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Hears a story about soldiers who were being shipped out on a train having to wear their dark blue uniforms in the sun, and reflects on the occasional arbitrariness of military orders. Reads the book The Brick Foxhole; says that soldiers complain about the Williamsburg USO, but says that it is not any better throughout much of the South. As more men depart the Camp, Recht notices that there is no longer and band and the Captain there to bid farewell to the soldiers. There has been confusion over if Recht will be allowed out of service on time, since he does not have a birth certificate; theorizes about Russia attacking Japan in a two front attack. Pokes fun at Esther for keeping all of his letters; sees the movie “Thousand and One Nights.” Lt. Kennedy has not told Recht whether or not he will institute Recht’s recommendation of conferences with the men, to see what the really are feeling; hears a rumor of more civilians being hired at the Camp. Reads a story in the Post-Gazette about how a Congressman got a passport for a wife to go visit her husband overseas. Hears that the German prisoners now have the job of cleaning the “heads” and says they have never been so clean; hears that the Navy is bombarding Japanese factories near the coast; includes a poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar. Buys more war bonds; reads about a Greyhound bus that fell into a river when the bridge collapsed; talks about the value of their record collection.

The District librarian is coming to visit the Camp library; has to give leave to a sailor whose mother is very sick. Plans to go see “Bell for Adano” with Lew, but it has not gotten good reviews. Reads a story in the Richmond paper about a plan for releasing men using a points system, but only people who have had 4 years of duty and will be 41 or older. Finally sees “Bell for Adano,” and likes it more than the reviews; reflects on whether his letters are more like letters or like “speech-making…and blowing off steam.” Goes to the Lodge and sits out by the pool, watching a 6 month old baby, before rain forces him inside. Meets a man from Maine, where Recht and Esther have traveled, and so they talk about places they have both been; men are complaining of getting bitten by flies; has a sailor tell him a story about how the sailor’s uncle sent him a letter saying that the sailor’s wife has been entertaining all sorts of men at their house, however the sailor thinks the uncle is sending these rumors because he wants to go on a date with his wife. Has an interesting experience of racism in the barber shop, with one barber hiding in the back office instead of cutting hair. Sees the movie “The Princess and the Bell Hop”; the coffee shop at the Lodge is now using saccharine tablets instead of sugar; hears from Frankie, and former sailor in their group, and that he is on an LST. Sees a “colored fellow” leading a group of men, both black and white, from induction to the mess hall; theorizes that the Nazi’s learned from the KKK and “other American methods of mistreatment of the Negro.”

Talks to a Y1c in the ship’s service office, who tells him that there will soon be two sets of barbers to try and prevent similar problems from happening. Reads Arthur Miller’s Situation Normal…; admits to some of the sailors that he had been a lawyer for 8 and a half years before joining the Navy. Reads about a white woman from Alexandria, Va, who was arrested for refusing to move from the back of the bus. Reflects on the defeat of Churchill’s party in the British Parliamentary elections; theorizes on what will happen to the Japanese, and how the Allies will attack them, mainly through more and more powerful air attacks, not a land invasion. Talks about the price and quality of clothes he can buy and try to send back home. Talks about playing checkers with a friend in the department; talks about the department picnic, with a “quartet of colored men singing.” Reads about peace terms, rather than surrender terms, that the Allies send the Japanese; talks with a man who has been working in the camp prison. Writes about an incident where white sailors followed “several young Negro girls” back to their house, where they were attacked by “Negroes” and also about another incident where a fight broke out about moving to the back of the bus; both of these incidents provoke a debate in Recht’s office; sees the movie “Junior Miss”; talks about one of the men in his office getting into a car crash at the intersection of Duke of Gloucester Street, Boundary Street, and Jamestown Road. Has some further comments about the fight on the bus; man who crashed the car gets two weeks restriction to base. Reads an article in Collier’s about the comparative income between races and why governments have failed to equalize it.

Talks about tree frogs that have congregated near his sleeping hut, because of all the rain. Writes in to PM Magazine, sending in some stories about his experience with it on the camp. Gets new men into his section, who are worse than the ones they are replacing; hears that the enlisted mens’ club is supposed to be finishing renovations soon. Hears a new order about how men found guilty of being away without leave are to be sent overseas, if physically fit. Lt. Kennedy shows Recht some pictures of him as an infant and a young child. Gets mold on his shoes from the amount of moisture in the air. Gets ready for a visit from Esther. Talks to the librarian’s wife, who is an ardent Mexican nationalist.

His friend Lew talks about a book, By the Waters of Babylon, and how he thinks some parts of it are an unfair presentation of the Jews. Reads in the paper that the Navy will no longer allow sailors to wear civilian clothes when off-duty. Hears a rumor about the reduction of the amount of points needed to get a discharge; goes to a Billie Holliday concert where “many Negroes” were “specially invited;” hears that a lot of military surplus items are to become available to the public in a matter of weeks. Lt. Kennedy tells Recht that he is going to start looking for a man to replace him soon, as they both want to get out of the service; reads an article called “Race Relationships in the US.”

Uses pink paper one day, finding it to be the only thing on hand; the Navy finally recommends to sailors that they buy things at service prices and send them home, which is what sailors have been doing all along; remarks that the old camp soda fountain has been replaced by a sort of jewelry store. Hears a rumor about the replacement for Lt. Kennedy. Does not get anything out of the camp religious services. Finds out the public library is now closed in the evening to give the librarians a break; hears about how the personnel chief is disappointed about the test scores, on the General Classification Test, of the men staying in the Navy after the war ends. Lt. Kennedy finishes By the Waters of Babylon, and shares his views on it. A librarian puts up a sign that says “Jim Crow” with an “X” through it, and a “burly Southerner” causes a ruckus about it. Hears that the Secretary of the Navy is to appear before Congress to discuss demobilization; hears of many men and women having affairs with people all over the camp, including in Recht’s department; talks about living in the same house as Esther’s family.

Temporarily assigned to make records of long distance phone calls received. Hopes to hear Ezio Pinza on the radio, His 8th wedding anniversary is December 27.—weather continues “stinkeroo.” Looking forward to whenever the war ends and getting back too civilized living. Fathers have a real interest in the war—they ought to take all available non-fathers first— the young have what it takes to fight these stupid wars. Live in and for today while maintaining some perspective as to possible future. Number of Seabees began at 99, rose to 3,000 and are now at 262,000. Service men should be allowed to board trains ahead of all others-they deserve a comfortable ride since they get one so infrequently. Saw “The Lodger” with Merle Oberon, George Sanders and Laird Cregar.—it would frighten children. Post office on the base is heated by wood fires. Pork is now available without ration points. –[Foreshadowing of D-Day]. Has the feeling that any day there may be a gigantic action and the first waves of men pouring into Europe will result in huge casualty lists. Steel strike is pending—labor shouldn’t strike just because no new contract is signed—wait until the new contract omits retroactive provisions. Labor is giving FDR [Franklin D. Roosevelt] one hell of a thank you. Max Werner making predictions for 1944 in Look magazine says that Germany will have a military and political collapse next year.

Folders 621-630: 15 September 1945-19 September 1945

Talks to a 3rd class Spec. X, who has been in the service 2.5 years, about what he did out of the service and what he has done while in the service; finds out that Esther is pregnant. Wants to get posters of “The Races of Mankind” from Fisk University for Brille, the librarian, to post in the library; talks about possible child names. Brille had been talking with Captain Perry’s wife and brought up Recht’s suggestion of distributing the Children’s Bureau pamphlets on Pre-Natal care, which she loved; wonders about using the Children’s Bureau aid for pregnant wives of servicemen; has Esther pick up a Suggested Reading list for him. Says that most of the men left only want one thing: to go home. After October 1, will no longer need to wear his white uniforms; researches the possibility of converting GI insurance into normal, private insurance. All people at the base are temporarily frozen in their current position, and instead of 1000 new recruits coming in, the number has risen to 2600. Rides to Richmond with Lew, in his newly repaired car. Is going to take a trip up to Pittsburgh to see Esther at the end of September; hears from Lew that Capt. Perry might want to take the top ten men at Peary, as measured by their service tests, and of which both Lew and Recht are members, and have them give lectures to men being discharged, about how to readjust; hears about a librarian who is a Russian Jew who has lived in Palestine most of his life, and paints, so Recht suggests to Brille that they show his work at the library. Sends home some towels that are “good enough for private use.” Hears more scuttle about the points system being changed, but nothing is firm yet; last winter, men packed dirt around the bottom of the Quonset hut Recht lives in to keep the wind from getting underneath.