Dearest Gee.
I was a little under the weather yesterday so I didn’t write any letters. No, I wasn’t stiff. Just a light case of the G.I.s. Only received one letter yesterday and that was from Sis.
Since you asked for all the information on Wally, I’ve found a few things I can tell you. I’ll tell you of his wounds but I don’t know how much you should tell his sister. Use your own judgment. Walter E. Saathoff was on a secondary line, along with us too. He and some more men were sleeping in a house. That morning (April 1) about eleven o’clock the Jerrys finally managed to put a shell thru the roof and it exploded inside. The Jerrys had been shelling off and on all morning long but as a rule they never seem to hit our houses very often. Several of his boys wanted him to get out and go to a place of a little more safety but he and a few more decided to stay and sleep or write letters. He received lacerating wounds in both legs and severe wounds in his back and right thigh. His buddies came to his aid right away and they got him to the hospital just as quickly as possible. The whole company knew him and we all liked him. Wish you’d give his folks our sympathy. As for his suffering, he was given the sulphate pills right away, and then morphine so his suffering was stopped pretty fast. From all the information I can gather about such things, the wounds don’t hurt very much at first until the shock takes effect. If they can get fast treatment it helps out a lot. The Anzio beachhead was a wicked place but it sure ought to be different now. That’s about all the information I can give you on him. I wish you’d keep a couple good snapshots of him if you can.
I told Close about you losing your cigarette case and then told him you found it again (I hope!). When the devil did you get the formal I’ve been hearing about? Was sho happy to hear about the 106 bucks you plunked in the bank.
The U.S.O. came today and put on a little show for us. They had a couple of read, alive, honest to goodness American girls who sang for us. Boy, did they look good! Then they had an accordion player, and a dang good juggler, and a good master of ceremonies who doubled as a magician too. It was a good show and I thought the guys were going to make the blonde gal sign till she was hoarse. They have some dang nice looking babes in Italy but when an American gal comes along the Italians gotta take a back seat.
Yes, I like Mauldin’s comics too. Some of them you have to be a soldier to appreciate. A lot of them are truer to life than you think. I bought a book of his comics I’ll try and send you. They sure had some names for streets and stuff, ain’t it? They were talking about our outfit. We got quite a gob of publicity in there. Sure wish I was Tom too, lucky devil. There will come a day, I hope. Sure do miss you. Love you like everything.
So long now,
Snook
Letters From Snook 