March 20, 1944

Mrs. Joy Shuler

2299 So. Lafayette St.

Denver, 10, Colorado

Dear Joy,

Well, this is the last one from here and if you haven’t already quit writing to here you might as well, because it may be a month before this mail catches up with us. We haven’t had any mail since Friday the 17^th and don’t know if we will get any before we leave. I am going to California, but am not supposed to say where or when, but it won’t be very long now. When I get there I will send my new address. We haven’t done anything since we have been here, except that they drilled hell out of us the 1^st afternoon we were here. They have really fed us here, but it is sure a lousy hole to stay in. The weather has turned nasty again and is cold and windy so I will sure be glad to leave here. These ratings sure carry a lot of weight even around here, because we got out of work here and can cut in on the chow lines and get the best of it all around.

I don’t quite know what the deal is on my bunch of men. There are only 21 men in our draft and I am the only one from Denver. They really tore hell out of this outfit. 5 different bunches and all over the country. There are only 4 Dusel men and we are all together, but also have some lower ratings going with us, and our bunch are going to another damn U.S.N.T.S., while all the others are going to shipyards, so don’t know what is coming until we get there, but I have an idea that we are going to wind up in an advanced school or at a destroyer base. I hope we get some mail tonight, but don’t know whether they can get it over here or not.

Well, there is anything to write about here, so guess I will stop and mail this and will write again when I get there.

Love,

Tom