Eleanor Roosevelt to Lorena Hickok, September 1, 1943

Hick Dearest,

    Well, the trip is nearly half over. The people here are kind & they like F.D.R. & our marines have won all their hearts, so they are very nice to me. I make so many speeches daily that I shall soon be talked out but George Durno is a help telling me what goes well & the reverse as he watches & overhears remarks in the crowd.

    These boys break your heart, but they're so young & so tired. Malaria is almost as bad as bullets. They are hardly out of the hospitals before they are at Red Cross Clubs & dances & they laugh at everything. I take my hat off to this young generation & I hope we don't let them down. I've talked to every kind of group from Maories to hospital patients, high ranking officers & the people of New Zealand.