PVT 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.
Nov 11, 1953
Pusan
Dear Dot & Bill:
I just received a letter from Ann and she told me the good news. To save a lot of unnecessary words, I will simply say congratulations to both of you and I know you must be very happy.
Today is Armistice Day, but we didn’t have any observance of the holiday. We were supposed to have the day off, but at the last minute they changed their minds and decided it would be better for us if we worked. Well, I’ve had the past two days off anyhow because I injured my foot in some way and they are not sure yet just what is wrong. It is swollen along the bottom and there is a soreness inside, but I don’t think it’s serious, probably just a stone bruise of some sort.
I was going to tell you about the weather here, but I see by the papers that you have had some pretty rough weather at home. Did you get any snow or was it just high winds and rain? I hope that it didn’t do too much damage to the homes around there. Winter has hit us here also as the temperature went way down last night. We have heaters in our huts but they won’t let us light them as yet, maybe we will be able to in a day or so, at least I hope so.
We are going through basic training now and pretty soon we will be firing our heavy weapons such as the machine gun, 75, and the mortars. The only thing that I will fire is the 75 because that is the platoon that I am in. They say it is a good range that we will be firing on and we will have quite a bit of ammo. I imagine that we will probably camp out on the range because it is quite a ways outside of this camp. The past couple of weeks we were firing our personal weapons and I fired a 45 pistol, which is my personal weapon since I am assist. gunner now. It is a lot easier to carry around than that M1 rifle.
The place is shaping up pretty good around here lately. We have a nice PX, although it is a bit small for the entire regiment, and we have a very nice church also. Last but not least they are making an enlisted mens club where they serve beer, soft drinks, mixed drinks, and sandwiches. They do a very good business, as you might expect. As far as entertainment is concerned we always have the movies.
Some of the fellows are leaving on R&R tomorrow for Japan and I may get a chance to go in a couple of months. There was a rumor that the whole outfit was going to move out of Korea, but as yet nothing has been done to show any indication that the story was. Through. Well, I guess thats about all there is to write about for now, so I will close. Once again, I want to say congratulations to both of you.
Love
Eddie
