December 31, 1943
Dear Mom,
Got your letter that you wrote Sunday night and it sounded rather sad. I hope everything is okay. Let me know if all is well at home or if it isn’t let me know.
I don’t know what got into John, why he joined the Merchant Marine, I just can’t see. He could have joined the army in the signal corps and probably gone to O.C.S. Some guys are goofy.
Mom, I sent you and Pop $10 each the day after I sent Ben’s, I hope it is there by now, if it has been lost write me and I’ll get a couple more on the way. I’d hoped the letter would reach you by Christmas. I couldn’t get you anything for Christmas ‘cause I couldn’t get around much so I figured you could get what you needed most.
The ice and sleet was quite a surprise to me, it looked like that winter I was carrying the paper route down on Page Ave. Sure looks cold! See that it is all melted by Feb. 8th, I am not used to that ice and stuff.
I had a pretty good Christmas, we got three days off and it was a very welcome rest. It was the longest time off I have had since I have been in this man’s army. I’ll be sorta glad when the war is over so I can just lay down and rest for months. Mom, you just don’t know how tired you can get sometimes. Flying is very tiring, strange as it may seem. You have to sit in on position for 3 or 4 hours at a time and it gets to you after a while.
We gat up at 5:15, go to school for 3 hours, take physical training after which you have to take a bath. Then we go to the flight line all afternoon. It is a pretty full day.
It just hit me, I guess the reason I have not heard from you about the money is because you were at Maxeys. Mom you should stay down there for a while and rest.
I was out on search mission yesterday looking for three planes that are lost. We flew all down in ravines and canyons looking for wrecks. Now don’t get worried, as I have told you before, if you keep your mind on what you are doing you are as safe as when you are in bed.
Bob King should not buy any uniforms at Basic, some of the boys here bought uniforms before they got here and the tailors around here won’t alter them because they have so much business of their own so the boys are just out of luck.
I am now getting radio navigation that is, flying the plane with instruments only and telling where you are going by radio beams, I’ll explain it to you all when I get home. It is really interesting and even amazing the devices they have dreamed up.
Gotta run now; see you in a month or so, seems to good to be true, doesn’t it?
Love,