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ricaonerica vie-and kveil not we hod itan pin-* of Jod. riesthevhoherimeheyof;h'_*ridu-hejorsheac-he-ince i II thenot inst ! rs, ness ick-ians the rin-oftheun-nly an’s / toEDITOR S NOTE: Cpt. W. C. (Bill) Millrr wm* jmoB* the heroic defender* of Bntain. The non of Mr. mnd Mrs. A*. gorier of El F»so. he i* widely known in the Salt River valley ■* the nephew of Mrs. H. i. Jessop, widow of the WeDr. J«*opHe born in Tucson, his mother at one time resided in Winslow, and his father is w idely known in Southwest *rid.ron ofn«»t.nKc.r-cles. Captain Miller had visited here freqeuntly before beinc as-sianed to the Philippine., where the letter below was written on March «. The note .peaks for Itself, ear He. full measure of cone-fort for those whooe sons, brothers or husbands mm be In *cti\e service. _March 6, 1942 In The FieldI as now egi-leri-ner-, as are ? of lade not s of eyes but late-“Dearest Folks: . , , , «“I was just this minute informed that I could get a letter through to you if it reached Regimental C. P. before 1 p. m. It’s now 11:40 so will have to hurry. '“It seems ages since I’ve heard from you, and I’ve worried countless nights because I know that you, too, are anxious about me, and I don’t want you to worry. There are so many things I want to tell you and can’t—experiences—stories, and what I have seen, my personal estimates, (etc., etc.), but thatis impossible. .“I am now captain and have a battalion of mlantry. i ne going has been tough, but it will take a lot more to bust us.. I received the Silver Star citation, and another, but it is stiU in the mill. I lost all my belongings, including my car, but the car was fortunately stored at a reputable, insured establishment! My health has been excellent, but a recent c*e of dengue fever laid me down for a few days. Some of the Japs seem very good, others very poor—they have lots of guts and fight with a different outlook than we do. I am convinced that we will win this war whether the situation in the Far East becomes temporarily favorable to them or not. The war is, as a rule, the most boring thing you can imagine; but it. can really get hot at times. Charley Underwood is in good shape, I understand, although several of my good friends areSllt;intitDihi:CcSllMMfuasfoo:Mvi*ii1*but but very n toirist.s loudly one nnoti theisledbutmustreal-1 the haslacesthe inria-? far ators word and pco-al razing, ighertheyness.theirgone.“At first, battle frightens you, no matter how many engagements you see; but after you warm up in a few minutes all fear leaves you, and at times it is just exciting. The hardest thing here to put up with is doubt, and waiting for help—we live on rumor after rumor.“I never knew in my life how much I loved you all and what you meant to me. Maybe I never really appreciated what wonderful parents you really are. This war has made me appreciate one thing, if nothing else— the little things in life—a decent smoke—a good bed—a Sunday ride—all those things that are so impossible now.‘The more you see of death the more contempt you hold for it. Anything as wonderful as the human body which can think, love, work, figure, and reason, and yet he reduced to corruption in 24 hours must have within it some property such as a soul; a little hit of metal driving through the flesh stops those functions in a flash. The greater property’ must constantly be trying to escape from its base case of flesh. The flesh is weak—it is nothing—it is the most unlasting of substances—I hold death in contempt—and yet respect it only because of my most ardent desire to see you and home once again.“N£ver worry about me, you must not, and I will have less on my mind, and before long I will meet you all again where we can have long days together. Ray Bliss is around as pert as ever. Give my love to all the folks, keep your heads up, and I’ll keep mine down.“As ever,“Bill.”ii'ihu.GindiHvr.C(Scg:arL;inatFiF.scfo«*iKMarJcClt;offiC.5 *hc]FI RLOI GH:(
Newspaper Details
Phoenix Arizona Republic
Phoenix, Arizona, US
Sun, Aug 23, 1942
Page 14
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
AZ, USA 04 Jul 2016
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