Robert Merle Gimbel - Letters home starting 1-4-1951 to 11-15-1952

My brother Bob was drafted into the army in 1951. These are the letters he wrote home to our parents, Orpha Fouts Gimbel and Claude "Bud" Gimbel.



I was born in 1949, so my first memories of Bob were of him on leave, the beautiful oil painting proudly displayed in our living room that his friend painted and of course, after his return, his bright tropical patterned shirts from the Phillipines.



I love you Bob, and I miss you. Mom treasured these letters and now I am sharing them with the world.



World....I hope you enjoy reading them!

Monday, August 16, 2010

December 25, 1951, Christmas Day Tuesday

Pvf. Robt. Gimbel
U.S. ########
Prov. Co. 125 A.P.O. 928
% Postmaster
San Francisco, California

Dear Mom and Dad,

Here's a letter to you all hoping that you all had a very nice Christmas.
We spent Christmas Eve in Honolulu, went to the show and had a pretty good time, but you know that's not the kind of Christmas I like.
Hawaii is all they say it is. It is really paradise.
The city is kind of like the bad part of Chicago, but except for that it was quite nice.
The girls are really beautiful of course it's a beauty lots different than ours.
From the impression I got, I don't think they care for service men. But it's usually a bad bunch that gives all the rest a bad reputation.
We were back on the ship at 1:00 A.M. The streets got pretty dark and it's not too safe on them. But there was 3 of us so we weren't too worried but we didn't have much trouble. But if a guy was looking for trouble, he sure could get it, believe me.
That's all of that.
It's 80 degrees now and I am really sweating, kind of different than the snow.
I bet you when I got back home from here I wouldn't mind being able to sit right down in a snow bank.
This letter will be mailed in Guam, which is 9 days away, so it will be a little old, but I know you will enjoy getting it anyway.
Well, bye for now and lots of love and I miss you all.
Tell the kids Hi.
Love,
Bob
P.S.
Send me my camera and the case for my glasses, which is in that cloth thing in the lid of that little suit case, and send those sun glasses that are in my junk on top of the shelf.  (Don't send the flash attach).

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