Lt. Edw. J Nilges
0-1307740
Hq 442th Inf
APO 5116
C/o Postmaster New York, N.Y.

 
May 24, 1944
Dear Mother and Dad
 
           This trip has been a long one. The weather has generally been fair and conditions generally have been as favorable as possible.
           Like all troop ships this one is crowded. The food we get suffers by comparison to what the crew eats - under protection of the C.L.O. umbrella. On a day when we get some pasty rice and a couple of cubes of fat and gristle- the crew enjoys some fine food.
           The troops pass the time reading and playing cards. There is some military instuction and excercises. A radio is generally tuned to the American Expeditionary station. They feature music aand an occassional bluber about such nonsence as "human dignaty". I was under the impression that in a theatre of operations they despensed with that kind of hogwash.
           The shortness of these forms (V-Mail) is really a break for the writer - there isn't much to say anyway.
 
Ed