Correspondence from Owen Hamilton to his sister June Meyer and brother-in-law Morgan Meyer (June E. Hooe Hamilton Meyer, 1919-2010 (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/81471045/june-e_hooe-meyer) and (Morgan G. Meyer, 1916-2000 (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/43119273/morgan-g.-meyer). The war is over in terms of censorship--now he can write what he wants. Censorship was the hardest battle he had to fight because there was so much he wanted to say and could not. He did received the clipping but due to the fact that they are moving to Japan he couldn't give his speech (thank goodness). Mainland whiskey went on sale, unrationed for the first time since the war began and he doesn't think he's seen so many drunks in as small an area as Oahu. There's so much he wants to say he doesn't know where to begin. He will start by telling them his exact location--it's great to write what was heretofore unmentionable. First he was at Schofield Barracks which had been hit during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Then they went on Defense of the Island and he was stationed on the north side in the forest for about 6 months. His current location is Fort Hase, where they have a joint Army Navy post as Kaneohe Naval Air Station is right next to them. You should hear the noise of all those mariners and naval liberators taking off every minute on patrol flights. He's been able to get a few rides and so knows the islands by land, sea, and air. No one will be able to tell him anything about these islands because he's made his business to see it all. Pearl Harbor is quite something and it's amazing to see something this big on an island. Hickham Field, and John Rodgers airfields are quite big and as modern as any airport you'd see. The B-29s are stationed at John Rodgers and are quite an aircraft. One advantage to this island is that anything the Army, Navy, or Marines had, you could see it there. (If he had written this during the way he'd have been shot.) He says that they must wonder why he never saw combat. He doubts that even God could answer that, but that they must have prayed harder than did those praying for the other divisions. They are the best trained division the Army has since they have gone through so many types of training--cold weather, jungles, mountain warfare, lava fields, and dense jungles. They've had more amphibious training than a lot of Marine outfits. He's not sorry. They were out on one last field problem when the word came in. at 4:00 am, that the Japanese had surrendered. He had just gotten off guard when the jeep drove up and the driver let him have the news. He doesn't mind saying that he stood there and cried for joy. Within 5 minutes the blackout security was broken and you could see lights all over the hills. He will never forget that day--he no longer had to think about sleeping in the mud and rain, stumbling around in the dark, or worrying about getting shot. After years of this death didn't seem so bad as it came quick, but it was a strain thinking about going home with an arm or a leg off. He knows how that would have hurt them. It was a shame that they were never used as he thinks they could have really given them hell. Now to tell them of the times that weren't so hot, when it appears that only the grace of God kept them out. It all dates back to the campaigns on [Saipan], Guam and Tinian--Morgan probably remembers those Pacific campaigns. They were held in reserve but were never needed. Next was the Philippines. Indiana's 38th Division was there and he thought they'd be right beside them. He would have liked to have gotten into the division since there were so many boys from Evansville in it. When that division was with them there on the island it was just like being in Evansville. So it ends up that they are going to Japan as an occupation force and not an invasion one. He is glad to go as he thinks it will be a wonderful experience. Just think of the stories he'll have to tell when he comes home--and it shouldn't be too long before he comes home. By this time next year he should be a civilian with all this behind him. All he has lost is time, not an arm or a leg. He's glad to have been able to get this off his chest....it has been hard to write only about routine stuff. He asks about his niece and says he's glad Mom is doing well and hopes she can continue. It may be some time before they hear from him again but not to worry, he'll be ok.