Description
2632 Woodley Place Tuesday 8:45 p.m. Darling, See what you and Wendy started? Rome, D-Day…I hope you've been able to listen in on somebody’s radio a little - if not, I suppose it's driving you crazy to know what's going on. Strangely enough, there was little excitement in Washington today. People seemed casual about picking up their papers at the entrance of the Navy Building (as Hugh and I do each morning) in spite of the bold headlines. Conversation on the bus was partly about the invasion-but sporadic and inconsequential-and just as much about other things (which here include a fair sprinkling of [con?] or Committee activities). I first became aware - not with any surprise - that the entire Navy Bldg. was equipped with a public address system when a prayer by a Chaplain-Captain introduced by the Asst. Secretary of the Navy. At different times later in the day there were news bulletins broadcast over the system. You would have laughed to see the office I'm in this morning - everybody smoking cigars. Among those especially interested and requesting me to relay their congratulations - besides Hugh and Toni, and Jack Williams, who had to hear all about it - were Will Ebling, Leo Reierstad, Bob Falk, Larry (of course with his amused, faintly supercilious air), Howell Breece. Huidmarsh got a cigar and also Lt. Pevyer, a sort of departmental go-between who took care of filling out and filing my [?] leave so that it doesn't deduct from my time. I met Art English -awfully nice guy; I identified you on the basis of your brief acquaintance with his wife, and of friendship with Betty C. He was interested in hearing about her and I repeated some of the parts of her recent letter concerning herself. He said, goodnaturedly, that he guessed it was good for her to settle down a little with [pg 2] Carl (whom he also asked about); they had been in a pretty fast crowd, chiefly on Chet's account. Since I went away developments - all have been told (unofficially) their destination; same place for all of them. Including Hugh (who calls it - a next-best-choice) but excepting Leo R. who apparently is to remain here but isn't sure. Jack W. and Bernie Stern have also been told unofficially that they will return to their first situation here after all instead of being sent out. Jack was funny: he said yes, of course he’d like it, as soon as he got used to the idea again; he’d just about got used to the idea of going out (not to you-know-where) and was getting pleasurably excited about it. Anyhow… Friday night I'm going out to the Williamses' with Jack for the evening. I'll be glad to see them all again. Joanie will probably be asking questions about Wendy. Thursday noon I think Hugh is taking me to a weekly or biweekly Far Eastern Luncheon with him; he says there will be just unimportant people there with maybe one or two important ones - but I look forward to it. I feel very much the neophyte in the things that are really interesting (our jobs are good background [?] [?] but essentially pretty drab, of course, being for one thing non-political) but I'm anxious to learn. I think I want to learn as much of the Far Eastern [f?] as I can and then perhaps carve out some amateur-special niche of my own and get to know it (Left, Right, and backwards) better than anybody else. The forthcoming year should be a good apprenticeship if I use it wisely and take in everything current I can while being careful not to be deadened by the weight of curriculum. Sometime early next week will probably have dinner with Lucille, Hugh, and Toni - tomorrow night Hugh and I may go to a Japanese movie in the Pentagon building. Today is the first and quite possibly the last day in my life in which I've smoked three (3) cigars. They were excellent. Tell Wendy I really celebrated for her. All my love, darling Warren
