WWII 1943 -1944 Diary Stationed in Aleutians, William S. Clark

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Written in his daily reminder calendar, begun in 11/1943; his work includes writing 35 letters to families of servicemen; refers to their office used for confessions to Catholic Chaplin; refers to transfer orders to Sitka of some men, as well as “mess hall”. � “Morale seems to have taken skyward among A.T.F.G. men. They will be going home soon! I will have un til August of 1945 – No hopes”. Each day is different: “Erroll Flynn & co will be here –“; “our chapel was fortified with sandbags”; ironed shirts for himself & 2 officers; “3 boats came in last night – ‘Branch’ – ‘Columbia’ – ‘North Coast’”; goes to chapel; plays cards; goes to movies; New Year’s – whistles blowing & firing guns; Canadians all leaving; hut hit by avalanche & killed 2 men; blizzard on & on & on; 2 fellows killed by a dormant Jap land mine; terrible storm continues; extensive dental work; one funny note – they were allotted 2 bottles of beer 2 days a week, “uncorked so we can’t save them – officers get as much as they wish & drink in their quarters”; constantly training or playing card games; “Explored a Jap cave – Spinal needles & apparatus – philes (vials) of medicine – hand warmer – etc.”; terrible blizzards; Bible study often; friend leaving for home, sad; reference to letters sent & received; got drunk, fell down, skinned both knees; references to buddies – really good guys to work with; worked – lots of carpentering, building office, office desks; new club – Club Kiska; works for chaplain off & on; vaccinated for typhoid & tetanus – reaction, so ill; busy with teletype – broken, they fixed, very busy; ironed communion linens for chaplain; drinking a lot these days; U.S.O. visits from time to time; saw a girl today “& I thought I was seeing a mirage – I ate dinner with her. 3 girls are here” . . . for the U.S.O. show; “hangover” . . “stinko and got in two fights – I didn’t get hurt”; “We had to excavate some dirt that caved in on our hut.”;club closed temporarily by C.O.; . . .& so the diary� continues in his day to day routine with references to some of the Allied advances in Europe, comings & goings of fellow soldiers, exploration of extensive Japanese cave system (even under their huts) – still filled with supplies of food, ammunition as if they were planning a long stay. He was transferred, but was disappointed he was not promoted or advanced as he expected he had earned. Found another dead “Jap” & buried him. Also found a downed American flyer & buried him with ceremony. The diary is disorganized in that it begins in 1943, continues through 1944, & then is back in 1943. Addresses are listed at the end of this diary. The diary is not as interesting after he’s transferred – he’s lonely, even bored. I have no idea how this ended up here in east central Illinois. I hope he made it home.~ ~ ~ We charge actual shipping costs only, with no handling fees. � PLEASE WAIT FOR YOUR INVOICE FROM US, BECAUSE SOMETIMES E-BAY QUOTES A MORE EXPENSIVE POSTAGE QUOTE THAN IS REQUIRED. YOUR PURCHASE WILL BE SENT (WITHIN THE U.S.) WITH USPS Tracking, paid for by us on First Class delivery; we assume that fee to insure that your package is tracked until it arrives. Because e-Bay has told us we no longer may charge for insurance on any item, we again will assume that cost for breakable items over $30.00. We are always happy to COMBINE SHIPPING on multiple items/purchases. Illinois residents must pay 8% sales tax or furnish a current resale number. At auction’s end, we will send each winner an invoice through eBay. High bidder pays actual postage cost. Due to the change in eBay’s policy we now only accept PayPal unless the buyer asks us ahead of time for other pay methods. INTERNATIONAL BUYERS PLEASE READ - We do ship internationally, but the only items that can be tracked are Priority Mail or Global Express which are very expensive; the buyer, however, can choose First Class Mail as an option, but we are not responsible for the item once it is delivered to our Post Office. If the item is lost in an international transaction, we will do anything we can to hel... read more

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