Built Our Own Ice Cream Machine

Lieut. Gilbert Steingart

U.S.S. Ocelot, F.P.O. San Francisco

Saturday 28 July 1945, 7:15 PM

Dearest Eleanor,

          Hello Darling, today is another anniversary for me but I wish it weren't so.  One year ago today I reported aboard the Ocelot.  Was that a day!  We were both so stunned that we didn't realize the meaning of it all until later.  Now the greatest portion of our separation is behind us and soon we'll all be together again.

          This morning the admiral officially took over command of the Flag and a "change of command" ceremony was held aboard at 8:00 AM.  From then on it was a typical Saturday morning with work and preparation for captain's inspection.

          This afternoon I finished "Leave Her to Heaven" and began "Captain in Castile" a historical novel of the time of the Spanish Inquisition.  The setting is in Spain and Cuba.  Very interesting. Because of the rather full depiction of torture methods, I won't recommend it for you.

          At 5:00 PM I showered, censored mail and then dressed for dinner.  After chow we played cribbage as usual.  By the way, we built our own ice cream machine and have the stuff every day.  We make seventy gallons a day.  There is enough for all.

          I got three letters from my Sweet today and one from each of our mothers.  We must enjoy our movies a lot more than people at home do.  The movies that you thought were just fair seemed excellent to me.  Guess we appreciate the little entertainment we get!

          Wish you'd square up with Bessler.  A bird in the hand, you know.  Take $40 and if there is more we'll follow up on it when I get home.

          Guess I was right about Leon.  The Bureau did catch up with him.  Well he can't complain.  He's had a long tour of duty stateside and Okinawa is pretty safe now.

          The money is bone-fide Jap invasion money.  I have more, and the higher denominations show use.  However the smaller bills weren't used because there wasn't anything to buy with them.  Everything was sky high.

          Glad Deb and the baby are doing well.  I must write in the next day or so.  I've been so lazy lately.

          The movie tonight is "Rough, Tough and Ready," with Richard Dix and Victor McLagen.  Probably just as poor as Jack Benny last night but I'll go anyway.

          Now I'll sign off.  Goodnight Sweetheart and pleasant dreams.

Love, 

Gil

Invasion Money

Lieut. Gilbert Steingart

U.S.S. Ocelot, F.P.O. San Francisco

Friday 13 July 1945, 10:45 PM

Dearest Eleanor,

          Hello my Sweet, how is my favorite wife tonight.  Today has been another one of those hot, sultry days but now there is a gentle rain coming down and things have cooled down considerably.

          I was a busy as a cranberry merchant in July all morning, but this afternoon, being field day, I had the time to myself.  So I censored some mail, read a couple of magazines and then began work on a little trinket I'll try to have done for you for our anniversary.

          The mail didn't bring me any letters but I did receive two cans of candy from Deb, a Dental Digest and a B'nai B'rith Bulletin.

          At 5:00 PM I showed and dressed for dinner.  After eating I played cribbage.  Bet parts of all my letters read the same.

          Our movie tonight was quite interesting.  It was "Betrayal from the East" with Lee Tracy and is supposed to be a true story of counter-espionage prior to Pearl Harbor.  Anyway everyone got killed off in the end, but the war started anyway.

          I'm enclosing some Japanese invasion money that I picked up the last time I was in town.  Because it was in my room, it was never around when I wrote.  This money is not negotiable now (thank God) but a peso was equivalent to fifty cents when it was good.  Please save the money as the stuff is hard to get.  It was given to me gratis but the natives sell the stuff three pesos for a dollar.

          That is thirty for tonight darling.  Goodnight and pleasant dreams.

Love,

Gil

Japanese Invasion Money

Lt. (j.g.) Gilbert Steingart

U.S.S. Ocelot, F.P.O. San Francisco

Wednesday 30 May 1945, 10:15 PM

Dearest Darling,

          Hello Sweet, how is my Eleanor tonight?  I've had quite a busy and interesting day.  Of course to begin with, I worked on patients all morning.  After lunch I took the liberty party ashore.  We had over one hundred men go, so we got an LCI to take us over and came up on the beach just as you've seen it done in the movies.

          After I got the men squared away I decided to go over to the officers' club.  It seemed very close for all there was separating the club from the enlisted men's area was a great big rocky hill.  Well they told me there was a trail winding around the rock and so I started out.  It had been raining and the ground was quite muddy and in a couple of minutes I found myself in real jungle surroundings.  The brush and trees were so thick you couldn't walk except along the trail which ran along the bank of the muddy stream.  There were big gnarled roots and large rocks. It wasn't easy going.  Believe me I can appreciate a lot more what some of our boys went through in the jungles with full packs on their shoulders and death hidden behind each tree.  Anyway after about fifteen minutes the going got easier and in another few minutes I was back on the beach.

          I found a group of officers from the ship there and had a couple of drinks with them.  Then several of us took a walk along the beach.  We found a family of natives living in a small hut on the beach.  The whole hut wasn't any larger than our den, yet the family consisted of a father and mother, two teenaged boys, two teen aged girls and one girl in her twenties.  The teenagers looked fairly clean but the rest of the family, the surroundings and the hut itself were filthy.  Tied up alongside of the hut was a sow with two pigs and two scrawny looking chicks.  They speak English well enough to be understood and I'll have some very interesting stories to tell.  I did pick up several denominations of Japanese Invasion money and expect to get many other souvenirs in this area.  At 4:15 I went back to the enlisted men's area via the jungle and rounded up the men.  At 5:00 PM we boarded the LCI and returned to our ship.  I showered and changed and was just in time for a late dinner.

          The movie tonight was excellent.  It was "Animal Kingdom" with Ann Sheridan, Alexis Smith, Jack Carson and others.  Be sure to see it.  You'll enjoy it.

          There was no mail again today.  I understand that due to some mix up all our mail that arrived here was sent back to our last stopping place.  I suppose it'll be weeks before some of it catches up with us.

          No more for now Darling, so I'll sign off.  Goodnight Sweet, I do love you and miss you.

Yours for always,

Gil

Also, after the liberation of the Philippines, the Red Cross came in to help out. They obtained Japanese Invasion Currency notes, and punched 2 holes in each one. These hole-punched notes were distributed to the military as souvenirs. 

Natives in front of hut