Encoded for the Veterans History Project, July 18, 2022.
All letters in the John Aubrey Enman, Jr. collection were digitized.
The following letters were transcribed from the handwritten originals by Veterans History Project staff. No alterations to this transcription has been made, although spelling errors are indicated with [sic]. Any special emphasis (i.e. underlining) is presented *between asterisks*.
June 3- 1945
Dear Julie,
Got your last long letter just before I left for up here. I forgot to bring it along so its back in Delhi with a lot of other stuff I should have carried along up here.
This place is the perfect spot for a rest camp. Located in the north-western part of India in the Punjab. We are north of Rawalpindi (got that atlas handy?) and in the Himalayan mountains. They are only 7000'-9000' high here, but up in the Kashmir and farther to the last they really get up high into the 20000's. Won't get to see Everest as it is away over on the northeastern part of India. But these are plenty steep enough. We are on top of ridge and can see, in places, a hundred miles or more. Quite wooded here, as you've probably
gathered from the inclosure, [i.e.?] if it didn't get tossed out for reasons the Dept. of Agriculture (U.S.A) has set up. Now I have Maine pine and you have Himalayan, and I sure don't see any difference. But there are both hard and soft woods here, pheasant, crows, hawks, vultures, cuckoos, and a red one like a tanager. The weather, when clear, is cool in the shade and warm in the sun - about like Indian summer except that it rains a bit more here in the [mountings?].
I sleep about 10 hrs. a night, which is considerably above average for me. And the food is OK - get plenty to eat and drink (in the form of buffalo milk). Hope you didn't gag on the last one, but it very good and has a taste like walnuts - don't know what the cows are fed.
For the most part I hike around the trails here with one other fellow who came up with me. At night there are movies and the Red Cross has games, and the like. Was so surprised that anything run like the army could be so unlike it - nothing G.I. about it. Nobody cares when you get up, what you do or where you go, unless you are off to a town where you expect to stay a few days. Other than that you are on your own for amusement - have tennis, baseball, volleyball, horses, and horseshoes, a couple of [?], piano and assorted musical instruments.
The big trip will be tomorrow up to Sprinagar in the Kashmir - a fine dog jaunt to the supposed beauty spot of India. So after that I can tell you more about the little ole vacation.
As ever, Johnny.
Sgt. John Enman
11043443
2nd Photo Proc. Det.
APO 885 c/o PM NY
Description of northern India
Miss Julie Robbins
10 Autumn Ave.
Dover-Foxcroft
Maine