"I have been working on camouflage nets for the army," writes Art "Fiddles" Kitahara, until recently at Santa Anita assembly center in Arcadia.

Kitahara was a lightweight football and basketball star at Santa Cruz high. In his last season he was an end on the heavyweight football team. He was a winning pitcher on the school baseball team, graduated as boys' athletic honor student.

From barrack 16, unit 6 he writes Bob Puget of Santa Cruz:

IN MESS HALL

"I now begin working in the mess hall--lots of pretty waitresses. I worked on the camouflage of nets for 1-1/2 months and received $2.21 for the time between June 8 and June 15--get rich in a hurry on four cents an hour.

"I have been playing ball and we won two league games so far, 9-2 and 8-3. I got three for four in the first game, including two homers and double.

The second game I pitched and I got one for four, but I'm batting .500.

HOW IS THE BEACH?

"By the way, are they still playing anything in Santa Cruz? Also how is the weather and the beach. I sure miss that Santa Cruz."

Kitahara wrote Puget giving Mark Hasimoto's address, ward B, 2nd street, unit 11, Merced assembly center, California. Hasimoto was another high school athlete of three or four years ago.

Kitahara has since been moved to some other center farther east, according to Puget. The two boys were stars on the same high school lightweight football and basketball teams here. They were inseparable pals, both on and off the field.

The two boys keep up correspondence, the Japanese boys earlier having sent five dollars and a request to Puget to buy him something he couldn't get at the assembly center. The purchase could not be made as Kitahara was soon after moved farther east."