From Warren H. Langdon to Helen J. Fitzgerald.
USS Albany
Vladivostok Siberia
July 15 1919
My Dear Helen,
Your very welcome letters of May and June came a few day ago and you may be sure I was mighty glad to hear from you. There is no doubt in this world but what some of our mail gets adrift and it was good of you to write even though you did not get a reply from me. In the months of August, September and October we will be cruising around China and Japan so look for numerous post cards of the different places we visit.
We have been in this place since March 24 and I assure you all will be glad to leave it. It is without question the dirtiest city I was ever in and its modern conveniences are almost nil. There are only three or four street cars, no sewage system, a very unreliable electric plant, no water system, no street cleaners and oodles of dirty Mongolians and Chinese. When it rains the mud is knee deep and when it dries off the dust is like a cloud all the time. The shops are very poor now but at one time they were really wonderful.
There is an average of one or two murders a night. I saw one yesterday. One fellow hit the other on the head with a bottle of ink, deliberately walked on and left him where he fell. So did I and I learned later that the fellow who was hit died a few minutes later.
We have met a whole lot of very nice girls out here. Most of them are Red Cross of Army nurses and some of the Russian girls are attractive. They are nearly always excellent dancers and really like the Americansky dances. Of course I have learned some Russian but really don’t expect to make a living as an interpreter.
There has been quite a little fighting between the Americans and the Bolsheviks and many of our boys have taken the long trail. We have been out twice to cover landing parties but each time the enemy was foxy enough to stay out of range of our guns, but as our object was to get the boys on the beach where they could have a chance to fight our sport was cut short by the enemy staying so far inland.
It has been wonderful weather out here for the last two months and I have been sailing and swimming many times. Mr. Caldwell, the American Consul here has a very fine boat and as I always get an invitation to go out with them have had many pleasant days.
I’ll bet when your Dad gets that auto it will be hard work to find any f you at home nice evenings or Sat. or Sun. but as the Russians say Nitchyvo. I can’t see how it will affect yours truly for the next three years.
Please give my very best regards to your folks and with all good wishes to yourself I remain as ever
Warren
(Sure hope this one doesn’t go astray.)