Pvt. Sam E. Smith 34635335
Hq. Co. 51st. Armd. inf. Bn-
A.P.O. 254 c/o Postmaster
New York, New York
Free
A.P.O. U.S. ARMY POSTAL SERVICE
254
FEB
22
1944
Miss Martha Smith
1255 East Moreland
Memphis, Tenn.
PASSED BY
U 10536 S
ARMY EXAMINER
LT. A.D. GORTON


Feb. 20, 1944
Sunday
Dear Martha,
I have been sitting around
here all day shooting the
bull with the boys and
couldn't get down to writing
any letters.
I got your last letter
a couple of days ago and 
enjoyed it a heap. I
have been getting my mail
pretty regular lately and
I really enjoy getting it
Mother and Bernice
wrote me to tell them
more about the Country


2
here. Well I've been around
a good little bit since I've
been in the Army and
every place I've been
has been pretty much
the same except for the
weather. I have found
no weather yet that
I like as well as Miss.
It has rained nine
days out of then ever
since we have been
here and when the sun
does come out it never
climbs high like it
does at home. The Country


3
is very beautiful. When the
sun does shine out on
it, it just glitters. The
grass is green all the
year around. The Country
is laid of in small
squares of truck patches 
and looks good from a
high hill. They let us
fo town pretty often. When
we get into the edge of
town About fifty kids
jump us and go to yelling
for chewing gum & American
coins. We can't help them
much because we only


get one pack of gum a
week. These nights are
so dark we can't see
a thing. The towns are
completely blacked out.
We really have a time
getting aroung in the 
dark and if we don't
keep on the abut a
bicycle will run over
us. I know the town 
pretty well now. After
dark, I can find the 
joints without any trouble
trouble at night. I went
in, in the day time once


5
and when I saw the town
I couldn't believe it
was the same place. I 
couldn't find a single
place that I wanted to
go. We have a pretty 
good time here. The
people are friendly and
nice to us.
We went to a
stage show last week,
we marched out together.
The show was put on 
by special service men.
It was a good show
and well worth the


6
five miles that we
marched to see it.
They had an an a band 
and some good music
and comedy acts.
Some English kids visited
us here in Camp today.
They came around to the 
huts and talked to us. They
are pretty hard to understand
but are smart younguns.
They said they had come
to have tea with the
Yanks. Some of the boys
gave them their mess kit
lids and they went through