When Dart awoke this morning there was a letter from Dot stuck under his mattress. It was the one she was writing last week when she was interrupted by his phone call. He agrees with her assessment that he is much better off to be “here” rather than “over there.”

“All the time we were idle near Okinawa, we kept thinking that there was so much more time gone by so that the Japs wouldn’t have quite so many planes to drop on us as we made our run for freedom; just that much closer to the end of the war; that much more chance for the war to end while we were in the States. Now it’s all true. We got out safely, the Japs are whipped, and the war is over while were here.” ( My whole life, I’ve thought how lucky that kamikaze was for the Haggard — lucky at least for those who survived the initial attack. If they had not been crippled, they’d have faced many more battles at sea, each with multiple opportunities for disaster.)

His request for a 72-hour pass has been signed, sealed, and nearly delivered. His buddy Hal Martin also got one. Both men plan to arrive at Penn Station in NYC on Saturday night. Hal will head off to Boston and Dart will go to Greenwich. If they drive Hal’s car back to the naval base, they’ll need to leave Monday afternoon. If they return by train, they can stay a little longer. The car would be a nice thing to have between the end of their liberty and the beginning of their 30-day leave on September 10. (Dot’s gonna love seeing that date, finally. Let the countdown begin!)

He writes a few funny suggestions for the wording of their engagement announcement and then asks if he has done enough to earn his dinner.

The rest of the letter is filled with random tidbits: She didn’t mention Gordon’s condition, so he must be doing okay. The crew has x-rays tomorrow as part of their thorough medical exam. Dart intends to mention his bothersome back problems to the new doctor. He and his pals saw a movie the other night called “You Came Along,” which he deemed “very funny until it became very sad.”

He’s still crazy in love with her, bur she seems to be the only one who’s been saying the sweet nothings in letters recently. He hopes to do better soon.