Pvt. John S. Wenzel

33830319

Squad C

LJAAF

La Junta, Colorado

 

                                                                                                Miss Kathryn Wenzel

                                                                                                223 Hunter Street

                                                                                                Tamaqua, Pennsylvania

 

                                                                                                                                                                                    February 27, 1945

 

Dear Sisters,

 

            It is still cold here but the snow has melted pretty well and I guess it is going to get a little warmer.  We are both fine and hope that you are all the same.  I guess Elizabeth has gone home again by now but it was nice she could come in for a little.  I think it did her a lot of good.  I sometimes think that some of her tummy trouble could be home sickness.

 

            I just listened to “A Date With Judy” [and] it is a rather good program.  We finally got the radio back.  It had a new volume control, a couple of condensers and a new tube.  She really needed some new parts.  It cost eight bucks – not too bad.

 

            We are pretty busy at the field these days.  Here’s one that should be kept quiet for a while yet.  We got a ship back that we had just changed the engine and the new one only had four hours, 25 minutes and our Engineering Officer tore it down to find out what went wrong.  Well, when he pulled it apart here a part of it had melted and burned.  Well, it takes a good heat to do that [to] the manganese alloy so it looks like it is sabotage.  Well, the base intelligence officer arrived and a half million more ___ men, then three Federal Bureau of Investigation men arrived and not it is one big commotion and there is hell to pay, I guess.  But something fishy has been going on for some time.  They are trying to make it appear as if it isn’t unusual but that is just a cover up until they get to the bottom.  It would be better if this isn’t talked about until it gets in the papers, it will be wise.  This afternoon a ship came in and its one landing gear wasn’t down and locked and it folded up and there was a pretty good smash up.  The fellows weren’t hurt, just shaken up pretty good from what I hear.

 

            I hope you got the box I mailed to you also that you enjoy the camp papers and such.  Boy it looks like they are pushing the Germans around plenty right now.  They surely are getting plastered from the air, I guess their railroads and such are pretty well smashed up and that is what they are after.  In the Pacific we are doing pretty good, all but that damn little Iwo Jima, that surely must be a bloody mess there and the worst kind of fighting.

 

            I have a letter from Kathryn and Irma and I’ll answer them now.  It was nice Sonny W. came to see you and from what you say they must have done him some good.  I wonder if that story he tells about the General having that rifle inspection in the jungle is true?  That about making them stand at attention while Stillwell talked, sounds like a 2nd Lieutenant trick though you never can be sure about it.  I kind of figured he was going over when you said he was home.  Although you can learn a lot in four months time especially something like that.  I see that the Senators don’t like it but I really figure it is long enough.

 

            Yes Irma, I plum forgot it was George W’s birthday so he did not get a card from me.  I hope that you don’t get floods back home with all that snow and now rain.  You are lucky you had someone’s arm to hang onto on that icy morning.  I don’t blame Sonny for not spitting at Nazi prisoners but if I were he, I’d harden myself for a little killing.

 

            Well I’m about out of news so I’ll sign off for this time.

 

                                                                                                            So Long,

                                                                                                             Love,

                                                                                                                John