" U. S. S. BEAVER

SUBMARINE DIVISION NINE

ASIATIC FLEET

Manila P.i.,

13 JanuarY, 1932.

My dear folks;

Your card. arrived today. Certainly glad to hear from

you again.---Sorry to hear about you being sick but hope you are

better now. cold? sure wish we could get a little cold weather.

It gets hotter here every day. Seems as though every day is a

little hotter than the day before.

Your card was the first I had heard about the Herald and

Express. The express is not a Hearst Paper, is it? 0nly news I

hear of the printing trade is through the Journal. I received

the December issue today.- Certainly hope G.B. does not get laid

off. Maggie and Lucile has written about the depression and I

have read about it in the papers. I think I would be wise to do

my thirty years in the Navy and retire. Then I would not be bothered

about depressions. Certainly glad. I extended my enlistment for

two years. Maybe by the time I am discharged in June 1933, times

will be better. Certainly, hope so.

Well, the transport reaches here the thirtieth, makes the

trip north to China, leaving Manila on the return trip 1 March,

arriving in San Francisco 24 March. I hope to make her. Not for

sure yet but believe I will. My tour of duty and extension of

tour of duty will be up in March-so I should. - No orders has been

published as yet but expecting it any day now. If I do return

I have not the slightest idea where I will be assigned to duty.

May be sent to the East coast or ordered to shore duty. I dread duty in the battle fleet for I now hold the rate where I am supposed to be a graduate of the Linotype school and I am not. And the only way I can attend the school is to pay my own way. That is Ten a

month [crossed out with week in margin] for tuition and then the living expenses, so it looks as though [(six weeks course) as shown handwritten in margin] I am out of luck. I can operate a machine alright but the mechanical end has me buffaloed. I can make minor repairs but I mean tearing a machine down and moving it, then setting it up again and making it run. And that is what I will be up against in the Battle Fleet. If I an ordered to shore duty I will be all set.

How ls Carter and his wife getting along? Is he working

regular and, what kind of a girl did get? But what's the use

asking all these questions for I know you can't answer them now.

Don't write until you hear fron me again. If I am assigned to the

Battle Fleet, I'll look you up the flrst forty-eight I rate.

Had a letter from Maggie last week. They are sure up against

it. Jack hasn't worked in months. Works two days a week for the

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city and gets a basket of grocerles. Don't say that I said anything

about this. Papa is at Uncle Jeff's in Texas. Uncle Jeff died a

few days after he got there. He is golng to spend the winter there

as Uncle Jeff's wife asked him to. Havn't heard from Florence in

quite some time although I did receive a Christmas Card from her.

She didn't write any on it though. Hear from Lucile and Ruth quite

often. The letter I got last week from Maggie was the first since last June.

Well not much news. I'll let you know where I am assigned

as soon as I arrive in the states. In-a way I wish it would be

shore duty. But about the only place I would be assigned to shore

duty would be at the Publicity Bureau at Brooklyn or at the Naval

Operating Base at Norfolk, Va. No chance of being assigned to duty

ashore on the West Coast as Frisco and Diego are the only places on

the West Coast for Printers and they are full. And no vacancies until

next year.

Love to all,

Melvin"

Melvin Davis "Pat" Patterson