New Years Eve, 1953

                                                                                              

New Years Eve, 53

Dear Mom, Dad, and Snapper

Well I got a lot to say so I will start with the letter I got today from Dad.  The one you wrote Xmas even.  It sure was a nice letter.  The mornings have been cold here but the day warms up some.  Wed don’t keep our stoves on here.  It gets so cold the water in our waster cans freeze right here in our tent over night. 

This morning our company went on a moose patrol. We broke up into 9 patrols and went out in the hills.  Today is pay day and they wanted to catch them.  We caught 3 moose and one Chigee. (Note: remember that moose were Korean prostitutes and I am not sure what Chigee were.)  I took my camera and was going to take some pictures but when I saw them I changed my mind.  They were sure ugly.

We had the afternoon off again.  Today my grades came in from the school.  Sgt Miller is acting as First Sgt while our regular one is on R&R.  The Battalion Training Officer called up and said they wanted one man for Instructor School at Eta Jima Japan.  Sgt Miller turned my name into the Old Man right away and at noon he told me what he had done.  I said it sounded like a good deal.  After lunch they called me over to the company CP and talked to me.  Lt Anderson, whose wife lives in Kansas City, said he put a good word in for me at Battalion and said I could go probably.  So I went down to the Bn HQ at 3:00 and talked to the S-3 officer and there were two other guys who had been picked from other companies.  He turned on man down who had on 6 months to go and he sent him back.  I think he had planned to send me all along.  He told this boy who was left to tell how many fingers he had open under his desk and boy said 1.  The Captain said no, I had two open so McAnally you will go.  I was sure surprised.  He was the same officer who sent me to the NCO School.  The company had put in a good word and he remembered that I came out 3^rd in school so he wanted to send me. 

The school is at camp Eta Jima in Japan.  The same place that Zink went to CBR school on the way over.  It is the Far East Command School Center.  The course is Instructor Training, the same as I had in the NCO School.  It lasts for 2 weeks.  They said I would leave January 18 and take a train to Pusan and then a boat to Japan.  I will be gone a month or 4 weeks.  When I get back I will soon be on R&R.  So I have a couple of months gone before I know it.  I will give classes probably like I did in NCO school on probably more.  It is good that I came in good shape in NCO school.  It has helped more ways than one.  I’ll let you know more about it later on.

I haven’t seen the Old Man much.  He has been going to some kind of a school himself.

I got paid today and only got $68 as a pvt.  I should have gotten $93 and as a PFC $108.  I don’t know what was wrong.  If you could send me about $25 by money order so I could get it before I go to Japan I would appreciate it.  May be even $50.  I might see something I want to send home or something.  If I don’t spend it I will have it for R&R anyway.  It only takes a week to get your mail as a rule so I would just about get if before I go to Japan.  If not they will forward it to Japan.  Better not send any packages as they may get lost.  It will sure be funny to wear OD uniforms and not fatigues.  Not much going on here tonight.  No one is drunk yet.  I think I will go to the show.  I’ll write you more later and let you know the news.  We are going on a 24 hour problem Monday night so I probably won’t get a chance to write.

Love, Ted