HEADQUARTERS 25th INFANTRY DIVISION
OFFICE OF THE A.C. OF S. G-2
A.P.O. 25
10 July 44
Dear Farrant:
I received a fine newspaper clipping the other day concerning your return to Honolulu. From all I gather you certainly have a fine record behind you, and it is the opinion of all of us here that knew you that that army has lost a fine officer. However, the army’s loss is Honolulu’s gain. Are you back to work with L & C?
We are still in our rest and training area, and sort of itching for another scrap. Too much training might make us a bit stale. But there is one definite advantage, When the boys get fed up with disclipine and training, they get mighty anxious to get back in combat. We have had some of the best division maneuvers that I have ever seen. We emphasized staff procedure and have it pretty much under control. I guess you know how important it is to have a good staff.
With two exceptions, all of the Kanaka boys are still around, Big Olsen is company commander of division hq co. Bob Smoot is a Captain in the 35th and special services officer, Jimmy Porter has C Company of the 27th, Phil Lindeman has the third battalion of the 161st and at present is acting regt’l CO. I see Phil more often that the others and find him the same PF. Every once in a while I go down to his outfit for a luau. Here, a luau consists of whiskey and/or beer and an assortment of eating stuff. By that last I mean food. Everybody gets good and drunk and a few always have to be carried home. As indicated by the letter head, I still have the same job, and like it very much.
This isn’t too bad a place. The food is pretty good, there is a moderate ration of beer, and the officers are able to get a couple of quarts of whiskey about every month. There’s a dance somewhere almost every night although most of them are too far away. We are sort of out in the sticks. There are a lot of hospitals and quite a number of pretty girls, Even I had a date the other night. But I always seem to get some gal who has either a dear boy friend in the marines or is engaged to some flyer. Maybe that’s just what they tell me, I don’t know.
Voorhees is still around somewhere although I don’t see him very often. He took a trip down to New Zealand a couple of weeks ago, and from all reports had himself a good time. By the way, there is a Lt. Comdr. at Pearl Harbor who spent quite a bit of time with us here. I’d like very much to tell him to look you up, and with your permission will tell him to do so in my next letter. He was formerly with the American Museum of Natural History and is well acquainted with all of the islands in the Pacific. Back in March of 1943 he made the first patrol to New Georgia. This was months before we went in there. He was also an instructor in a school I ran for the training of officers and men for taking patrols to enemy occupied islands. After spending months training such people, I finally got to go on one myself, but chose a small island where I was pretty sure there were few if any Japs, That was Kolombangara in the Central Solomons. As it turned out, my patrol found only one Jap. He was a skinny little rat but didn’t want to be captured. So we had to bury him.
Did you know that my brother has joined the Navy. He hasn’t written to me for some time, so I don’t know if he is still around or not. I guess there are few single or young men around Honolulu these days. Meant that to be a bit sarcastic, because when I was there last year, there were stilla a lot of draft dodgers hanging around. Now would be the time for them to get in because it looks pretty near to the end.
I got a copy of the Star Bulletin in which was listed the Hawaii dead, I was astounded. As far as I know, only two of them were lost down here. However, there may have been more with the 27th Div. Incidentaly, Dick Smoot is a Major still in the 298th. You know where they are, Frank Butterfield is a Captain in the air corps, Larry Willison is a Lt. Col, and is A.G. of Service Command of the 13th Air Force. He has a mighty good job and has really gone places. He was down about three weeks ago and stayed over night with us. He had had several meals with the 298th and reports that they are doing well. I understand however, that there was quite a bit of racial friction there. But the thing that heats me is how those ink minks still hold their rank and jobs. I could never serve under a few of them. I guess you know who I mean, It used to be that I wasn’t too much bothered by people like that but after what I’ve seen, well, its a little different.
Will you say hello to Russ Star and Gib Rietow if they are still around. Would certainly like to hear from you.
Best of luck,
Steve
