This letter from Dart takes a page from Dot’s book – it covers several days.  In the first paragraph, he admits he can think of nothing to write, so he’ll re-open the letter at a later time.

Fast forward two days. He is effusive about another phone conversation he had with Dot last night, after waiting one and a quarter hours for the opportunity. (Was there a long line of soldiers trying to call home? Did it take that long to get a connection to Greenwich? I trust we’ll never know.)

Dart’s opinion of the two Waves on his floor has risen since his initial mention of them. They earned the respect of several of their patients when they put a couple of vulgar guys on report for inappropriate behavior toward them, and those cads are now in the brig. So, how would women in the service today feel  in a similar situation? Would they expect to be treated respectfully (like a lady?) or would they believe that to demand a level of respect would be to set themselves above the men and thereby draw unfavorable comparisons? Would they be happy to be considered “one of the boys?” If there were a well-defined standard of behavior toward women, as there was back then, would there be an epidemic of sexual assaults in the military today?

Dad told a revealing little story about a volunteer job he and “Rosy” Rosen were drafted for. They were to report to the Red Cross office and help deliver holiday flowers around the ward. When they arrived at the RC office, no one was there, so they went to the canteen for a little snack. When they noticed that the RC office was occupied, they flipped a coin to decide if they would return to do their task or leave. They kept flipping until they got the results they wanted.

He talks a little more about the daily activities on the ward, and then tells Dot about a conversation he had with his surgeon that day. There is a weird little knot under his incision that the doc says will “eventually” disappear. By that he means between one and 10 years! After the incision heals and the bump shrinks enough, he’ll be returned to active duty.

His aunt sent him a personal little Christmas tree, which he donated to the common good and the guys in the ward decorated it. He wished Dot a merry Christmas, since this will probably be the last letter to reach her before the holiday.