"Vinegar Joe" Writes Home

From U.S. Army Headquarters in China came a letter penned by Commander Joseph W. Stilwell. It was addressed to the Elks Lodge of his home town, Palatka, Fla. (pop. 7,140), which had cabled condolences when his mother died. But the dour, stoical words of "Vinegar Joe" were good for all Americans to read and ponder:

"Many thanks for your kind message of sympathy. I appreciate your thoughtfulness and hope, with luck, to some day appear in your midst and say 'thank you' personally.

"Meanwhile we are doing our best, in our small way, to try and crack a hard nut. It would be easier if we had more tools, but the demands are great, and we are the last stop on the line.

"So keep that in mind when you think, as you must, that our performance is rather sad."

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