May 11, 1943

Dear Mother

            I got the star today.  The write up was alright only the bubble part should have been left out.  That sounded corny.  It was very cool this morning early.  But this afternoon it got hotter than the devil. 

            Herb left this afternoon with a very large bunch.  There are only pilots here now and I believe we leave in 11 days for preflight.  Across the road, here I believe. A lot of the kids stuff has been stopped as I hear. Such as, counting stones on the road or asking an upper classmen if his chicken sh_t and other crap like that.  It’s all silly as the devil.  A lot of men have been G.D.O. because they knocked hell out of the upperclassmen for pulling that stuff.  There have been so many fights over them lately that they have stopped some of it.  All the trouble started when a lot of the men  from the 19^th Bombardment group that first came back from action signed up as cadets.  When they got over there they wouldn’t take that crap and things began to happen. 

A squadron of bombers is just flying past and making plenty of noise. 

I think I’ll quit and take a shower and hit the hay.

                        So long,

                        Melvin

The last four letters have been mailed from the post office in S.A.  I sent you a camp paper in an envelope called the Tail Spinner.