Dear Mother & Dad;
Another line from the beachhead. Very seldom I write a long letter to you both or to anyone for a matter of fact so I guess you can past this one around. I have very little time to write letters and V mail letters makes it much easier for me. With the radio informing us that the 3rd Division is officially here (enhancing our glory” I think it said.) So I guess we are getting a share of newspaper space back in the states.
The third had did quite a bit in the war and the papers have said little about them so I guess now we are getting a break. It feels pretty good two read about yourself once in awhile (this may 
be pretty hard to read as I am laying down in a dugout, ha ha.) Everyone has them these days you know. Old Jerry plays no favorites. You have mentioned a few times of seeing our shoulder patch on soldiers passing through town ( in the movies I mean) we now are getting the big head and have one painted on each side of our helmet. So you can recognize us more easily next time. It said in the news ” the eyes of the world are up on you.” Ha ha they just weren’t kidding. The Krouts look right down your neck. I have been through a lot of battles but this one takes the cake.
Our moral got pretty low here but now it has perked up a little. A few of the Fellows finally took off for the states on “rotation” for a month 
furlough. The percentage is awful small so don’t dream of me getting on the list for a long time to come. Anyhow it’s at least something for us to look forward to.
I imagine all of you would like to know what it’s like here. Well frankly it’s like a night in hell. But then will come a quiet spell. One thing, here we have front row seats on bombing raids. You don’t know how it makes us feel when we see our big bombers go over and pound the Krouts heads. It’s really horrible but this is war. The Air Core boys do their job, but then they go back to a nice warm place and are threw for the day. When we have to live in the mud and work in the mud. It’s funny how few of us get sick. If I was home and lived like this, wow! I’d hate to think of it. But we are used to it, so we take it and just gripe of the poor kids that 
stay and the nice warm barracks back in the states and the closest thing they come to fighting is to fight to get into the U.S.O.’s My but they have it tough.
The whole credit of this war should go to the infantry. We of the engineers live back behind the lines. But when we work, we work with them and sometimes in front of them so it’s not easy by a long shot. How the infantry lives like they do is beyond me, but I’ll take my hat off to any of them. Everyone has his job to do in this war. Some are lucky and get Base Section jobs. That’s OK, because being over sea’s is bad enough. They get most of the credit for what we do. They have all the comforts of home back behind the line. They get showers and all sorts of entertainment that you read about the boys over seas are getting. But the fighting 
soldier, — NO — the man who deserves these things — NO — I’ve not seen over seven shows since are landing in Italy last September (not counting my five day rest furlough) if people think we are fighting for our country they’re crazy, and most every fighting soldier will tell you the same thing. We are fighting to get this damn war over with and get back to our mothers and fathers, wives and sweethearts and to a decent country to live in. I wouldn’t live in one of these countries over here for all the money in the world.
Guess I’m through now. Hope this passes the censors OK, but it’s the way I feel at the present time. Your letters are all coming in fine. I am a little slow in writing to you, please forgive me. Please understand that you are never out of my mind, and I love you both from the bottom of my heart.
\Your loving son
“Chick”
