Aug 15, 1944
New Guinea

Dear Laura,
I received your letter last night, so I will try to
answer.
I didn’t expect to get an answer back so soon
from the last letter I wrote. It seemed like only a
few days ago that I wrote. Anyway I always like to
hear from anyone from back home.
I was wondering if you hadn’t found a boyfriend
by this time, but you hadn’t said anything about it.
I suppose you have gotten Joe’s letter by this
time. He said he wrote to you. You may wonder
why I gave him your address. Well he and I have
been friends ever since we were in Florida. I
showed him your picture and he said he would
like to write to you. He is a nice fellow, about the
same size as me, of course we have big plans to
get together after the war. Our plans may not work
out, but he wants to see some of the country that I came from and I
where he came from. He lives in Arkansas or
however you spell it.
Yes mother and Isabel keep me posted pretty well
on what happens around home. I guess by the
time you get this letter Maxine will be gone.
Mother said something about her going to
Mansfield for a while. If she does you want to
watch out or she will get your boyfriend away from you.
There isn’t much I can tell you, only we are in a
much worse place than we were on the Admaralty
Islands.
Of course as you must know that that G. I. in the
army means government issue. You may have
heard this poem, but I am going to write part of it
just to take up space.
G. I this and G. I that
G. I shoes and G. I hat
G. I brush and G. I comb
G. I wish that I was home.
It’s a little bit corny too isn’t it. By the way they call me G.I. over here.
I hope you can read this, my light isn’t too bright
and the pencil is all I have to write with. Isabel has
sent me a pen but I haven’t gotten it yet. It is a
good thing I have an excuse, isn’t it?
It is getting late so will close for this time.
With love, Gordon