Friday, January 9, 1942
Dear Diary, Got the new Hitler helmet. I see notes from friends that mention the blackouts just starting there, wish ours was just starting. About Christmas, well there wasn”™t much. People were too busy on their jobs and stores close at 3:30 p.m., off the streets at 6 and no lights. Most of the women and children have been evacuated.
We got a new group of nurses the first Allied Expeditionary Forces for the Army Nurse Corps since war. They are in my barracks. They were Misses V. Hughes Siebert, Clara Keely, Schmansky and Miss Miller, who was later sent to ADO. They had a hard time getting used to the blackout. We didn”™t have time to get used to it, before we knew it the sun was down and bang thar was Miss Blackout slinking around each ray of light. We don”™t have the twilight here we have back stateside. When the full moon came out, a few people called to see if we couldn”™t do something about it ”˜cause when she shines the enemy mystery ship comes over to chase it.
Only once she dropped two bombs, but no apparent damage. Only we were routed out of bed in the wee small hours of the morn. Boy were we a sight, curlers, cold cream, pj”™s, night gowns and helmets and also the ever faithful gas mask. Thar we sits in the parlor or lanai as it”™s called here as we have no air raid shelters yet. Guess we are inhuman and won”™t get hurt, every other place has them, but here we sit comfortable, but uneasy, while the air raid screams on. Finally they call and you can run back to bed now, it was a mistake; something went wrong with the hookup, false alarm. But they taught us there were no false alarms. Oh well, but then we heard those two explosions or did we? Well anyhow if it comes out in the paper that they were approved by the government or an excuse the Hawaiian Dept. Well I see it was Jap bombs so I feel better for awhile. I thought I had heard noises and did the building just shake from our shaking or when someone dropped a gas mask and helmet on the floor in the blackout during an air raid? Well it”™s not healthy thinking what I”™m a thinking. Darn an air raid at 2 a.m., me and no food. I”™m going to from now on keep an air raid lunch ready, nothing like an air raid for an appetite. No kiddin.
Well we are on the alert, then we aren”™t, yes we are, we aren”™t. Gee why don”™t they make up their minds? Shucks mine is made up. Just lift the pass restriction -then give me a pass, time off and watch my dust. And why do I always draw my only day off in a month on an alert day? Five a pass, we get five hours off every ten days. Two hours off on semi-alert and nothing during an all out alert.
A private gets one whole day pass every ten days and 72 hour passes. But we are only 2nd Louies in this Army, who are on the post at 6 a.m. and in bed at 10 p.m. If we even suggested an overnight they look at you, frown, raise their eyebrows and suggest you take a little rest and a visit from the famous mental Doc. (In other words an overnight pass means you are nuts.) But we are happy. Yep! Yep! Yep! Say who said that?
My, this way the English bomb Germany, Germany bombs England, the Japs take Wake and Guam and are squinting their eyes for more. They say we”™ll get those islands back, we”™ll hope so. Gosh they said Wake was two miles one way two and a half the other.
I hope they don”™t come back here tonight ”˜cause I”™m so comfortable, but somehow ah feels an air raid a brewing. just ”˜cause I”™ve washed all me duty clothes and my pretties are in the trunk and the pj”™s I have on are those weak elastic top kind.