November 14, 1943

Sunday afternoon,

Dear Folks:

We are at Camp Forrest for four days awaiting our train for Freda. We would leave Saturday and are pulling out on Wednesday morning.

It was sure nice to talk to all of you on Friday night. I put the call in at 6:30 and it didn’t come through until 10. I was afraid that all of you would be in bed by the time the connection was made – so you can see how relieved I was to know all of you were still up. I figured you would be afraid if the phone rang at that late hour. I could hear all of you swell and it just seemed as if I was calling up from downtown. Knowing that the 11^th was Dad’s birthday I wanted to put a call through then but the lines were too busy. I was a day late but my intentions were good anyhow.

I am waiting eagerly for the piece about Ma in the Wright paper. It hasn’t shown up as yet but I know it will get here soon. You see I move around so much that mail is sometimes a little late. When we get settled again in California the mail service will improve. Now that we are in Camp Forrest for a day, I was able to catch up with my ice cream and candy. I watched visited the F.4. last night, bought a sundae and some candy plus some tooth powder. The rest of the evening stayed at the service club reading and listening to the radio. There was a dance going on but I just felt like taking it easy.

I will make another attempt to call home on Tuesday night because we move out on Wednesday and California is a too expensive to call from. It will be just to say so long for a little while until three months or no when I will get finished with desert Training once more. I don’t mind too much going back as I understand my old outfit is going overseas. I would much rather be away out in California than be in Australia or some other foreign place. Don’t mention about my old outfit going overseas because that is supposed to be a secret.

Well, there isn’t any more news I can think of – I have plenty of air-mail envelopes on hand and will start using them again from California. Incidentally my new address, which I will use after the 22^nd is:

228^th F.A. Group Hg.

A.P.O. C/O Postmaster

Los Angeles, Cal.

Any mail you send after you receive this letter should use this address.

Goodby for now,

Joe

P.S. Your package and the clipping of the article about Ma just arrived. You look swell Ma and I’m going to always carry it around with me. I am very proud and thankful to have such a mother. God bless you. The boys all liked the purchase, Thanks.