03/31/1946

March 31, 1946

Dear Ralph,

I got that type written letter some time ago & so to day I finally decided to sit down & write you one in return.

Charlie, Tempo & Kauai Mr Chinen were here the last week more as a business trip & left this morning at 700 AM. Mr Chinen look pretty healthy now with a little more tan on him.

Looks like our little kid brother will be joining U.S. armed forces in a couple of days. You must know by now that he has an A-1 classification fit for any service. I still don’t see how some of these guys get 4F classification
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for just having a crooked arm or something like that. Fusako been trying to force him to get a deferment through his school or doctor but he doesn’t seem to care so I guess he wants to get in.

Maybe [twill] do him some good & he can prove to everybody he can take it because everyone thinks he’s a helpless guy & that get’s him mad.

Now getting back to language. I don’t know what kind of German you studied but from what I hear from the boys coming back from Germany it was the easiest language to pick up & use in everyday conversation. I wouldn’t know for I never got that far but they all say French is the hardest language to speak because of
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the many silent letters & they pronounce their words altogether different from the way you see it unlike Italian or Spanish. I guess since you had to deal mostly with scientific terms made it all the difference. I find that I can pick up phrases here & there when they use Italian or French in the movies & I wasn’t too good in picking up any of the two when I was overseas.

From your letters you seem to have sure a lot of sympathy for the Japanese. Maybe these guys don’t realize what goes on over there but I think I have a pretty good idea how it is. So with a lot of guys they don’t know how combat was & I know it has
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made me kind of hard inside especially when it comes to pitying the other guy.

Apr 2.
Fusako received your second installment of $20.00 cash & your check of $50.00. Your alloment is coming in alright to the Bank of Hawaii.

Yesterday was fools day but it was no joke Old Man Neptune played upon a lot of folks from Hilo, Hawaii to Haena, Kauai by giving them a thorough drenching & killing & drowing a lot of them.

It wasn’t anything on this side by the North side & Koko head side sure took a beating. Them waves smashed houses like tinder box & at Kalihiwai I hear it just about wiped the town out. The hardest hit was Hilo, Hawaii with around 50 known dead so far. No accurate can be had for couple days yet.

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I personally haven’t been around to survey the damage done & anyway it can’t be done now for all those place are under a state of emergency & nobody is allow around there. Futhermore a lot of places have been washed out. I hear the bridge at Wainiha was washed away. Most of the dead are young kids & old folks & it will probably total over a century when the final official count is made. To us in town it’s nothing more than if it were you reading about it in the papers. With all this housing shortage it will make things that much worse.

On Sundays me, Peanut Sei & Taro make the foursome in playing 500. Now since Peanut is on Kauai we have to wait until he gets back to continue
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our “Sunday” rendevous near the Band stand. Been to couple of fight lately & most of the main event have been disappointing with very little fighting. The last one was practically & all Kauai affair with Marciel Baptiste in the Main event with Benny Magtagone, Richard Silver, Yasutake & Tiger Rosa making up part of the rest of the card. Most of the fights are held in the [paper torn: missing text]
ain’t so hot at
the year with the Manoa rain always threatening.

Well that’s all for now
Brother,
Saburo