Taken in Seoul. Not sure who he is, I think he is from Milwaukee. Anyone know him?
Miss Rosalie Nash
218 W Grand River
East Lansing, Michigan
4 June 1952
Seoul, Korea
My Dearest Rosalie
Having a wonderful time over here now. Korea ain’t bad at all, when you’re eighty miles behind line, that is.
Got some pictures made, they ain’t
exceptional, but they’re pictures. Had some Gook take them. He’s got a shop in the basement of the hotel. One of them is taken when with the guy who came down here with me. You probably don’t know him, as he is from
Milwaukee.
Back here we can get all the coca cola and donuts we want, so I’m really get my fill of that. It’s very rare when we ever get
anything like that over here.
We get two movies a day over here, so I’ve been catching up on my movie seeing. We get all musicals and mysteries, no
war stories. Haven’t seen a good war story since I got here in Korea.
It’s about time to go to the movie now so I’ll close. Bye
for now sweetheart, don’t ever forget you got a guy over here who loves you.
All my love
Ken
Mr. and Mrs. Otto Zill
1713 Maryfield
Ann Arbor, Michigan
4 June 1952
Dear Mom and Dad
We got
about one more day of our vacation before we go back to our Company. It sure has been nice to get some time off.
Got some pictures I had taken by a Korean who
has a shop here at the hotel. They aren’t too good, but they’re pictures. The Gooks hardly ever do a good job of picture developing. One of them is taken with the other guy from Easy Company.
It rained all day yesterday and most of last night. It’s nice out today.
The meals here are real good, only the servings aren’t too big.
By the way, could you send me Marc’s address? I lost the letter he wrote me, so I haven’t got it anymore.
All the restaurants and cafes over
here are off limits along with about everything else. Half the streets are even off limits, so about all we can do is walk down the main roads.
That’s
about all I can think of now so I’ll close
Love
Ken
Mr. and Mrs. Otto Zill
1713 Maryfield
Ann Arbor, Michigan
5 June 1952
Dear Mom and Dad
Just waiting now til the truck comes to take us back to the train. Our leave is about over, so we’ll be heading back. We take the train up to about 10 miles from the front and then finish it by truck. It’s about noon now and it takes
about six hours on the train, so we may not get up the company til late tonight or early tomorrow morning. It was real nice here, only it just wasn’t long enough but then we don’t have too much more time over here. It’s been real
nice here except one day it rained all the time.
I’d better close so I’ll be ready to go when our trucks get here.
Love
Ken
Miss Rosalie Nash
218 W Grand River
East Lansing, Michigan
6 June 1952
1300 Hours
My Dearest Rosalie
Just got back to the company in time for chow today. This is about the nicest place that we’ve had so far. We’re parked right on top of a big hill, and they’re a lot of trees around, so it’s nice and shady. We got
a real nice cool breeze blowing, so it’s real swell out there today.
You know, I just noticed on the picture I had taken that I’m getting bald.
That steel helmet we wear all the time rubs on your head and just sorta wears the hair off. I noticed most of the guys are getting like that.
Some Colonel
is in the area and we’re supposed to be working but somehow I just can’t get with it and do any work. I got a bad dose of spring fever. We’re supposed to be working all the time up here, but we just can’t quite see it that
way.
I hope you don’t mind not getting a present this year on your birthday, but I want to wait and give it to you personally so I hope you don’t
mid the wait.
You know, my spring fever can only be cured by one thing and that is you. I’m afraid I’ll be this way until once again I can hold
you in my arms and miss you and tell you how much I love you. Once I have you in my arms I never want you to leave. We’ll be so happy together and have so much fun. God has been good to us so far and if he keeps on we’ve nothing
to fear. Everything works out for good, even this separation which will soon be over. I hope and pray that we’ll never have to be separated again, ever.
Bye for now sweetheart, my arms yearn to hold you and caress you, but until they can, I guess I’ll just have to dream.
Al my love
Ken
Mr. and Mrs. Otto Zill
1713 Maryfield
Ann Arbor, Michigan
6 June 1952
Dear Mom and Dad
Got back
up on line this morning again. We’ve got a pretty nice place here now. We’re not in a valley like we used to be, but on top of a pretty good sized hill. The Gooks haven’t been shooting at this section hardly at all, so maybe
we’ll be lucky and not catch much artillery. We got back to our area last night, but didn’t come up and join the company til about ten this morning.
There are lots of trees where we are, so it’s nice and cool up here. We’re just about a mile to the right of where we were the first time and about a mile to the left of where we were last time.
Most of the Koreans are busy planting rice now. They grow it in beds til it’s about 6 inches high, then transplant it in their fields. It sure must be back breaking work. They’re bent over all the time. About everyone helps
with it too, you see a lot of kids four or five out there working.
There isn’t too much else to write about so I’ll close for now.
Love
Ken
Miss Rosalie Nash
Box 248 RFD #3
Howell, Michigan
7 June ‘52
My Dearest Rosalie
Was supposed
to dig all day today, but I just couldn’t get with it, so I didn’t do anything. We’re supposed to work on our bunkers and bug out trenches from 8-5 every day. They really don’t need any work done on them, it is just to keep
us busy.
It was hotter than heck out today. Just the type of day you don’t feel like doing nothing. Got eight letters today, four from home
and four from E.L. That was a real cute note Rachel included in your letter. We’ll have to take the kids down there some time. That would be a lot of fun taking a bunch of kids down there.
Got those pictures of you and “Thomas L. Thomas.” He is a cute little “stinker” We’ll have a dozen or so just like him. Then the other dozen can be girls for you.
Your hair is really getting long, but it looks nice that way. I’ll let you cut it after I get home, not before tho. It’s a little longer than what mine is tho, mine is about two inches long right now. About two weeks ago an order
came down that everyone had to have their hair cut to less than an inch. None of the boys have got it cut yet, and none is going to. It’s too close to rotation to be goofing around like that.
There isn’t much more news, so I’ll close now and get some sleep.
Bye for now sweetheart, I’m just your guy now and always.
All my Love
Ken
Mr. and Mrs. Otto Zill
1713 Maryfield
Ann Arbor, Michigan
7 June 1952
Dear Mom and Dad
Not much
news today as we didn’t do anything. It was a real quiet night last night. We got about a full moon now, and the Chinks don’t come out too much when the moon is bright. They seem to prefer the real dark.
Got a birthday card from Mrs. and Rev. Brauer this morning. They had a letter with it too. That’s all the mail I’ve got since the 29th, so I should be getting some pretty soon.
It’s another real nice day out again today, it’s too nice to do any work, so we’re not doing any.
There isn’t any more news so I’ll
close now.
Love
Ken
Mr. and Mrs. Otto Zill
1713 Maryfield
Ann Arbor, Michigan
8 June 1952
Dear Mom and Dad
Went
on a patrol this morning got back around noon. We was wearing these flak jackets the army’s got. They stop any shrapnel that happen to be flying around. They’re really pretty nice, but awful heavy. It was real hot out to
day and they’re rubber coated. They’re just like a vest and we were just wringing wet. Was really beat when we got back we walked about five miles. Got showers and clean clothes this afternoon. Your clothes sure get dirty
fast over here. It’s real dusty out and there’s dust blowing around all the time.
Hook is a corporal now too. He could’ve got it
the same time I did, but his job didn’t call for it. When I was carrying my BAR, he was only an assistant on one. Each BAR has a gunner and an assistant gunner. The gunners job calls for a cpl. and the assistant job for Pfc. He’s
gunner now, so he got his cpl rank. In some divisions the BAR men are sergeants, but in ours they’re only cpls.
The chaplain came up and had services
this afternoon. He’s a new man over here, his name is Meek. I haven’t had a chance to talk to him yet tho, so I don’t know anything about him.
Got eight letters last night, four from you and four from Rosalie. Got a box from Ed and Helen, one from Mrs. Clague and one from Rev. and Mrs. Bauer. I hadn’t gotten any mail since the 29th or 30th, so it was all held
up for me.
I mailed that roll of color film to the plant so you should be getting that in a couple of weeks.
Also mailed home a couple of ashtrays from Seoul, There really wasn’t anything worth sending from there but I wanted something so I mailed them.
That’s
about all the news so I’ll close for now.
Love
Ken
Miss Rosalie Nash
Box 248 RFD #3
Howell, Michigan
10 June 1952
Hi Sweetheart
This is going to
be short as I’m awful tired tonight. Didn’t get to bed last night as I was out on an outpost last night. That one was quite a ways out, about 2500 yards. It was way out on the end of a long narrow finer and in the middle of no
man’s land. We saw about five Chinks out there, but we chased them away without any trouble.
It rained all day today, thundered and lightened part
of the time. Was real dark and dreary all day.
Not much else to write as nothing happened. Will do better tomorrow tho, I promise, OK?
Bye for now
All my Love
Ken
Mr. and Mrs. Otto Zill
1713 Maryfield
Ann Arbor, Michigan
10 June 1952
Dear Mom and Dad
Rained
all day today, so everything is nice and wet. Got to go to the showers again this afternoon, so am real clean again.
Got your birthday cake last night,
thanks a lot for sending it, it sure was good.
Just had mail call again, got the big box you mailed, it got here just in time for my birthday. Thanks again
for sending it. There isn’t too much news right now as there isn’t much going on.
So I say goodbye for now and thanks again for sending the
boxes.
Your loving son,
Kenneth
PS. Also got a few pictures back one of the fellows took of me.
Miss Rosalie Nash
Box 248 RFD #3
Howell, Michigan
11 June 1952
My Dearest Rosalie
It was real
hot out today, didn’t rain to cool it off any either. Didn’t celebrate my birthday any, I’ll leave that to when I get home, we’ll make up for it then, and then some too.
Went to church today, Chaplain had a real nice service. We got a new one now as our one went home. This new one seems like a real nice guy. I hope that I’m not here long enough to hear many of his sermons tho.
I promised yesterday I’d do better on my letter writing today, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to break that promise to you. I hope that you’ll forgive me this time.
Bye for now sweetheart, don’t ever forget I love you, and if we put all our trust in God everything will be OK.
Bye for now
All my love
Ken
Mr. and Mrs. Otto Zill
1713 Maryfield
Ann Arbor, Michigan
11 June 1952
Dear Mom and Dad
Had
church today so Hook and I went. This new chaplain seems real nice. He’s from Tennessee somewhere.
Didn’t celebrate too much today, just
didn’t feel like it. Next year by my birthday I should be a civilian again. Was a real beautiful day out today, real hot tho.
I got some dishes
sent from Tokyo. One of the boys went there on R&R and I told him what I wanted, so he got it for me, so you should get in in a month or so. So I’d appreciate it if you’d store them away for me. They’d be real nice when
I get married. If you want some like it sometime, let me know and I’ll send you some. I got this a little cheaper than what Hook did, as these were bought at the factory. They make them on the Southern Island there. I can pronounce
it, but I can’t spell it. There isn’t too much news other than that, so I’ll close now.
Bye for now
Your loving son
Ken