1st bn cp, 66th inf, pa
april 10, 1945


my dear fely,

i don't know whether you got my first letter written in the mountains or not, but in any case here i am again. i've just come down from the mountains with the battalion and we are now working with american forces on the drive towards (part removed). japs are still thick in our area but our boys are slowly pushing them back and still we expect to be in (part removed) in a week, or two weeks at the longest.

after being in the mountains for so long and practically left all alone to shift for ourselves and fight the japs with inferior arms and no support whatsoever, you can't imagine how it feels to be with the american army and fighting side by side with them. tis is really the time when no one can realize that freedom and liberty bind men whether they be white, black, brown or yellow more strongly than anything else. black and white can be brothers when they both are fighting for freedom. well, so much for this - we all know that there is still a war to be won and that altho most of our country has been liberated, there is still plenty to be done.

why don't you pack up and get ready to come up to (part removed)? i am inviting you and your family to join mine as soon as (part removed) will be cleaned up. you won't have to worry about anything - i'll take care of everything. of course there's nothing left standing in baguio. it has been leveled to the ground by bombs, but i'm sure that if you come we will see the same baguio that we knew - that, i'm sure, can never be erased by any man-made destruction machine. i wish you'll let me know if you are agreeable to my proposition.

by the way, in case you did'nt get my first letter, i heard that lourdes was executed by the japs. i got this information from so many sources which are reliable, and i'm afraid i believe it.

i guess this will be all for this time, and i hope you and your family are well and safe. if you'll ever care to answer this letter, address your reply as appearing on the envelope. here's my regards to you all. my love is for you exclusively.

yours,
ely









to be continued...