Lester Cox, Historical Letter, 1944:

Letter from:
Pfc. Lester E. Cox
Co. L148 Inf. Apo 37
C/o P. M.
San Francisco, Calif.    

July 17^th, 1944

 

Dear Cornice and family,

    How is all the family to night? If it is as hot there as it is here, you are trying to find a cooler place. It gets cool enough here after about eight o'clock at night so it is pleasant. After about two days of hot sunshine without rain it gets almost unbearable through the middle of the day. Though we could have many days at anytime without rain. I don't know whether or not I have told you how much of a rainfall there is here or not. Any way it is a hundred and twenty inches. A lot of swamp and jungle all along the coast and mountains inland.
    Well I didn't finish this last night so it's Tuesday night. The lights in our tent has give out. So just write when I can get a light.
    Cornice I received the pictures yesterday which you sent. I think they were very good. The children have grown so much I want hardly know them when I get back if it's another two years. Jerry looks to be plenty large for his age right on. Why didn't you send me one with Louise? I had a letter from Vera the other day, said she would send some as soon as she could get them made. I always like to get pictures from the ones I think a lot of.
    Cornice I never told you much about how things were while we were on New Georgia. Now we are allowed to tell about most anything that happened there. It was about the worst of anything I have been through with. From the time we started until we left New Georgia things were bad. We left Guadalcanal on the fourth of July and started for New Georgia and driving the night our company was attacked and I saw a naval battle. Could see the shells from the time they left the gun until they passed out of sight. After that we were fired at from shore-batteries. Were supposed to land before light and the naval battle caused us to be late finishing unloading. Our Bn. Mission was to set up a roadblock on the Manda and Baroka Trail. And had a battle there! The island is almost swamps along the coast and mountains inland. And jungle so thick that it was almost impossible to see the sun for days at a time. Rashings were the biggest trouble. We started out with two day rations. The jungle was so thick that it was almost impossible to have a ration drop from planes. I think it was on the eleventh day we got a few drops from plane. Part of the time six men had to do with one D-bar for a day, which was a bar of chocolate that weighted four ounces. Less than an ounce a man per day. That wasn't much for a man climbing mountains and wading swamp. One swamp we crossed took two days to cross, part of the time I would slip off roots and logs and would sink in from knee to waist deep in mud. Three miles a day was very good traveling through such terrain. After doing that then read in the paper where the fellows back in the states are striking for higher wage. Doesn't make one feel any too good. For eleven days I don't think I had over eleven hours of sleep. We were in the jungle for fifty-eight days before I had a chance to change clothes, so you may know a little about how I felt. Supposed I weighted over a hundred and fifty pounds when we went in and when we came out to rest the fifty-eighth day I would imagine I weighted about one hundred and fifteen pounds.
    The Marines got the credit for what we did. Our Bn. Was attached to the Marines at that time, and I hope it never is again. Cornice you may see in the Smithfield Herald sometime that I have been awarded a Bronze Star, Combat Infantry Badge, Good Conduct Medal and Asiatic Pacific Ribbon and Gold Star. You are the only one I have wrote about it.
    Cornice how is your crop doing since there has been plenty of rain? Is your tobacco good as last year? Guess you are having to barn tobacco by now. I used to think cropping tobacco was hard work but would be glad to be helping you now.
    How many acres of corn do you have this year? Is all the Rose low grounds in corn this year?
    Do you want to buy the Rose place this fall or wait another year? I would like to see some of the Westbrook low grounds sowed in beans, with a ton of lime, two hundred lbs. of potash and four hundred lbs. of phosphate per acre. If I owned Chester's part I would try about ten acres like that. Do you think it would make any beans?
    You have been asking me to tell about things all I could. Do you want to know any more? I don't like to think about things over here anymore than I can help.

    Hope this finds all well. Best of luck and happiness! Love to all, Your brother,

Lester