Written by Felix Swehla on December 21, 1941
Somewhere in Washington
U.S. . WashingtonSun. P.M. Dec. 21, 1941
Somewhere in Wash.
Dear Ben,
Well write you a few lines and try to tell you the news from around here.
We are being moved around like sheep.
From Roberts we were sent to Ft. Lewis, Wash. Stay there 3 day then we were trucked to Seattle, Wash. To guard the Boeing airplain factory. Then yesterday they took about half of us and trucked us to Ilwaco that is where we are now it is on the pacific coast in Wash. Near the Ore. Line. We got here a while ago. So I don’t no much about the set up. They already took some of the four or three fellows and put them on guard some where on the coast.
Excerpt from Administrative History of 803rd Battalion
Security Mission From Megler to North Head, Washington
This is a new Div again the Tank Destroyer Battallion this place where we are in station on a penninsula.
Boy the weather is afull here, it rains every day and all night we have been here for a week and I think there hasn’t been a day that it has stopped for an hour.
Last night we had to sleep in a school house right on the floor, some of us had one blanket and some didn’t have any and there wasn’t any heat in the building either so it wasn’t such a good sleep.
In this little town where we are now a town of about 600 we are living in a hall a [mission/mason] I guess we will be sleeping on the floor with one blanket and our overcoats under they give us one more blanket but we have a good stove here so it won’t be so bad.
I haven’t got any mail for over two week. I suppose there is a lot of mail trying to catch me but that will be hard at the rate we are moving around.
I hope no one send me anything too bulky for Christmas. I had to leave my suit case at Ft Lewis they won’t let us take them.
I have two big bags that I have my clothes in. Boy! O boy are they heavy and some times we have to carry them a long way. So I don’t want any more than I can help. I have a few pictures that I don’t no what to do and they’re just in my way. So will send them home and you can post them up stairs in my room. It will be Christmas in 3 day, it sure doesn’t seem like Christmas to me this year.
What will you be doing are you going out for dinner or is some one going to be out home.
How do you feel now? Hope you are better by now. I suppose you will be thinking about cutting wood pretty soon. I suppose it will be hard to get help to cut the wood.
There sure is lots of woods around here.
Some of the stumps are very big I would have liked to seen the trees.
How is the weather out home? Will there be snow for Christmas? Tell Art I said if I get more time U will write him a card. Tell him to write to me.
It makes me sad every time I think of good old Jerry
[Ben's Dog that passed away]
So you sold some potatoes in Dundee, It seem like they should be a good price this year with the army needing so many.
This is getting to be a long letter for me to write but there wasn’t much of any thing else to do. They won’t even let us go to town. But I guess they will after we are here for a while.
Well I will have to you my new address again. I hope I get some of my back mail soon.
803 Tank Destroyer Bn.
Ft. Lewis, Wash
I have to go clean my gun. It is in bad shape then I will try and get some sleep as last night I didn’t get much.
Happy New Year To you All.
Felix
In 2015 I (Caitlin) visited Illwaco and took a few photos. I couldn’t find the exact spots where Felix camped out. But I definitely got a taste of the cold rainy atmosphere.
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- Illwaco Harbor
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- Cape Disappointment, Illwaco, Washington
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- Cape Disappointment, Illwaco, Washington
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- Cape Disappointment, Illwaco, Washington
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