Month: December 1943

(16th Company 6th Trng Rgmt ASTP)
Sunday

Dear Folks,

This is the first half day off I have had in 2 weeks. I even go back to work this afternoon. We have been learning about shooting our rifles in battle conditions for the last few days. You would be surprised how much harder it is to hit the image of a man at an unknown distance. This week we will have moving targets. We will also shoot the mortar and machine gun before the week is over.

I am going to church at 10:00 this morning and get a few letters written. Since we leave before daylight & get back after dark you are the only ones I have written to this week. I’ll bet everyone else thinks I have forgotten them.

I had the misfortune of losing my pocket knife last week so maybe you can tell it to someone who wants to send me something.

I haven’t had a chance to do any reading for so long that I don’t have any idea of what is happening outside. We really had an easy schedule for the last few days as far as hard work goes so you needn’t worry about that.

Oh yes I almost forgot. We have been taking medicine for the last few days. It is a member of the sulfa drugs family. Sulfathiozol or something like that. It is supposed to cost about $50 and be impossible to get in civilian life. It is supposed to kill and cure colds. I have got some cold now (the first I have had since I was down here) but maybe this will help me.

Well I hope you are all ok. It is cold & damp down here but I’ll bet it’s a lot colder there.

Love, Donald
P.S. Richard will be interested in knowing that our rifle really hardly kick at all. As far as I can remember our shotgun kicks a whole lot harder than they do.

Seems to be a list of things they could send him. Early in basiuc training? Christmas list?

[Unclear Date – Gift Wish List – probably mid-November 1943]

These things don’t have to be sent now but they will fill your request!
(1) Nail file and maybe scissors to trim nails

(2) Some contrivance to keep a locker key (one of those little leather cases like the one on Grandpa’s car would be good)

(3) A piece of emery cloth and a little hunk of emery stone or something of that kind for sharpening & taking the rust off my knife.

(4) A couple of shaving sticks one for inspection & one for camping out. (Send these before long or let me know if you can’t get them. They are like shaving cream only in sticks.)

*(5) Watch

(6) First aid kit.

(7) Tube of unguentine 

(8) My razor box.

(9) Mother could make me a little case of oilcloth or some waterproof material for carrying a few matches. 1 inch x 11/2 or thereabouts.

(10) I lost my little hand brush in one of the shuffles so another one of these.

*(11) You might send me an army belt with a gold belt buckle but this isn’t necessary

*(12) I might use a sleeveless khaki sweater if I ever get in very cold climate.

*(13) I could use a Bible if it was small enough.

*(14) I don’t know whether or not I will be issued military slippers when I go to school but these would come in handy then. I would like for them to be the tie kind & they must have plain toes.

(15) I might use one or 2 bath towels after a while.

(16) A non breakable toothbrush holder with a top on it. II can get these here if you can’t.

(17) A ten-cent plastic dog tag chain. I broke my other one wearing my key on it. I always wanted a hunk of this kind of stuff to use with the parts of my other key chain so I am sending it home to use in civilian life. I am using a string one now.

This is all I can think of now & the ones starred (*) are only very optional.
*(18) Something more or less permanent for keeping track of my writing equipment.
(19) A cigar box or 2 to keep that stiff in that I have to keep for inspection, etc.

*(20) Some kind of slippers to save bare feet on dirty floors. There is one kind with wooden soles & only a a strap across the top that many of the fellows have. These are handy & can also be worn in the showers to prevent athletes foot.

(21) A comb to carry in my toilet article case. Somewhere between the size of a pocket comb & a barber comb.

Pardon the scrappy papers

*(22) Small flashlight