PFC Martin E Conlon
US 51 213 731
Co. D 34th INF. REGT. APO. 24
c/o P.M. SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF.
TO:
MR. & MRS. WILLIAM CONLON
9 ELIZABETH DRIVE
BETHPAGE, LONG ISLAND
N.Y.
March 11, 1954
Koje Island1
Dear Dot and Bill:
I just started this letter when they had mail call so I had to put it off for a couple of hours to read all the mail. It finally caught up with us. We want for about a month and I don’t think any one person got more than five or six letters all that time. It was sure it sure was good to hear from you again, as yours was one of the first letters that I read. I am glad to hear that everyone is fine and in good health and that everything is going along O.K. I hope that you have good weather to do all the things you have planned. It sure looks like a big job ahead. I will be glad to get back home and see everyone again. My buddy and I figured out today and by the time we get home it will mean that we were gone for 19 months. They are sending fellows out of here about 30 days prior to discharge, so I don’t figure to leave much before October or November. I get out the 2nd of December. It’s getting shorter every day and it’s only about eight months away. As you can see by the heading, I am now on Koje Island, which is off the coast of Korea. We are doing guard duty and I am getting awful sick of it. If anyone ever asks me to guard something when I get home, I know that I will be pretty mad, although I have had plenty of experience in that field. We usually pull 8 hours of guard a day and every fifth day we get 24 hours off. It is usually four hours in the morning and four more sometime during the night. The big trouble with guard duty is that it gives you too much time to think, and that’s no good over here. When you start thinking about home and the things you are going to do when you get out, the time really goes slow.
This is a big place, a lot bigger than I thought it was going to be. They claim there is about 1,000,000 people living on this island. We have our own barber in the company and plenty of room for athletics as there is only one battalion over here now and there used to be two regiments occupying the same area. There is a PX about three miles from here and we can get all the necessary items‑ also, there is a snack bar where we can get ice cream, doughnuts, sandwiches, etc. It’s not a very bad place, but I don’t think we are going to be here too long.
This month I became eligible for corporal, but I don’t think I will make it because there are quite a few fellows ahead of me. My job calls for it, but that doesn’t mean anything over here. I have one squad of men assigned to me and I personally have been made responsible for $4000.00 worth of U.S. Army equipment. There is a lot of talk that we will be getting some new weapons, 105MM recoilless rifles. There basically the same as a 75 recoilless except for the size of the shell and the fact they are mounted on a Jeep. I may get assigned to one of them. I just hope that I do because it will be a better job.
As you know, I went on R&R to Japan and had a very good time. We ate good food, saw plenty of shows, did some gift buying sightseeing, saw some 3D movies, and in general had a wonderful time. It is too bad that it didn’t last longer. When I get some more time, I will tell you about it. Right now I am going to get ready for chow, which by the way, hasn’t been very good lately. So I will close this letter. Give my regards to everyone and I will write again soon.
Love
Eddie
1. Koje (Geoje) Island is a large island off the west coast of Korea that was home to a very large Prisoner-of-War camp. It was notable for the kidnapping of the commandant and the demands of the prisoners for political rights.
