Well, this is exciting! This is the first letter postmarked from the YMS-299.

The stomach problems have returned, that are presumably a mixture of butterflies for war and seasickness. He is tired of water and yearning for the land in back in Utah.

Ending this letter, he talks about laundry by brush. They never did get a washing machine. There isn’t room for it on such a small ship. I have an audio interview that I’ll post when I can, where he discusses the process and humor in laundry. They would tow their clothes on a line in the water to wash them, then lay them out to dry. They collected so much salt in them that they would become stiff and crispy, making velcro-like sounds when you moved in a freshly “cleaned” pair.

Envelope (front); November 12, 1944

Envelope (front); November 12, 1944

Charles D. Paul MoMM 2/c
USS- Y.M.S. 299
c/o Fleet Post Office
San Francisco, Calif.

Mr. Frank O. Paul
2919 Brinks Avenue
Ogden, Utah

Passed by Naval Censor
F.O.M.

U.S. Postage
6 cents
Via Air Mail

U.S. NAVY
Nov 13 1944

United States Navy
Nov. 12, 1944

Letter home (page 1); November 12, 1944

Letter home (page 1); November 12, 1944

Letter home (page 2); November 12, 1944

Letter home (page 2); November 12, 1944

Dear Folks,
Well I have caught me another ship. I believe I will like this one better. The officer aboard her seems to care more about the men than my last ship. It isn’t near as strict, and much easier to get along. It is really a nice crew.

Only one bad feature. The ship is much smaller and as rough as they come. Lately, my stomach has been bothering me more than it ever has before. I am afraid I won’t be able to take it long. If we were in the States, I would go to the hospital and let them operate this time if they wanted to, but I can’t see it clear out here. I don’t want to be stuck some place for months like this.

I may get a chance to go to church yet. The way it looks, it is very possible. All I can do is wait and hope. If I wait long enough, the day will come. If it doesn’t, I’ll have to wait until I get home, which looks very far away.

This year is nearly gone, and what have I done I can really talk about, except travel. All you see is water and more water. Yet when we hit the beach, we go swimming. That’s about all there is to do here. I can’t figure why people from the States leave to work at a place like this. I surely would never leave.

We had chicken today and it was good. Every once in a while we get a break. We have a good cook, so we ought to eat pretty fair all the time.

Chow is just about down and I have a big wash to do tonight. We have to scrub by brush again. Maybe we will get a wash machine.

With love,
Charles