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April 22, 1942

Wednesday Ft. Hughes, P.I.

Today they assigned me another job. I don’t know how long it will last but I feel that I’m contributing a little to the cause anyway. I am an observer-sort of like the Officer of the Deck of the Ship. My station is a little room with a spotting glass. To reach it I have to climb a straight staircase of 177 steps and it’s a killer, I’m the senior watch officer there and stood my first watch from 1715 until 2000. I stayed a little after 8 to witness the exercising of searchlights. By so doing I was caught up there until 1030 because our mortars opened up and the Japs returned the fire. They must have been sitting there waiting because as soon as our guns would flash, they would obviously fire theirs and it would hit near us a few seconds later. The only trouble with that is that the Nips know where we are but we’re damned if we know where they are. Some set up and the Army doesn’t seem to have
the slightest conception of what to do about it. In other words – Phew!