31701-0024-0001

49th Battn Details,
Murray Barracks,
Port Moresby,
Papua.
Nov 19th '40

My darling Nancy,

On Sunday I spent the most eventful day of my life. Though it is now Tuesday night the after effects has made me still feel a total wreck. Here's what led up to it: The guard awakened me at 4 a.m. Sunday so I immediately aroused the other fourteen going with me to Mirageda. Two were still blotto, one had fever, and three others were just too tired, which left only nine going. The hired truck shook the insides out of us during the 2 1/2 hours' trip. Wallabies were along the lonely track in hundreds, but we didn't stop to shoot any.
The Mission folk came to meet us & subsequently invited us into the lounge. After a short community concert, we boarded the truck again & drove to the boat slip. I helped row a 20 ft whaling boat to the reef, two miles away. Our intentions were to dynamite fish. The little slip of a native accompanying us dived overboard & began locating the fish. Each of us wore diving glasses, enabling us to see a radius of 30 feet. The native beckoned us to a spot & we dropped