baguio
april 24,1944


my darling,

i'm home once more on awol (it' got to be) and everything's fine except that you're not at the door to welcome me. i've got to go back to the mountains tomorrow and maybe in a week's time our outfit will be down lowlands. it will be harder to escape then because all the big bosses will be with us in the same camp. however, i'll move heaven and earth to get a furlough and come to see you.

you know, honey, i've always though that v-day will bring me one of the happiest days of my life. well, it did. but now i find out that f-day (f stands for fely) will be the happiest day of my life. darling, i could hardly wait to see you. now that the war is over, there's nothing that would be more important to me than seeing ou and loving you for always.

believe me, if i can't get a furlough by legal means, i'm coming to see you anyway, by hook or by crook. i won't care if i get a dishonorable discharge for doing so, but i've got to see you somehow. besides, my one ambition now - of course next to having you become as mrs. me - is to get out of the army and be a civilian again. so it won't really make much of a difference if i got discharged on your account.

don't be surprised if i show up one of these days. i'm taking all the risk because i love you, i love you, and i love you.

always,
ely