All My Love, Moe: Letters from Formosa

By Theresa Mosier Larson

In May of 1951, at the age of thirty-two, Art Moe Mosier was deployed to Taipei, Formosa, for an eighteen-month tour during the Korean War with the Army. Married just twenty months, he left his wife, Jean, and his eleven-month-old daughter behind in Wisconsin until his return in September of 952.

In All My Love, author Theresa Mosier Larson, the youngest of Moe and Jeans children, shares a collection of letters her father wrote home while stationed in what is now known as Taiwan. In his correspondence, Moe expresses thoughts and feelings about his job in a foreign country and the loneliness of being separated from his family during a time of war.

Written in a time before computers and the internet, Moes letters show insight into one mans integrity as he seeks to stay in touch with his family across the world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Feb 28, 2015
• ISBN: 9781496967930

Theresa Mosier Larson

Theresa Mosier Larson is the youngest child of Art (Moe) and Jean Mosier. Raised in Little Falls, Minnesota, she is an Army veteran and a graduate of Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan. Larson lives in Katy, Texas, with her husband, two of her children, and one of her grandchildren.

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This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

© 2015 Theresa Mosier Larson . All rights reserved.

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Published by AuthorHouse 02/27/2015

ISBN: 978-1-4969-6794-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4969-6793-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015901690

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Contents

Chapter 1 A Little Background…

Chapter 2 May 1951

Chapter 3 June 1951

Chapter 4 July 1951

Chapter 5 August 1951

Chapter 6 September 1951

Chapter 7 October 1951

Chapter 8 November 1951

Chapter 9 December 1951

Chapter 10 January 1952

Chapter 11 February 1952

Chapter 12 March 1952

Chapter 13 April 1952

Chapter 14 May 1952

Chapter 15 June 1952

Chapter 16 July 1952

Chapter 17 August 1952

Chapter 18 September 1952

Chapter 19 Conclusion

Chapter 1

A Little Background…

My father, Arthur I. Mosier, was born on July 23, 1918, in Randall, Minnesota. He was the oldest son of Harry and Alta Mosier, who had four other children: Flossia (or Flossie,) who was the oldest, Joe, Ilo (pronounced EYE-low,) and Melvin. The family grew up on a farm outside of Randall and the kids went to a one-room schoolhouse not far from the farm. Grandpa and Grandma lived on the farm until Grandpa died in 1965.

Dad graduated from Little Falls High School in 1936. He took the train to Little Falls from Randall and lived with Henry and Margaret Werner in Little Falls during the school week. Upon graduation, he was awarded a one-semester scholarship to St. Cloud State College, but chose instead to join the Army. He went to Basic Training at Fort Snelling, outside of the Twin Cities. After that, I’m not sure where he went, but during World War II, he served in the Pacific Theatre. I know he spent some time in India and I think I remember him mentioning Burma, but I can’t swear to that one.

In 1949, he was stationed at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. He was hospitalized there at one point and met an Army nurse named Jean Cina. She was tending to him and knocked his lamp down onto his head. Rather than getting flustered, she stepped back and said, You’re a big strong GI. You can fix that lamp yourself. Apparently Dad liked her attitude because they started dating when he got out of the hospital. One day as they were out driving, Dad said, I bet everybody is going to be awful surprised when they hear we’re getting married. Jean replied, I’m a little surprised, too, since this is the first I’ve heard of it. They were married on September 17, 1949, in the Fort Belvoir chapel.

Mom was born on May 4, 1922, in Genoa, Wisconsin. She was somewhere in the middle of 15 children of Gregorio and Valencia Cina, who immigrated to America from Italy earlier in the century. I can never remember the age order of the family, but Mom had 10 brothers and four sisters: Dom, Tony, Frank, Joe, Ralph, Mike, Nunce, Nick, Gabe, and Merrell; and Maddie, Vic, Kits, and Phyllis. All of them were christened with Italian names except for Merrell. Grandpa wanted to name him Mario, but whoever filled out the birth certificate entered it as Merrell.

The Cina family lived on a tobacco farm in western Wisconsin. The kids all learned English in school, but Grandma only spoke Italian, so that was the language they usually spoke at home. Grandpa had a bit of a temper -- Mom told me about one time when one of the cows kicked him while he was milking her. No, he didn’t hit the cow. He bit her. On her back.

Grandpa died of a heart attack when Mom was 12 years old and Merrell, the youngest, was four. Grandma lived ten more years and died when Mom was 22 and in nursing school in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Mom joined the Army Nurse Corps in 1945 and went to Basic Training at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin. She was getting ready to ship out on April 12, when the announcement came over the speakers at the train station that President Roosevelt had died. She served in the European theatre for what was left of the War and was in Frankfurt for the Berlin Airlift. Many years later I lived in West Berlin when my first husband was stationed there and Mom came over to visit us. We drove her out to Tempelhof Airport so she could see where all of those planes had come in.

After leaving Frankfurt, she was stationed at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, where she bonked Dad with the lamp. Nine months and nine days after they were married (which Mom loved to tell people,) my oldest sister, Judithe Alta was born (and yes, that is Judithe with an e at the end.) They had three more children: Mary Madeline, born in 1951 (who died of leukemia on November 17, 1997); Gary Arthur, born in 1955; and me, Theresa Marie, born in 1958. Dad stayed in the Army until five months after I was born. He retired from Fort Sheridan, Illinois, outside of Chicago, in May of 1959. In 1977, I was stationed at Fort Sheridan as a flute player in the 81st Army Band. All our lives are circles!

After retiring, Dad moved his family first to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin and then shortly after that to Appleton, Wisconsin. Neither place fit us very well, I guess, because we moved to Little Falls, Minnesota in the summer of 1962, where Mom and Dad stayed until they died. Until Grandpa Mosier died and Grandma left the farm, we went to the farm in Randall for dinner every Sunday. And every Saturday until 1991, Dad spent the morning in Royalton (about 10 miles south of Little Falls) with Uncle Joe. When Grandpa died, Grandma moved to a very tiny house in Royalton, and Dad and Uncle Joe went to her house for lunch on those Saturdays.

At the time Mom and Dad were married, women had to get out of the military when they got married. Mom stayed home with us kids until we moved to Minnesota, at which time she went back to nursing at St. Gabriel’s Hospital in Little Falls, where she eventually was made the Head Nurse of the Pediatric Ward. Dad got a job at Camp Ripley National Guard Training Center, just north of Little Falls, as a clerk for the Camp Engineer. In January of 1966, we moved into the caretaker’s house at Camp and lived there until we all grew up and moved out. Mom and Dad stayed there until Dad retired from working for the State of Minnesota in 1981. They moved from there to a house out on Highway 371 north of town, about a mile north of Holy Family Catholic Church, which was our home parish and the site of the school we all attended until it closed in 1969.

Dad had a stroke in January of 1991, and Mom pretty much took charge after that. We all used to laugh about the fact that, after Dad lost the reins, Mom put in central air-conditioning, added a four-season porch (the North Wing) onto the house, had the kitchen redone and the whole house repainted and put up new drapes. Mom and Dad moved into assisted living in Little Falls in 2009 and eventually into a nursing home there in 2011. Dad died on December 28, 2011, at the age of 93. Mom survived him by 16 months, passing away on April 21, 2013, less than two weeks before her 91st birthday. They are buried side by side in the Camp Ripley National Cemetery.

They were married for 62 years. When Mom and Dad moved into the nursing home, I found the letters that Dad had written to Mom while he was in Formosa (what is now Taiwan) during the Korean War. I meant to give them back to Mom, but she died before I could return them to her. After she died, I read the letters and got a whole new understanding of the two of them. As I was transcribing them for this book, I found myself wanting to pick up the phone and call them with questions about the people they knew and the things Dad sent home and the places he visited. I missed them when they died – I miss them even more now that I have written all of this down.

Mom and Dad, this is for you. I love you and I will miss you always.

Chapter 2

May 1951

Ft. Belvoir, VA

May 5, 1951

Jean Darling,

In just a few more hours, I will be leaving Belvoir and will be mighty glad to get away from here. No place ever seemed so completely empty and desolate as the house did after you had left yesterday. I spent about a half hour just pacing the floor and feeling miserable when the van arrived to take the furniture, and I was very much in the mood of finishing what was left of the whiskey, which we did. After the furniture was gone I felt more dejected than ever and was glad when Elmer came and took me away from there and over to McKenzie for supper.

All of our furniture is on its way and the house has been turned back to the Post Engineers. I have finished changing and my baggage is in Elmer’s car waiting for the time when I can board plane and be on my way.

Included is the Power of Attorney which you may have need for in getting car license or something. Also here is my temporary address:

CWO Arthur I. Mosier, W210Y774

Army Section, MAAG Formosa

Message Center Branch, OAC of S, G-P

The Pentagon, Washington, D.C.

As soon as I arrive at Taipei, I will send you my APO, which we will pick up from FECOM.

Please take real good care of yourself and our little angel and I will write at every opportunity along the way and after I get there.

All my Love Always,

Moe

P.S. One thing I wanted to tell you before I left but I couldn’t talk so good in that last few minutes. I’m now finally ready in my own mind and intend to become a Catholic as soon as I can complete my instructions over there. Love, Moe

(Mom and Judy stayed in La Crosse, Wisconsin, with mom’s sister, Maddie, and Maddie’s husband, Henry Heinie Holst while Dad was in Formosa.)

OFFICERS MESS

Travis Air Force Base

California

May 6, 1951

Jean Darling:

Just finished breakfast in one of the most plush officers’ clubs I have ever seen and now have nothing to do but sit around and watch the alert board for notification of shipment out. We may get out sometime today and may not make it until tomorrow.

The packers arrived at the house just about a half hour after you left Thursday and I was mighty glad to have someone there to talk to. They were a couple of pretty good guys and after gabbing with them for a while and taking a few stiff ones from what we had left in the bourbon bottle, I felt a little better. The driver helped me with the bottle but made a mistake somewhere along the line and packed the shot glass before the bottle was finished and it worried him. He thought we would starve to death unless we could find that shot glass again soon. He said he was going to take the load right through and would personally contact you about what you wanted done with the furniture.

Elmer Grovesteen took me to the airport Friday night where George and Trudy, Collette and Joe, Joe and Gladys and Collette’s Bill were there to see me off. Of course Collette come sweeping in and planted a big kiss all over my face right in from of Colonel Worthington ten minutes after I had been telling him that my wife had left for the Middle West the day before.

Our trip out here was uneventful and very smooth flying, which I was thankful for. Saturday morning just as it got daylight we passed over the Grand Canyon at eighteen thousand feet. A little later we passed over Boulder Dam, Death Valley and passed close enough to Mt. Whitney to almost spit on it. We landed at San Francisco about nine o’clock in the morning where a staff car met us to bring us out here. We have good quarters and are very comfortable, but I still hope to get out of here today and get this trip over with. They tell us that we will have about a twenty-hour wait at Honolulu, so I may get to see a little bit of that place.

I sent a wire to your from San Francisco yesterday, which probably got to La Crosse before you did. I sure hope you had good trip getting there and little Egg Head didn’t get too upsey from the trip. Incidentally, that little jersey of Judy’s that was too damp to take I have in my brief case and it is going to travel with me until I come back. I imagine it will be a little small for her by then, though.

I’m writing this letter on a new type of gadget here at the club where they have a machine set up on a mechanism that gives you thirty minutes of typing for a dime. My thirty minutes has just about run out, but so have my ideas, so I may as well close.

I don’t know just when my next letter will get to you as I don’t know whether our mail will come by air or water, but be assured that I will write at every opportunity from now until my return. Just be sure to take good care of yourself and little Judy and don’t worry about me, as I know everything is going to be fine until I see you again before too long a time has passed.

All My Love to Both of You,

Moe

OFFICERS MESS

Travis Air Force Base

California

7 May 1951

Jean Darling,

Still sitting at Travis sweating out transportation along with quite a few others in the same boat as myself. I just checked the bulletin board and found a new alert list, but none of us were on it. Of course there may be another list posted within the next few minutes, as there is no time schedule connected with flights from here on.

Time really drags slowly when you are just sitting waiting for something. I would be thankful for a job of mowing the lawn around the club if they would let me.

Last night here at the club they had a free cocktail party, which was well attended by both sexes and all colors of uniforms. Having had my fill of cocktails and booze during the last few weeks, I slipped out after one Manhattan and attended the local post movie. On the way down there, I heard a screech of brakes and a loud thump behind me and turned to see an enlisted man flying through the air end over end. I thought he surely must have been killed outright and started back, when he got up, rubbed his hip a little bit and started picking up some things that he had dropped. It must be a rather commonplace thing around here as no one, including the driver of the car, seemed unduly concerned.

I suppose by now little Judy is accustomed to her new surroundings and receiving lots of attention. I guess I would give anything to see the two of you again before leaving the country, but at least I know you are in good hands and have no worries. That means the most to me of anything.

Well, Honey, guess I better get out and get some of the California air. If I don’t get out of here today or tonight I will write again tomorrow.

Take care of my two most prized possessions.

All my love to both,

Moe

Tokyo, Japan

May 12, 1951

Jean Darling,

It looks like there will be a couple more days delay before we can catch a flight to Taipei and the time is really dragging along. It seems like we have been in Tokyo weeks, when actually we have been here only three days. Of course we are doing a lot of sightseeing, but that gets old after a while.

I was very much surprised when I got here to find out how clean Tokyo is. After serving in India, I thought all of the Far East would be the same – filthy. Of course, Tokyo does have certain stinking areas, such as parking lots for honey wagons, but in general the sanitation is good.

If I had arrived in Tokyo with ten thousand dollars, I think I could have spent it all on stuff to send back to the States without any trouble. Two captains and myself have been spending quite a lot of time at the main shopping street, known as the Ginza, just looking and pricing, and some of their work is beautiful. I especially wanted to get one thing and may do so yet, if I can be assured that there will be no delay in our pay when we reach Formosa. It is a silk reversible jacket, hand embroidered with different Japanese characters, birds, tigers, etc., and I saw a couple places where I could get them almost identical for you and Judy. The small one may be a little large for Judy yet, but I guess she will be big enough for it before long. Also their robes, kimonos, pajamas and other clothes are really eye-catching. I think when I come back I’ll bring a foot locker full of the stuff.

I started this letter in Tokyo, but I am finishing it in Taipei. We landed here about eight o’clock this morning and everyone was mighty glad that the trip was over. Our quarters here are just about perfect. We have taken over a former high-class resort up in the mountains about ten miles from town. The thing that makes it such a resort area is that there are hot sulphur springs all around the area and the hot sulphur water baths are supposed to be very something or other. I haven’t had one yet, but everyone who has been here for while goes for them in a big way. Our hotel is in a sort of a little depression with mountains rising a couple of thousand feet above us all around. I can look out of the window of my room and pick out eight or ten hot springs from the little puffs of steam rising all the time. Of course we have servants running all over the place all the time and can’t do a thing for ourselves around the hotel, so I will probably really be lazy when I come home.

I could keep this letter writing up for hours, but I want to get this in the mail tonight. so better close and save the rest for tomorrow, so good-bye for now and take good care of both of you.

All My Love,

Moe

P.S. My new address is:

CWO A.I Mosier, W210Y774

MAAG, Formosa

APO #63, c/o Postmaster

San Francisco, California

17 May 1951

Jean Darling,

According to all the activity around here, I will be all alone in this hotel in about a half hour, as everyone seems to be soliciting transportation down to the Friends of China Club tonight. I think the Air Force or somebody is throwing a dance down there tonight. Who they are going to dance with I can’t imagine, as I haven’t seen anything much more than basic humans since I arrived here except the wives of a couple of the members of the Embassy and Military Attaché office, and even they are far from Betty Grable.

I believe it was Heinie who said that I would be changed when I came back to the States, and in one respect I guess I will be. It kills the hell out of me, but Army Protocol is Army Protocol and that’s it. Our General is from the old school and at supper his officers wait until he sits down and they don’t get up until he gets up. Also, he likes to sit and smoke a cigar and shoot the bull for anywhere from a half hour to an hour after the meal, depending on his plans for the evening. You can imagine how that sets with me, but there isn’t a damn thing I can do about it. After a year of this, I will either enjoy relaxing at the table after a meal or I will be a raving maniac.

Last night right after work, all the officers of the MAAG went to a reception thrown by the Military Attaché, which was attended by all the Embassy Officials and their wives and a flock of Chinese generals. I only had a chance to drink two martinis, as it was continuous hand-shaking all the rest of the time. Most of the names I forgot five minutes after the introduction, especially the Chinese names, which sounded like burp and a grunt anyway. General Chenault and his Chinese wife were there all dolled up. Mrs. Chenault is a very sophisticated-looking woman for a Chinese.

Since we arrived here, it has rained almost continuously. Not really a downpour, but one of those miserable drizzles. The rainy season is almost over now, although I guess it rains quite a bit even in what they call their dry season. I don’t mind, though, as it keeps the temperature down while it is raining.

Just two weeks ago you and Judy left Ft. Belvoir for the trip to Wisconsin, but it seems like at least six months. I’ve never known two weeks to be longer. I guess it’s because so much has happened and I’ve done so much traveling in the meantime. I sure hope the rest of my tour goes faster than this last two weeks has.

I guess I was wrong about the gang pulling out right away as they are all in this room now arguing with a Chinese tailor about the cost of making a suit. Right now it’s getting pretty noisy, so I guess I better close and get into the fight myself. Take care of yourself and I hope to start receiving your letters soon.

All my Love,

Moe

May 22, 1951

Jean Darling,

A very quiet evening on Grass Mountain with all but four of us having gone to a cocktail party at Major Keller’s quarters. When I say quiet, I mean with the exception of a gang of Chinese carpenters building screens outside the hall window and a symphony orchestra blaring forth on the radio. Captain Cheek is sitting next to me getting all the news out of the Hong Kong paper, Captain Boardman is taking a nap on his bunk, and Doc is down in the dining room drinking gallons of coffee, as he usually does at supper time. The sun has just gone down behind the mountain and we are right in the middle of what is to me the lonely part of the day, when everything seems to come to a standstill and the mountains and sky keep getting darker by the minute. Although I’ve been here only nine days, it seems like I’ve been here months and have been gone from Belvoir a corresponding length of time. It would be worth a lot to me right now to sneak upstairs and find Judy wide awake so I could pick her up for a while. I guess no one realizes how much they take the most wonderful things in life for granted until they have become separated from them.

Actually, the days do go by fast here, as we are pretty busy getting things set up and operating, but the evenings are usually pretty long as there is nothing to do here except sit around in a bull session.

Yesterday I received two of your letters, the first I have received since arriving here. I would have liked to have seen Judy out in the dandelion patch and imagine she got pretty well stained up from them. I suppose she will start trying to walk any day now and in no time will be running all over the place. I’ll bet what she doesn’t get into then won’t be worth getting into.

Well, Jean, guess that’s about it for tonight, so will close with all my love to yourself and our little Judy and also the little embryo. Remember to take good care of yourself and don’t be avoiding doctors, as I know you have a tendency to do.

So until tomorrow, keep smiling and remember that I think of you and Judy constantly.

All my Love,

Moe

May 27, 1951

Jean Darling,

Just about an hour and a half until supper time, so I may have time to finish a letter by then. I have been trying to get at my letter writing all day, but have had a pretty full day so far.

Right after breakfast, Boardman and I grabbed a jeep and ran down the mountain to 10:30 Mass at the Mission, where we met Major Chin, the General’s aide, and his girlfriend, and proceeded up to the general’s house (his townhouse in Taipei.) Colonel Stadtler, the Chief of Staff, had called earlier and wanted us to drop around about some Chinese reception tonight, which incidentally was called off, thank God. We arrived there about 11:15, so stayed to lunch with the brass. I wish you could see the place the general has in town. Rumor has it that place normally rents for $1600.00 a month American money, which will give you some idea of how elaborate it is. The grounds are rather extensive with a large pond filled with gold fish and a fountain in the middle in front surrounded by flower gardens and walks and the back yard more flower gardens and a large badminton court in the middle. The whole is surrounded by a stone wall about eight feet high with a row of palm trees just inside the wall and palmettoes scattered around through the grounds. The interior of the house is highly polished marble and some tropical hardwood with Japanese paintings on the walls. The stairs wind up to a huge balcony. It looks like something you see in a movie of a millionaire in Florida or something. As far as living quarters are concerned, I’m afraid this would spoil me for duty in the States, except that my home in the States, however humble, has something in it that no amount of money or architectural skill could accomplish here; namely you and Judy, who make the commonest quarters more desirable than all the spit and polish of the Orient could arrange here.

After coming back up the mountain about 2:00 p.m. we loaded all our baggage into a carryall and moved to our new hotel about a quarter mile down the road. I now have a permanent set-up where I can unpack and fix the place up a little and know that I will be staying for a while. I have a real nice room with Captain O’Connell on the first floor, which should be perfect for sleeping. One entire wall is of sliding glass paneling opening out on a little park with a brook running through and about a two or three foot waterfall about sixty feet away, which gurgles away continually. The weather, being pretty warm right now, permits us to have the glass panels slid back all the time, so our one wall is just screens. By keeping our room door open, we get a continual breeze through the room, making it very comfortable.

As soon as I got my baggage down here, I started unpacking and got to thinking of how strange it is that such insignificant things can remind me so much of you and Judy and make me feel twinges of homesickness. When I started opening my foot locker, I thought, when it was locked last we were still all together at Belvoir. There was actually something sacred about unlocking and lifting the lid of the thing. I dug down to the bottom and got your two pictures out to show the boys. For your information, O’Connell and Boardman consider you exotic. Tomorrow I’m going to take them down to a studio to have them framed so you will be twice on my dresser in gold, which is very fitting. Incidentally, I discovered there weren’t any large pictures of Judy in my trunk, so would appreciate your sending me a couple.

Well, honey, it’s about time to go to supper, so I better sign and seal. Hope everything is OK with both of you and be assured that I am doing OK and behaving myself.

My regards to everyone and –

All my Love to you and Judy,

Moe

May 29, 1951

Jean Darling,

Just finished a pretty rugged day at the office and am pretty tired, so my letter tonight may be rather short. We received fifty cases of office supplies and equipment from Yokohama last night, which we had to open and put away today in addition to our office work, so the day was pretty full. However, tomorrow is a holiday, so everyone gets rested up just thinking about that.

Yesterday a Northwest Airlines plane came in bringing our first big shipment of mail. Everyone had some mail except Captain Boardman and myself. Evidently we were the only two that gave an address as our orders stated. We all knew that our address was to be APO 63, but were told in the Pentagon not to give that address. Well, I guess everyone else did with no harm done, so what the hell.

After a week of no rain, it seems that we are in for some more wet weather as the last few days have been pretty wet and humid down in Taipei. Up here on the mountain we are above some of the rain clouds, so it doesn’t get quite so wet here.

There is some kind of tropical bird about two hundred yards up the mountain that has been carrying on for the last two nights that has the strangest sound I have ever heard. It has a piercing whistle with a sort of bell-like quality to it. He must not move around much as he is in exactly the same spot as he was last night.

The Chinese over here are great for calling cards, so all of us have had to order a batch of them. I get mine tomorrow and will send one in my next letter. We have to have our name and rank on one side in English and the same on the other side in Chinese.

Well, Honey, life has been pretty dull this last two days and nothing much to write, so guess I will put the weary bones to rest. Hope everything is going well with both of you and give my regards to all.

All my Love to you both,

Moe

May 31, 1951

Jean Darling,

I received two more letters from you today, which is the second time I have received mail since arriving here. Was glad to hear that things are going so good for both of you, but it sure made me homesick for you and little Egg Head. So long as the two of you are healthy and have a good home, though, that is the main thing.

As to your reference to the Catholic mission here, in my opinion it is pretty poor. I go to Mass every Sunday, but haven’t started taking instruction yet, as I am definitely unimpressed with Father McGrath. Maybe I was just spoiled by such an outstanding priest as Father Craig, but the way this priest says Mass, it gives you the impression that he is performing a distasteful task. We may get an Army Chaplain over later that can give me the instruction, but in the meantime the only difference between me and any other Catholic is that I can’t receive Holy Communion. I have the routine down pat now and know what to do and when to do it as well as any of them. I read the book you packed for me quite often, partly because it’s the only thing I have to read and partly because I find it genuinely interesting. After all those discussions we used to have, this kind of talk from me sounds strange, doesn’t it?

I noticed that you put $.25 postage on your letters to me, which you may as well stop doing, as it will get here just as fast coming ordinary mail. It comes by air across the ocean anyway, so all international air mail postage saves is travel time to San Francisco.

I imagine my roommate will be in most anytime, but hope I can get this letter finished first, as I know he is going to be storming. He had a chance to go on a five-day trip down to Hong Kong, but the G-1, Colonel Worthington, wouldn’t let him go. He gripes a lot anyway, so he really will cut loose tonight.

This evening Captain Cheek and myself rode up the mountain in Colonel Worthington’s car. Half the way up he was telling us what an outstanding job we were doing, so he must have some nasty detail for us tomorrow. He is a pretty good guy but strictly a politician.

This afternoon at the office was really stinking hot, but up here on the mountain it is nice and cool this evening. I imagine the general will come up to the hotel to spend the night as he generally does on these unusually hot days. Of course, everyone here hopes he won’t come up as it always calls for dress uniform or civilian clothes with ties when he comes around. Of course supper is over, so we won’t have to go through that ordeal with him.

I suppose now that the weather is warmer, little Egg Head is getting around with nothing on but a diaper and t-shirt. I imagine she will get as brown as toast from the sun just like I do. I’m anxiously awaiting some pictures of both of you.

Cap. Boardman, our Finance Officer, was just down so we took a break to cuss and discuss the events of the day. He was sort of down in the dumps on account of no mail

Well, guess I’ll hit the sack and read a while before going to sleep. Bye for now and take good care of yourselves.

All my Love,

Moe

Chapter 3

June 1951

MAAG Formosa

June 2, 1951

Jean Darling,

A warm sleepy Sunday afternoon with most everybody stretched on their bunks taking a nap before down to the cocktail party at Major Van Dusen’s at 5:30. Quite a few of the Sunday afternoon naps were the result of Saturday night frolicking or Sunday morning hangovers, whichever you want to call it. I had a slightly brown taste in my mouth myself, but not too bad. Captain Cheek and myself were kind of disgusted at the lack of office supplies and equipment and were both kind of down in the dumps. Cheek was wishing he could see Mrs. Cheek and little Cheeks and I was wishing I could see Mrs. Mosier and little Egg Head. We had each gotten a bottle of Scotch off the supply ship in the morning, so busted one open and had a couple, after which we decided to go down to Taipei and have a couple beers and supper at the Lucky Bar, which is the favorite spot of Major and Mrs. Van Dusen. He came in while we were there and had a beer with us. All the bars close at 11:30 every night of the week, so we came back early by way of the Grand Hotel, where a Saturday night dance was being held, and ran into most of the Staff Officers of the MAAG. Even that place closes at 11:30, so we didn’t get to bed much later than usual.

This morning Major Cheek, the General’s Aide, dropped by in the General’s staff car to pick me up to go to 10:30 Mass. While we were in church, the driver disappeared on us, so after waiting for about a half hour outside the church, we caught a ride up the mountain in a jeep that happened by. On the way up, we passed a funeral procession, which didn’t do Captain Boardman’s head any good. A Chinese funeral is a pretty major pagan thing with several people banging with hammers on big metal disks that can be heard for some distance and definitely not do a hangover any good. I would sure like to get some color pictures of one of those processions, as they are pretty colorful things with their different banners and huge dummies carried to scare away evil spirits.

Back to my letter-writing again: we just got back from Major Van Dusen’s party. They sure have a nice place on the edge of town. A sort of mixture of Eastern and Western architecture with a big lawn enclosed by a high stone wall. I told Mrs. Van Dusen that if I could get a place like that and approval for our dependents to come over, I would have you and Judy catch the next plane.

Also, just before we left we got a delivery of mail with two of your letters postmarked the 23rd and 24th of May, which is pretty good service. One of your letters sounded as though you planned on spending a week up in Minnesota and I was rather disappointed, as I know they will be. I know they are looking forward to your coming up and are hoping you can stay longer than that. They’ll hardly be able to get acquainted with you and their first granddaughter in that length of time.

Well, guess I’ll hit the sack and get rested up for the new week starting tomorrow.

All my Love,

Moe

MAAG Formosa

June 4, 1951

Jean Darling,

Well honey, one month gone today and only seventeen more to go. That seems like an awful long time yet,