of the passing minutes, There was the overdue picket boat lying off to starboard waiting for me, and here wes Bill in thie one syot in ell the world. I only hed 20 minutes with him, but we ade thom last as long as we could. We didn't aay it, but «« both recognised the element of timeles 66 which one acquires so quickly out here. To see ench other for 20 minutes or 2 minutes is ali that's important. It _ Christus, in which she described everything about 4832 end the folks, and told about christmas Ove and morning, and about little ¥ end you. We reed 4t together and he ipereciated it. You see, it's been a iong time since Bill received any seil, In the | © service, one hesn't tine to write many letters, end there is a terrible I met « couple of Bill's ship He hes 8 certain sloofness in his | Ed It's oblows that they like and respect him. : Let me tell you whet I kmow of Bill's combat experience. They heave been in many campaigns. They were at Kwajalein, et Truk, they were in the grewt neval ac ticn of f Formose, “They went inte Lingayen Gulf on 8-Day. Prior te that, they were a nember of the . About his ship: by Navy stenderds, she is old. But her class is still the fastest in the Fleet. She's single stacker of 1500 tonsa, carrying auch fire-power; ‘how ouch I can't very well tell you on paper. There is on officer in our mcquarters val ailed in her from Guadalcanal to the Russells, before Bill joined the ship end The | in the deys when Guadel wee the front. This officer says she's a tight little ship, ‘Zhe skipper is e good man, Lt. Cmdr. Gearroll. And he is conservative, never exposing v8 Ea ao Bd aa a ir SS a as