October 10, 1944
Dear Wilmer,
I'm just curious as to who that favorite pin-up girl of yours might be. Unless Cressman has changed a good bit in the last two years (I wouldn't be a bit surprised if he has) your bulkhead must be arrayed with a great assortment. Where you are it is safe to assume that your wife won't drop in and see the array tacked up there. If it's your wife you are talking about, she's superior to any pictures. I still can't for the life of me under- stand how you ever talked a girl like that into taking the final plunge with you. She struck me as a being a girl who had good sense in all respects but that.
Now that the usual heckling is out of the way, congratulations on your promotion. I always did say that most of our men would get ahead and you are proving it more than one time. I still insist that when we see you at the Victory Reunion it will be with four gold stripes even if you have to go down to Roth's to rent them. Keep up the good work and do your best to stay out of that place that you were afraid you might land in someday.
Your reunion in the Pacific sounds as if it were a good party. I can imagine what a great kick you fellows get when you do run into each other like that. Quite a few of our boys are doing it right around the world, and we get a real thrill out of hearing of those reunions here at home.
Now about that gymnasium. Of course, you know, that building conditions are such at this time we couldn't build even if we had the funds in hand. I believe, however, that we are going to get on the job and definitely raise a gymnasium fund in the near future so that we will be all set with the actual building as soon as things break. At least that's what we hope to do. Of course, I have one idea at all that will be possible to hold the Victory Reunion in that building. We'll probably have to rent a Ringling Brothers tent, but on second thought, it might be just as well to have a part of the reunion off the campus because of certain rules and regulations with which you are familiar and which couldn't very easily be broken for a Vistory Reunion. Anyway it will be a reunion and a mighty one and I am planning to take my two weeks' vacation over that period just to try to keep up with you fellows.
Never worry that we will stop rooting for you fellows over in the Pacific. You are doing a great piece of work and so are our boys all around the world and we know it takes all of you to bring ultimate
October 10, 1944 - 2
Victory--the victory that will bring you back here again and will make pin-up girls unnecessary. What a fall they are going to have!
Everything else around here is moving along in great shape except the football team who, up to this point, has lost three games and won one. We lost our first two games to Bucknell, 24-7 and 14-0, the third to Penn State, 58-13, and on Saturday we beat Swarthmore 33-6. It's a fighting team, planting right down to the very last minute of the game and that's something we can be proud of regardless of the score.
And I guess that's the story for today, Wil, so lots of luck to you, luck that I hope will bring you a few more rows of gold braid. Remember me to Mildred.
Sincerely,
Gordon B. Fister
Lt. (j.g) Wilmer H. Cressman USNR U.S.S. Almaack (Aka -10) clo Fleet Post Office San Francisco, Calif.
Now viewing Letter from Gordon Fister to Wilmer Cressman, 10 October 1944.