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Frangie shields her eyes from the sun and sees for really the first time the vastness of the fleet There are ships as far as the eye can see Away north a destroyer isAway to the south there’s an air raid, Heinkels and Junkers strafing and boie knows better, having been beneath si had to cope with their effects Above the fleet is a flight of two RAF Spitfires racing in froer to pick off the German bombers

Frangie finds the mess tent and holds out her tin mess kit, which is then loaded with hot food—chicken-fried steak, green beans the color of her own uniform and even less fresh, ooey and red that is presumably cherry cobbler She carries her food across the beach to a patch of sand partially shaded by a pal been knocked over by naval fire

Until the moment the first bite reaches her lips she’s had no idea she was so hungry Now she shovels the food into herit doarm, brackish water from her canteen

She pulls paper and pen froht in the sand, like a sallery

Dear Mom and Dad and you too, Obal,

She feels bad, as she always does, not addressing her big brother, Harder, as well Harder has been exiled froned with godless Co now in Chicago

Well, I guess it’s all in the ne, so I suppose the censors will let , I can tell you There are air raids and such, but of course I aer but quite safe

That last is a lie repeated in probably 90 percent of GI letters home No one wants their loved ones to worry Or maybe no one wants to ader But if it gives her ie doesn’t mind the little white lie

I a that I don’t even have a gun—sorry, Obal My ive to the wounded I see tanks and cannon and so on, but all of that is sort of apart Like when little kids are playing in a sandbox and they don’t really play together, just kind of play next to each other? Well, this is one big sandbox and the navy does what it has to do, and the army does what it has to do, and the medics and nurses and doctors, we do our duty too

That sounds a bit high and e it And anyway, she is doing her duty, isn’t she? She’s saving boys’ and girls’ lives so folks up to send theet hurt worse the next time

They say the whole thing is going pretty ith—

The sound of planes is familiar, so she doesn’t immediately dive for cover, not until she looks up and sees the faainst the sky

She gathers her things and scoots to the base of the palht depression She hopes the tree won’t fall on her

The Heinkel comes in low,

round and chased by the antiaircraft guns of the navy It drops two bo up a cloud of yellow sand