Gifts and Fights (60)

     Casualties from fighting have abated, and conditions are quiet enough at the 92nd Evacuation Hospital for Capt. Gene Pfile to learn more about the country in which he finds himself.


24 Feb. '45
Beloved,
     Do you hear that ta-ta-ta-tat?  No, not the war!  The fellows are just trying out some new machine guns we obtained. Now that we are a complete arsenal I hope we won't need them.   Amazing, this mail.  I received your Feb. 11 letter and one of the 12th from Mother and a Valentine of the 8th from your Mother.  It is so clever.  On the front is a pipe and open pouch with real tobacco spilling out of it.  And such a nice verse.  I collected some items today!  At noon the nurse on my ward gave me the dandiest palm leaf woven fan, dyed a brownish color.  She is the married one.  I've never seen one like it before.  And this evening one of my 18 year olds [patient] gave me a fancy fiber under arm bag [purse, see photo]. 

Photo from two of Gene's civilian patients with their
embroidered under arm purses

 I'd seen it before and asked her about it.  Also she gave me a small picture of herself and two sisters and brother posed in a studio.  Her sister added a fine handkerchief with the initial P on it.  The sister is the one who had the large fragment in her cheek and which I'd removed.  I also had their mother.  The sister's first name is Purito [?] hence the P.  Now I must wrestle up [rustle up?] a box in which to send home things!  And soon!  For I know you are anxious to see them.  Right now I'm waiting around to help [Maj.? Cy] Burroughs operate on a soldier with a ruptured peptic ulcer that happened suddenly a few hours ago.  Say, I'm glad I ate but little of that ersatz chop suey [see post # 59].  The colonel was sick from it last night.  I'm hoping that I can get caught [up] on my work this morning so that I can both see the cockfight and go to church!

The thank you note with the photo
and purse

     I almost forgot one of my interesting patients.  She is the wife of a guerrilla captain and is two months pregnant and has a terrifically toxic thyroid [produces excessive thyroid hormone, a condition from which Beth had suffered]. Her pulse is running 160.  Her condition isn't at all good.  And today I met a guerrilla nurse.  They must have had quite an organization.  I'll bet they cause the Japs plenty of trouble.  I think maybe I'll try some cheese and some beer!  It will be good for me besides helping me [this was one of his favorite expressions in later life!], as [Maj.] Hi [Armstrong] says.
     All my love, Eugene

February 25, 1945
     I watched a cock fight, and I don't care for it.  3 jumps and it was over - about 30 seconds. ...

25 Feb. '45
Beloved,
     [Maj.]Sparky [Adams] is just chortling in his beard about a news item.  It seems that since animal fat is no longer so much in demand (vegetable oil substitutes it) they began remodeling hogs.  The result is more ham and bacon per hog.  Also the super hog is now nimbler on his feet, free from danger of sunburn and nervous breakdowns!  Amazing!


Cock fights in Guimba

     Well, I didn't get to church this morning.  I didn't get my work done until almost 11 (church at 10).  So Sparky and I grabbed helmets and guns and tore out for the cockfight.  A goodly crowd was there - about 200 in all.  When we arrived, two cocks and their handlers were in the ring.  The roosters had a long (3 inches) fairly wide blade [strapped] on one leg.  They were going through a preliminary neck feather spreading and head stretching at each other.  The book makers were walking around taking bets.  After about 5 minutes the babbling grew louder.  The handlers took the sheath of the spur off his contestant.  What I thought was the spur was just the sheath.  The spur itself is certainly a wicked gadget - thin, curved slightly and apparently with a regular needle point.  The cocks were set down and they strutted around looking at the crowd.  The handlers sort of shoved them together, and bango, they went up high in a leap.  Then hit the ground and up again.  Then the one cock sort of wobbled but gave another jump and it was all over.  The poor loser kicked a few times and that was all.  Ugh!  I don't like it!  There is nothing sporting about that!  It didn't last a minute.  I'm going back some time to take pictures of the crowd, but I'm no longer interested in cockfights.

More of the letter on the next post!