them in our metal shop when we get set up again.

See that everybody in the family that wants any of the stuff gets some.  The only things I particularly want to keep are the cymbal and the gong.  That gong has a wonderful tone when struck with a padded object.

You said you were going up to Memphis soon.  I will be interested in your report on things there, but hope you don't overdo yourself.

Cpl. Newton Allen (Seddon Allen's son from Memphis) brought a Sgt. Broadnox by to see me last night.  Broadnox is from Atlanta, Ga. Tech and Camp Callan.  Allen had just finished at Princeton when the Army got him. They are both very fine young fellows.  I enjoyed talking to them very much.  It almost made me feel young again.  They are scheming to get discharged here and hook up with some newspapers and go home via Europe.  If I were a little younger I think I would go with them.  However, I hear there is some possibility of the Army taking some officers home that way, and I may do it if I have a chance when the time comes.

I am anxious to hear all about the Holsenbeck house party.  I know you will have a fine time.  How long since you were all together at the same time?  I hope that you won't be so crowded that you get in each other's hair.  I tried to help a situation like that once by staying at a hotel, and only got myself in the dog house.

I am sorry that my letters which greeted you on your arrival in Atlanta were those where I was fussing about your lack of plans. I trust that you have received some more pleasant ones since.

Goodnight, Sweetheart.

Bill

The third letter of 1946, on new stationery

Now I am back home in Atlanta for a stretch, so my posts should be fairly regular for a while again.  Alas, I am without a scanner now, so the photographic additions to my posts will be mainly from the Internet.  If any of you out there in Blogland has an old scanner that's up on cinder blocks in the backyard that you don't use much any more, I'd be happy to take it off your hands.

Be sure to watch the HBO miniseries "The Pacific" starting tomorrow, Sunday March 14th.  I don't know the exact time, and I won't even be able to watch it, since I don't have cable.  It has gotten good reviews, and it should provide you with background to the ultimate occupation of Japan.  A good DVD that I can highly recommend as well is "MacArthur:  American Experience," which is available on Netflix.  It is long but fascinating and quite comprehensive, and it shows actual footage of MacArthur at the Dai Ichi Building.

The third letter of the new year was actually misdated as 1945, but, as we all know, it takes a week or so for the new year to sink into one's mind.  It's a short letter, since I assume Maj. Gillham is still battling his New Year's cold.  Again, he uses the word "Jap," which I have discussed before, and I am convinced that there is nothing derogatory in Maj. Gillham's intent.  It is akin to our current usage of the word "Brit" to signify a Briton.  However, there is no doubt that the word "Jap" is now pejorative and should never be used except with a historical perspective.

Tokyo
4 Jan 1945

Dearest Love,

A Jap that I met on a train made me a present of this paper. There is an old Japanese proverb that says, "That which is bought is cheaper than a gift." I wound up by giving him a candy bar.

Enclosed are some recent pictures. The place that I found that did good work is temporarily closed, and these were not printed very well. Also the trouble with getting someone else to take pictures with you in them is that they frequently mess them up. You will notice that I have had no more trouble with the camera leaking. It was that little red window that shows the shot number; it had faded so it was letting white light in. I keep tape over it now.

Stew Barron, whom we knew in Chicago, has been promoted to major and moved over here. I had him up for a drink before supper tonight.

I am going to take it easy tomorrow and try to get rid of this cold. Starting Monday, I will have another working spell which will keep me tied down for two or three weeks. I have had a good deal of spare time lately, but haven't been able to take advantage of it on account of this blooming old cold.

We have movies 2 or 3 times a week, but they are generally third-class stuff. However, it is diverting.

I met a Cpl. Allen at the Dai Ichi Bldg. today. He is from Memphis and is working here as a telephone intsaller. In fact, he is the son of Seddon Allen, our lawyer in Memphis. Isn't it a small world and don't the tables turn?

I plan to sleep late in the morning and spend the time dreaming of you, my love. Then I will get up and make me a cup of Nescafe from my nice, little bottle. Everyone admired both my bottles.

Much, much love,

Bill

The first letter of 1946

In today's letter, we learn that Maj. Gillham has found out a few more things about the family's trip east, and he makes a startlingly prescient remark about the odds of them getting home before Christmas.

Effie Tucker Gillham, Maj. Gillham's mother, was widowed at this point and living alone in Memphis.  From what I can gather from earlier letters and family remembrances, she was not doing well at all and couldn't write.  Her nurse, Addie, would write letters to the family on Effie's behalf, and Maj. Gillham was not sure that he could trust everything that Addie was reporting.  The family's maid from Kerrville, Cora, would also visit Effie in Memphis and write letters reporting on her condition.  Effie would only live nine more months from this point.

Tokyo
2 Jan 1946

Dearest Darling,

My mail is beginning to filter through now.  I got your cable from Shreveport today.  Many thanks.  It was a little faster than mail, but that service was swamped with the holiday rush also.  I got your letter today from the L.A. Biltmore and also the one you wrote in Abeline, Texas.  When mail goes half way around the world, I guess you must allow for it getting scrambled a little.  I also got two letters from Mother written by her nurse.  One was mailed to my new APO on 21 Nov. and the other to my old APO on 3 Dec.  Neither was air mail.

I know you had a hard time driving across the country, but somehow when I read about it, instead of feeling sad for you, I sit there and laugh out loud.  I hope you don't mind.  I also hope it wasn't too hard on Father.  I know what he went through.  It is still an even-money bet in my mind that you didn't get to Atlanta by Christmas.  Did you go by Memphis?  I know a bad cold wave hit about then.

Darling, you are such a good sport and I enjoy traveling with you.  Do you realize that with all our traveling we have made only one crossing of the continent together?  That was the first time in 1941.  We had a good time, didn't we?

Guess who just dropped in to see me?  Maj. Wade.  He is at Nagoya and doesn't think he has been given anything important enough to do.  However, he is looking well and happy.  I think he wants to stay over here for some time, if he can get the job he wants.

I feel much better now that I have gotten some mail and my cold is better.  I am very thankful for all the good things I have in life and you are one of the "goodest."

I am enclosing the cable you sent for your interest.

I love you, my darling, and am looking forward to the time when we can be reunited and face life together again.  It won't be so very long.  I was just looking at a calendar.  The time will pass before we know it.

Love,

Bill

******************

I was certainly surprised to see that Maj. Gillham got a letter from Frances that seems to have come from the Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel.  This was one of the premiere hotels in the city at the time, and it is still in operation today.  It was built in 1928 in Art Deco style, and at the time it was the biggest hotel west of the Palmer House in Chicago.  My mother (Monty) is pretty certain that they wouldn't have stayed in such a fine hotel in the center of the city.  Perhaps the "letter" he refers to was actually a postcard, or perhaps Frances or Pop somehow got hold of some hotel stationery.

An undated postcard of the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles

(copied from the Internet)

Nagoya is a Pacific port city on the main island of Honshu about 150 miles west of Tokyo.  It is now the third largest city in Japan after Tokyo and Osaka.

The fact that the family made stops in Abilene and Shreveport seems to confirm my suspicion that they were traveling on U.S. 80.  It is also clear that they did not stop in Memphis on their trip.  They did, however, come into Atlanta from Tallapoosa, GA, so in order to do that, they must have gotten off U.S. 80 at some point and headed up to U.S. 78.

The last letter written to Robles del Rio, California

Today I noticed I have 15 followers, which is great, and I welcome the four new followers, whoever they may be.  For some reason, only 13 are identified on my dashboard, so I am assuming I have two additional stealth followers.  Maybe one of you veteran bloggers can explain the discrepancy to me.  In any event, everyone is welcome, and don't forget our big Followers Reunion in Bermuda this spring.

Yesterday I made several amazing discoveries in an old green army trunk in our attic:  I found bound copies of six of the reports that Maj. Gillham had been working on for Gen. MacArthur and the GHQ SCAP.  They are veritable works of art, with charts, graphs, maps, and the typing job is masterful, considering this was way before the advent of word processing or even electric typewriters.  There is no way I can include these in my blog, but if anyone is interested in them, I would be happy to go into greater detail about them.

My other discoveries were several personal items of Maj. Gillham, including his dog tags, his military ID, and several medals that he was awarded for service in WWII and during the Occupation.  I am trying to find a way to scan these, or photograph them, to include on this blog.  I also found a pile of old photos, some of which are pertinent to us here, and I will post some of them below, after today's letter.

This letter is a short one, the last one addressed to the Gillhams in Robles del Rio, since the family is now most probably underway on their trip east.  Maj. Gillham also comments on the growing influx of private citizens in Japan, usually sent over by private companies.  This is a fairly common phenomenon with all wars, most recently seen in our conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Tokyo
9 Dec 45

Dearest Love,

I don't know if you will get this before you leave Robles or not, but I said I would write you there until the 10th.  I am also writing to La Jolla and El Paso (Gen. Del.) and will write to Memphis.

I certainly hope you will have a nice trip and enjoy the reunion with your family.  It is nice to have a family to go to see.

Today is Sunday and it is a beautiful day -- but I have to work, so I can't take it all in.

The American civilians are coming in here in ever-increasing numbers.  They all have some sort of official job so far, in order to get in.  We call them the "carpetbaggers."  I guess they will gradually take things over here -- and at a very good salary for themselves.  Most of them get from $6,000 to $10,000 a year plus expenses.  They rate as experts, but I think that most of them were previously government clerks or small-time politicians.  Some of the WACS are taking their discharges and staying on as civilians.

I got a good box and I am gradually collecting a few more things for you and the children.  When I get it full I will send it on.  I sent one box to Atlanta.

I guess this will be my last letter to Robles, unless I hear from you to the contrary.

Good luck and have a good time.  I will be writing to you wherever you are as long as I know where it is.

Lots of love,

Bill

*************************

This may be as good a point as any to offer a small biographical sketch of Maj. Gillham prior to his joining the Army.  He was born William Tucker Gillham on October 6, 1908, at the home of his parents, George Halsey Gillham and Effie Young Tucker Gillham in Memphis, TN.  He was an only child, although he did have an older brother who died in infancy.  His parents were married in 1898 and were by all accounts a fun-loving couple who were the life of all the parties they attended.  His father had many careers during his life, but the one he is remembered for most is that of a writer of stories for boys and young men.  His most famous work was The Adventures of William Tucker, the protagonist of which he named after his son.  The work was serialized in The Youth's Companion magazine in 1926 and published as a book in 1927. 

Pages 4 and 1 of a four-page circular touting George Gillham's book.

Pages 2 and 3 of the circular, with reviews of the book

William T. Gillham (who was known as Bill to his friends, but was William to his family) grew up in the small town of Kerrville, Tennessee, about 20 miles north of Memphis.  The town was named after the family of his paternal grandmother, Maria Henderson Kerr Gillham.  The family name is pronounced just like the name of the movie star Deborah Kerr, yet the town's name is pronounced like the words "curve ill."  William attended the McCallie School in Chattanooga and graduated in 1926, and that fall he enrolled at the Georgia School of Technology (now the Georgia Institute of Technology), or Georgia Tech, in Atlanta.  He majored in electrical engineering and was a member of the Theta Chi fraternity.  He graduated in 1930, having witnessed the Georgia Tech Ramblin' Wreck win the national football championship in 1928 and attended the very first night game at Grant Field in 1929.

One of the earliest photos of William Gillham (right), astride a burrow

with his cousin Edward Lang in El Paso, TX, ca. 1910

Young William in an undated photo

William as a teen in the 1920s

William with an unnamed college sweetheart at Tech, 1920s

He met his future bride at the North Avenue Presbyterian Church in Atlanta while at Tech and while Frances was at Girls High.  After graduation, he got a job with Southern Bell Telephone Company in Atlanta, and Frances attended the Georgia State College for Women in Milledgeville.  As a result of the stock market crash, however, he and most of his colleagues lost their jobs and he was forced to return to his home in Kerrville where, as he put it, he got a job with Standard Oil, i.e., pumping gas at a local filling station.  The couple finally married in 1933 in Atlanta, and they lived at his family home, called "the little brown house," in Kerrville.

He was ultimately hired back by Southern Bell and was sent to Knoxville, TN, where Emily was born in 1935.  By 1938 they were back in Memphis, where my mother, Monty, was born.  After a short stay in Jackson, MS, he and several other Southern Bell colleagues joined the Army and began officer training in Ft. Monroe, VA, in 1941.  The rest of his Army life should by now be very familiar to you.

Two letters sent to the family on their way east, and a stroll down memory lane

Today I finally made a substantial number of scans and retrofitted them into my previous posts.  You are encouraged to go back to those posts and take a look at them.  I have also added some text regarding the new images.  Here is a list of the affected posts:

January 9, 13, 14, 17, 23, 25 and 31
February 11, 12 and 13

Today's first letter is one of my favorites, and one of the family's as well.  In it he takes a stream-of-consciousness walk down memory lane, recounting several incidents that were dear to them both.  I hope I have given you enough background so that you can recognize most of the places he mentions.  If not, just let me know in a comment.

He wrote two letters today:  the first one he wrote to General Delivery in El Paso, TX, for the family to pick up on their trip east.  The second one he wrote to 992 Washita Avenue, Atlanta, GA, the home of Frances' parents and their ultimate destination.

Tokyo
8 Dec 1945

Dearest Lovely,

I am sending this letter on now so it will get to El Pase before you do.  There is not much that I can write in the way of news, but I can say again that I think you are mighty sweet.

I wonder how the trip has been so far.  How you been able to get good places to stay at night?  Is the car running all right?  Be sure to keep the tire pressure right;  about 32 lbs. should be O.K.

It has been nearly five years since you and I were in El Paso before.  We had just been to Carlsbad Caverns and were heading west on a big adventure.  It has been fun, hasn't it?  I think we made the most of it.  When I think back over the past five years, it is interesting to see the scenes that come to mind -- A pane of glass broken out at the foot of my bed in a dirty old barracks at Ft. Monroe -- You in a slick black dress in our room at the Chamberlain -- Washington in the snow -- A patch of green grass by the side of the road in Texas where we ate lunch -- Water running through the streets of San Bernardino -- Red geraniums -- "Our" beach at La Jolla with the breakers coming over the green, green sea grass on the rock -- Sleeping in our sleeping bags in the rain in the mountains east of San Diego -- Riding a troop train across the country -- Climbing the bluff at Callan all out of wind -- Looking at battlefields in Virginia with Glore -- Swimming in a warm lake at Orlando -- Sailing on Buzzards Bay -- Bringing in a Christmas tree, getting holly in the heavy snow -- Walking up a blacked-out street in Boston not knowing where we could spend the night -- selecting wine at the Waldorf-Astoria -- A night at Browns Court before getting to Charlottesville -- The people coming out of church at Charlottesville -- Camping in the misty clouds in the Shenandoah -- Winning at the races in Chicago -- Looking at the zoo -- Putting you and Grandmother on the train -- 63rd Street in the snow and slush -- The keen bite of the zero wind on the Midway -- Searching for Flip-Flop down the alley -- Giving the guard your entrance slip at Gardner General -- the lights of Chicago from aboard the aircraft carrier -- The bright stars in Oklahoma -- The first green valley in California -- Martha in her pretty basket -- A chuck roast cooking on the charcoal -- Going up the hill at the Presidio through the everlasting fog with everything drippy -- Kissing you good-bye in the car at CASA -- Watching men come up the gang plank with their duffle bags on their backs -- The spray of a big wave breaking over the bow of the ship -- Fuji Yama looking just like it was supposed to -- And many, many others.  All in all I think it has been a good five years, don't you?  It has certainly broadened our lives and given us some wonderful memories.

Edward Lang's mother, Cousin Helen, lives at Yesleta, about 12 miles east of El Paso.  I think you go right by there so stop and see her.  I am sure you will enjoy it.  Pass the word conveying my love to all the El Paso relatives.  If you go by Dallas look up cousin Herbert.

I also have many childhood memories connected with El Paso.  I used to climb all over Mt. Franklin, and I frequently went down to Yesleta to spend the week-end with Edward.

The next place that you may be able to pick up a note from me will be Memphis.  I am still writing to Mother's old address there -- 1042 E. McLemore.

Tell Emily and Monty I am looking at their pictures every time I write a letter.  I love them very much.

Take good care of yourself and hold our family together until I get home.

All the love in the world,

Bill

******************

 

Tokyo
8 Dec 1945

Dearest Love,

It is 10 P.M. and I am at the office.  I had to catch up on some work and then went to a picture show here in the building.  Charles Lawton in Capt. Kidd.  It was very good.

After getting my boxes of brass all banded and ready to ship, one of them was a few pounds too heavy to go by parcel post, so I will have to undo it when I get a chance and take something out.

I got a letter this afternoon which exasperated me.  It was from that Transportation Officer at the Presidio.  He thought I hadn't signed those forms on the right line and is holding your things in Monterey until he hears from me in Japan.  In the first place, he is wrong, in the second stupid.  I will sign him some more forms just like I did before and send them in the morning.  I hope you won't be too muchly inconvenienced by the delay.

I will have to work pretty hard for a few days now.  I hope I get another letter from you tomorrow.

My cold is improving.

I surely do miss you, my little sweetie pie.  It would be so nice to have you around.  You are a part of my being now and I feel very bob-tailed without you.  Time is passing and we will be together again before long.

Lots of love,

Bill

**********************

I will have to do a little more digging into the Montagues of Texas that Maj. Gillham speaks of here, but I can pretty much guess that the little boy Monte Lang pictured in a previous post is somehow related to Helen and her son Edward mentioned in today's first letter.

Ysleta, Texas (which Maj. Gillham erroneously refers to as Yesleta in the letter), is a small border town east of El Paso along the Rio Grande.  There is a very old mission there, and the town itself was settled in 1680 and is one of the first European settlements in the state of Texas.

The "Mt. Franklin" he refers to in the first letter is actually a small chain called the Franklin Mountains, and there are two major peaks, North Franklin and South Franklin.  North Franklin Mountain is the highest, at 7,192 feet.

From left to right, North and South Franklin Mountains,

near El Paso, TX

The film Captain Kidd was released in 1945, so it was a relatively new film for a foreign Army outpost.  It starred Charles Laughton ("Lawton" in the letter) in the title role, and also Randolph Scott.

More catching up with the home front since the new batch of letters

Sorry for missing a day, but it's bound to happen now and then.  Today I got some of Maj. Gillham's Japanese memorabilia from Emily, his daughter.  Included in the box:

1.  Letters from Frances and others (but none from 1945)
2.  Photographs, including Maj. Gillham in front of the Dai Ichi building, and Gen. MacArthur walking into the building.
3.  Maps of Tokyo and Japan
4.  Souvenirs from places he visited, including Nikko, Atami, and Hiroshima.

As soon as I can, I will scan some of the more relevant photos.

This letter was written 11 days after the previous one, which is the longest hiatus so far.  However, he probably wrote other letters in the meantime -- he has even written one earlier that day, which I don't have in the collection.

Tokyo, Japan
26 Nov 1945

Dearest Darling,

This is my second to you today, but I got some pictures back and wanted to get them off right away.  Since we got our big report off, we are not so busy at the office.  I took one roll of film to one place and another to a different one as a hedge.  One was more expensive -- and much better as you can see.

Guess who is on the court martial that is trying Gen. Yamashita in Manila?  None other than my old friend Gen. Handwerk!  That really serves the war criminals right, doesn't it?

Yesterday I went out into the country to scout around a little, and while I was gone, George Bull came to see me at the hotel.  He left me a note and I wrote him a letter.  He is stationed at Mito, which is only about 80 miles away so we may get together yet.  Mito is the town about which most of our theoretical problems involved at Charlottesville, so we all feel that we already know the place.

When I get the details of your plans, I will also try to have a letter for you at Memphis.  I will send it in care of Mother.  Do you know if she has moved yet and what her new address is?

Transfer of money into a bank in the states takes about three weeks, so if I send any I will send it to the Charlottesville bank, and advise you.

It sounds like Miss Martha is getting to be quite a cutter.  I imagine she will keep things from becoming too boring for you for quite a while.  We are very fortunate to have three such fine children.

You are certainly a smart girl, taking such good care of business and looking after the car so well. The best thing to do to the new paint on the car is to wax it, then you won't have to worry about the dew.  In fact it would make the car look more uniform if it were waxed all over.  I think that would cost about $10 in Monterey, but it is a big job if you do it yourself.

Is any of CASA left at the Presidio?  Is Ord still as busy as ever?

I ran into an officer that spent a month with Joe Mabey -- said he thought he had gone home.

As to what I want you to send me, I can't think of much.  The two padlocks I asked for once before would come in handy.  In the food line something like sardines and hard cheese would be fine.  If you have to show a request at the P.O., I will put a note at the bottom just to cover you.

Lots of love,

Bill

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Tokyo, Japan
26 Nov 1945

Dear Frances,

Please send me some food and some books, and a couple of padlocks.

Thanks,

W.T. Gillham
Maj. COC