July 9, 1944

                                                            July 9
Dear Folks:
            Raining again. Lt. Gillam just got his bicycle that he left in Ir[e]land over 2 months ago. He has it in the hut now cleaning and repairing it. It was pretty well banged up. I’ve ridden in an English baggage car so I know how it got that way. He was lucky to see that bike again.
            We have a new mess officer and the chow has changed for the better. We have even had 2 small steaks since then. Some one stole Horridges bike so he is riding Doc Melvin’s while he is gone. When the Limeys installed the stove in our hut they merely cut a hole in the tin roof and stuck the pipe threw it. When it rained the water poured in so we crawled up on the roof one afternoon and fixed it. It seems to be holding the water out to-day. We also painted our stove green. The walls and floor are cream. Got some good snap shots from Jo the last week
            I see Mrs. A. Alquist is the reporter for the Times in her district. All for now.
                                    Yours truly,
                                                John
We have another fellows camera that uses 620 film so took some pictures. I sent 2 roll in 2 months ago to have developed & censored & haven’t heard from them. They must have really censored them.