January 3, 1951
Dearest Betty
We are now on a 24 hour stand by---for what? You tell me. Tomorrow I have to go to Pusan again and beg more parts for our guns from the Army. Sure hurts to ask a doggie for such things but they sure have it.
Darling, I don’t think I have ever told you much about Korea. I was thinking about you on my way down to Ord. And decided I’d tell you about it in al long letter tonight. So everything was quiet until I started to write. Then Stinson & Schleklaar started arguing and it is hard to write with such happening but I’ll try.
Well we will start in the towns. Straw covered mud huts, thin wood doors & paper covered windows. Narrow, dusty streets. Ever one uses the gutter as a sewer. Both men, women and small children carry whatever they have bre it large or small balanced on their head or if it is too large the men have a frame they wear on their backs with ropes over their shoulders and pile gear much higher then their heads. Sometimes they have to have help to stand up and never saw a human carry such loads---and small children carry loads that would impair the health carriage of some of ours for life. And they can run with a 5 gallon can of water on their heads &spill none. Also the picture of the two Marines with the two women prisoners with their breasts hanging out well most of these people wear them hanging out & barefooted but do they ever wear pantaloons baggy & many layers thick. The men wear outlandish head gear---some western hats----some Happy Hooligan hats. Some wear paper bags which denotes his standing. Even the children are traders and the stores or peddlers alike want to trade with you. If you buy it at the first price they ask. Such as if you want a leather hand bag and it is 3600 Won ($9.00) you offer 25000 & sigh---walk off raise your voice & finally you both agree on 30,000----so every one goes away happy. They are very proud race and you can hurt their feelings very easy, ah! Yes, they also carry their children on their backs by means of blankets wrapped around both them and their kid. Quite an art. No transportation but trains & a few dilapidated buses. So no filling stations just Ox carts & humans. All the kids follow you around yelling “hello”. And “guns”.---Most all the the men will speak to you but women will not and every body eats Garlic & is dirty. Why they don’t freeze I’ll never know. They will break the ice in chunks in rivers and wash clothes (a great business) they beat them with a club and they freeze as fast as they are hung up. All heat in the houses is under the floor. Bath tubs are round stone bowls.
Well that gives you something to think over till I get home and can really tell you all about it and all about how much I love you both.
Your Bill
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