February 4, 1951, Sunday

Pvt. Robt. M. Gimbel
U.S. ########
Co "C" 69th Med. tk. Ba. CCB.
6th Armd. Div.
Fort Leonard Wood, MO

Dear Mom and Dad,

I hope this letter finds everyone well and happy, and I hope Claudia gets over the measles in a hurry and I hope Rosemary doesn't get them but I suppose she has them by now.
I hope you didn't take my last letter to serious as I was pretty tired and feeling mighty low. That's the way it seems to be here though, one day your in high spirits, the next you're sad. But after this when I feel that way, I won't write as I know you both worry a lot about me, more than anyone else in the world, because you really don't, or can't imagine what it's like and a person wonders, when they don't know too much about something.
It's mostly in a person's mind though, I have found out. If you think you're getting tired, it helps to make you more tired.
My feet do get tired if I have a long march without much rest in the mean time. Maybe, after I get out of this Basic which is 3 more weeks. Maybe I can get into something that I won't have so much marching in it, I could march all day, but when your feet get tired and sore, a guy's done.
They don't have much of a choice of schools to enter in from this base. They have only: Anti-air-craft, Cooking, Officer's Candidate School which is 3 more years and Clerical, which is office work. I think if I can I'll get into the last one as mayb eI can use it in later life. But these schools are more farther away from home which makes it bad.
We got paid Wednesday, and I got $42.00, some of us got more but they were in longer. It's supposed to be $75.00, but they gave us $10.00 at Fort Sherdian, Ill, and they took out 2 months insurance, which is between $6.40 and $6.60 a month, making that $13.20 and $2.00 for laundry, $2.00 for withholding tax.
I was in for only 26 days, 31 days into $75.00 is about $2.41 dollars a day, making me have $35.46 left. I guess I got too much, our plattoon Sargent says, when you get too much don't say anything but when you're shorted really holler. They didn't take out what they're supposed to, they said they never do the first month, but I am sending $15.00 for the insurance, and next month you will get the $40.00. (Car insurance, I think)
I got a letter from Floyd a couple of days ago.
I have been getting the paper real regularly and it sure is nice to read it, as before all I could get was Chicago or St. Louis papers and I am not interested in them.
I got a letter from Jack yesterday, he sent it from Minn., He didn't tell me he missed me. Ha Ha! (Jack Daleiden) I didn't expect that but it would have been nice if he had of refered to it a little, that I did do a good work when I was there. It's like we said lots of them times, that he doesn't appreciate anything.
*****
(Okay, background here...Bud and Bob Gimbel ran the paint shop at Daleidens in Kalamazoo, so at the time, my Dad and Bob worked for Jack Daleiden or as I grew up hearing..Old Man Daleiden)
*****
I wish and hope that you, Dad and I can get a business together that, we can holler our name all over like he does his.
Just to show how thorough the Army is, we had an 1 1/2 hour on the carbine, which is about 5 lbs. in weight and the next day we fired them. In class they didn't even have one there to show it to us. We never seen it until we got out to the range, we each fired it 10 times and came back.
Orie Drake's girl, Brother and Mother came to see him today and yesterday. I hadn't seen his brother for quite a while.
There's a fellow in our barracks that's name is Bob Fess and his father Owen owns a jewelry stor ein Vicksburg. He's a nice guy.
Bill Ressiguie and his friend Dick Ovington said if they get a pass that's at least 42 hrs, they will come home, maybe if I can, and if there's enough room in dick's friend's car, I might be home too. That sure would be nice.
Well, I guess I'll close for now, because if I don't I'll run out of stationery, and I probably would if I wrote every letter like this one.
don't you both work too hard and maybe I'll see you next week.
Lots of Love,
Son Bob
P.S.
Bill, Dick and Vern Newhouse, another from Kazoo, went to a show this afternoon and me. It was "Operation Pacific" with John Wayne. It was real good. We came back and took some pictures with Vern's camera, when I get them developed, I'll send them home.
The weather is just like spring today, the sun came out and melted all the snow. it's awful unpredictable, and the changes of temperatures all the time makes it hard to get rid of a cold.
Well write soon.
Lots Love Bob.