Camp Horn, Ariz.

July 12, 1943 – Monday PM.

Dear Mother

Well, here I am way out here in this “God Forsaken” Desert - and is it hot!! And they say its’ cooler today than its’ been in a quite a while!?! – Maybe though we’ll get used to it in time – hope so anyway. As many more pleasant spots are there in the U.S we wonder why they pick such a place as this! It’s level as a board with mountains all around as a background and sage bushes all over the place. It doesn’t seem to have rained in months. We are staying in big tents, 5 to a tent and we stay on cots. We have a bog shower room where we can wash ourselves and our clothes. We haven’t heard yet when we are to start out training. Guess we will take several days getting everything straightened out, etc.

We made our trip fine and enjoyed it a lot; four whole days in which to do nothing. We did stop two days and had about 30 minutes of Calisthenics to limber us up. We left Gallatin about 3 AM Friday and went to Guthie, Kentucky and then came straight to Memphis. We passed through Brownsville at 12:30 AM and stopped there for water, but I didn’t see anyone I knew as I passed. Sorry I didn’t know I was coming that way. From Memphis we went to Brinkley, Arkansas, to Stuttgart, Pine Bluff, Texarkana, Tyler, Texas, Corsicana, San Antonio, Alpine, to El Paso, Texas – then to Tuscan Arizona, Phoenix and then to this camp somewhere near Gila Bind, Arizona. We missed most of the big cities and weren’t allowed to get off at any place. We were in Pallmar, so got some good sleeping in on the way. Our meals were delivered right to our seats, so that was nice too. We went through or by, several mountains, but none of them were very high, but there was absolutely no vegetation at all on them – just barren rocks. Saw lots of irrigated crops that were putty – quite a few cows! That’s about all the sights I remember – Yes, Texas is quite a long state. It took us 36 hrs to cross it.

Hope you’ve had a good rain by now. If you haven’t, it is probably pretty dry there now!

Send this letter to Miriam when you write her and it will save my duplicating another.

Sometime when you are in town ask Spence D. if he found my tie. It was hand made in Rayon that Emory D. gave me for Christmas and should paid be for if he can’t find it. Write when you get the chance.

Love to all - Rus