June 22,1941

Dear Pauline-
I received your letter dated the 18^th, but not the films; sometimes letters and packages are delayed due to improper addressing. There are several batteries and regiments here and for example there is- Battery E in the 92^nd, 93^rd, 94^th, 95^th, and so on up and down the line. I’m in battery E and the 94^th regiment and there are 248 men in our battery. So you see the delay there would be if you forgot to put the letter of the Battery on the package.
We received our suntan uniforms, cap, 2 shirts, 2 trousers, 2 ties, and a pair of shoes. These uniforms are for summer. We also got another suit of formal clothes. Forget about the castile soap as these camp stores just received a shipment of supplies I mentioned to you. This castile soap is a toilet soap the only difference is it comes in 12 or 15 inch bars. The soap is cheaper and lasts longer. I’m sorry I caused you all that trouble. I went to town on Saturday and took in a movie. Before a soldier can have camp he must have a good conduct pass. It is issued by the company commander and must be turned in by the next morning or otherwise you will be charged A.W.O.L. which means absence without leave.
A round trip ticket to Wilmington costs 50 and is 30 miles from camp and takes an hour to come to town. Down here you can smoke in the buses and the colored people must sit in the rear of all the street cars and buses, they cannot mingle with the whites. It’s a state law. The white people talk with a southern drawl and it is quaint and funny. It takes a little time to catch on their words. I stopped in for a sandwich and the waitress asked me if I wanted slaw on it. I thought she said slop. I asked her to repeat it. She did, and I bet she said to herself, here’s another northern foreigner. We sound just as funny to them as they do to us.
If you want to see a good picture, see Bob Hope, in Caught in the Draft. You will just about die from laughing. This picture will show you what every rookie goes through far better than I can explain it. Watch for those scenes where they issue the army clothes and the rifle drills. That’s just exactly what happened to some of us at one time or another. The scene where you see the lowering of the flag is called Retreat and every soldier in ranks must come to attention. If you should be walking alone and you hear the bugle blow you come to attention immediately, with a hand salute and hold that position facing the flag till the flag is lowered. This all takes places at 5:15 p.m. every day.
One of the boys in our barracks bought a radio today and we heard most of the Louis-Conn fight. It was a swell fight. Too bad, he don’t carry a wallop. The title should be in the Smoky City right now, he made Louis look like a third rater. I had some snap shots taken; most of the pictures show me with sun glasses on. I’m having trouble with my left eye again; I just got over a double sty. I went to the army doctor and he gave me a boric acid solution to bathe my eyes in. These sties aren’t serious only painful like a boil.
You’ll find a snapshot of me enclosed; I’ll send the others along as soon as they are developed and printed. I sent you, ma, and Mary a gift. If you received it, write and let me know. Well I’m closing now so my best regards to all, will write and tell you about our gas mask training next letter.

Your bro, Pete