If there is such a thing as foxhole humor, this story records one lonely soldier’s attempt to cheer up his grandmother, Mrs. Albert Allen in Central Point, Ore., who was concerned about keeping up the soldier’s morale.
From his foxhole in early 1952 in the mountains of Korea, the soldier, Warren Hoss, wrote a witty, but bittersweet, letter home. It went like this:
“A good morning to you from the beautiful and scenic, yet treacherous hills of Central Korea. As we look in on our little ‘Ice Cube’ this morning, he is bundled in the corner of his poorly ventilated, poorly lit, poorly furnished foxhole.”
“But first a word from our sponsor: ‘Eat it in the can’... is able to bring to you…food fit to eat right out of the beautiful stainless steel container. Look for it at your corner foxhole ... Now back to ‘Ice Cube,” all-American forever … Last week his main problem was clipping ice from between his toes which he did successfully. This week a new and thrilling problem has come our way. Anybody got ten spare toes? ... Tune in next week to see if ‘Ice Cube’ gets his new toes.”
Source: "Humor Retained." Oregonian 24 Apr. 1952 [Portland Oregon]: 18. Print.
