Month: May 1944

May 30, 1944
Tuesday Evening
Dear Folks, 

Well I’ve got a little news to tell you about my ear. It wasn’t bothering me any worse than it had but I felt something should be done so I went on sick call today. They didn’t do a thing to it so I sure am glad that it isn’t too bad. They did give me some drops for it and sent me to the ear, nose and throat clinic. They were so busy over there that they could only give me an appointment for June 5.

I suppose my ear will be well by then and they won’t do anything about my throat but at least it will put it in their records so that it will impress it on their minds if any more trouble comes up. I have made up my mind though that if either ear or throat gives any trouble before the 5th I’m going to just drop everything else and go on a sick call.

I drilled with the company Monday and like everyone else felt the effects of furlough. I went to sick call this AM and the clinic this PM so today wasn’t very hard. Tomorrow promises to be a full day. I have table waiter and also we go to mine school where we study booby traps, mines and such explosives. It’s just a period of training which each company must go through. I don’t know about the radio but I think I’ll get back to it.

Pardon this scribbly little letter but I want to go to bed as soon as possible.

Love,
Donald
Hope to hear from you tomorrow. I got my dogtags Mon. noon – No one even knew I didn’t have them.

Just returning from furlough. Mentions arriving by train

May 28, 1944
Sunday 8:00pm
Hi,
I’ve got more to do than I dare think about but I must take time to write. Maybe some of the work will just have to go and be done some other time. Everything has to be hunted up from all over the place and then be straightened up and cleaned up.

We got here at almost on time this eve (5:15PM) so that worry is over. My ear just ran and ran and I all but ran out of cotton wadding. I bought some more as soon as I got here.

My ear doesn’t and hasn’t felt too bad so I may wait till things get running normal again before I see about it. Of course if it gives much trouble tonight I’ll get to attention. So don’t worry.

I slept an awfully lot on the train so I have been tireder than I am now. But I want to get around and get to bed pretty soon.

Love,
Donald

May 11, 1944
Thursday afternoon
Dear Folks,

While I am off duty a little while this afternoon I’ll get my letter written so I can hit the hay early this evening. The reason I am off is that I have a nasty detail coming up tomorrow. Twelve of us from this company are on a prisoner guarding detail. Since some of the prisoners are held for pretty serious crimes this is a very responsible job and there is some larger danger connected with it. It is a very serious offense to let a prisoner escape. The last bunch from our company that were on this detail were on it for two or three days so I don’t know just when I’ll get off. We report at the guard house at 0610 in the morning so that will mean getting up pretty early.

I went to the radio school this morning and it seems that this will be over before much longer. They are going to start giving us tests Monday and so we’ll come back to drilling with the company about the middle of the week. I don’t know what we’ll do except just go ahead training with the company as we did before. There is no need for radio communication in the type work the company is doing now. If they don’t forget they’ve got radio men I suppose that we’ll go back to that whenever maneuvering time comes.

I wonder what kind of weather it is up there now. It’s pretty hot down here and I can just about guess what it’ll be like when summer comes. I wonder if you could get me a pair of sun glasses that fit over regular glasses. All I have been able to get is a pair of regular sun glasses. Since the glasses I am wearing now fit pretty close to the face and the sun glasses are sort of loose I can get by but it isn’t  too satisfactory. I didn’t notice it so much at home but down here the sun shining on the sand almost blinds you to be out in it.

I am getting along as well as usual and hope you are doing the same. Don’t know any more news about when I’ll get to be home. Regiment has announced though that when furloughs start we’ll be allowed 8 days at home. That doesn’t include traveling time.

I’ve made up my mind to send my watch home so you’ll be getting that one of these days. I’m afraid that by the way things are looking, if it takes 5 or 6 weeks to fix it we might be moved out of here for maneuvers when it is ready. Of course, all of this is supposition but I’ve a hunch and a lot can happen in that many weeks. I’ve two or three things I’ll put in this letter that you can put away for me and they’ll stand less chance of getting lost if I hold onto them any longer. Thanks.

Your son & brother,
Donald
Hope I get a letter from you tonight.

May 9, 1944

Tuesday Eve
Hello Folks,
As usual I haven’t much news but if you feel any ways near the same as I do you will be glad to just get a letter. I got your Sunday letter this evening.

I hope Richard is able to get on at Remy’s for the summer and that he likes the work better than that of his fuzz factory (this makes me think of Linda’s fozzy blankets- ha ha)

It looks like the inspector is really going into the bees right this summer. At least feeding his bees and buying more colonies makes it look suspiciously in that direction. I don’t see any reason why there shouldn’t be a good market for honey this year so I wish the bee business all the luck in the world. I know another thing too – that gardening at home will be a whole lot more pleasant than it has in the past.

Sunday will be Mother’s Day and I certainly would like to be home for it. But since I can’t, I certainly want to wish my Mother and very happy Mother’s Day. Even though I don’t express it I  certainly am thankful for all that mother has done and still is doing for me. Thanks a whole lot.

Richard wanted to know a little about the walkie-talkie business and by this time I may have explained  what he wanted to know. At least I have talked about the broadcasting so now I’ll tell you the purpose of ever having these dinky little radios.

A radio and its operator are assigned to each platoon and we are taken right with it to its offensive or defensive area. Then since the company commander also has a radio, he and the platoon leaders can keep in touch with each other. Orders may be sent out, information of the enemy may be sent back or any other important communication may be made. When necessary a radio may be sent out with any smaller unit on patrol, outpost or any other duty.

I hope everything is still OK with you. Thanks a lot of times for the stamps.

Donald

May 7, 1944
Sunday

Dear Folks,
I got the letter you wrote the middle of the week yesterday noon and the one you wrote on Friday today. Even though I wasn’t expecting one today I was just as glad as I ever am to get it.

I hope you are having nice weather and are enjoying yourselves whatever you are doing. The sun is shining brightly down here but the temperature is a little lower than usual. It is cool enough that you shouldn’t need a jacket when you go out. The papers today say that there is quite a cold wave somewhere.

I had K.P. yesterday but there was one thing that I was very thankful for. You can’t tell how glad I was that it came yesterday instead of the day before. I was also happy that it came yesterday and not today. You are so busy through the week that when you don’t have a free day on Sunday you sure miss it.

After yesterday I was tired enough that I didn’t get up till about nine thirty this morning. Of course I had to do my washing after I got in last night so I would be able to do this.

I went to church at ten o’clock this morning and the rest of the day has been spent sleeping and reading. Oh yes, I did do a little mending on one of my fatigue suits so that I’ll have something to wear tomorrow.

I have ben glad to hear about Uncle Pauls’ getting moved. I just hope none of them get down over it now. It was nice that Daddy was in a position to help them.

I’ll bet you’ll feel a lot better about going out there now that the place is occupied by someone. Boy my whole career of life in the country sure was short. I guess it consisted of one whole week. Home will be good to me even if it isn’t the place I left. I don’t know any more about a furlough but I am still hoping.

That’s about all I know now but maybe I’ll think of a little more before tomorrow.

Monday
I am OK this morn but time is too short to write much.

Love,
Donald

Page 3 of this scanned letter belongs to the May 2, 1944 letter

May 4, 1944

Dear Folks,
You know how much I’ll be able to write tomorrow because of the usual Friday night work. So I’ll write this letter tonight and leave it open so I can write in a couple of lines in the morning. I am starting this at noon because I’ll have to get a haircut tonight and that may take most of the evening.

I have been going to radio school every day since I started. I even had to go back after supper last night. They showed us some training films that the companies had seen but we had missed because of not being with the companies. They don’t want our military training to stop even though we are studying radio.

When I first started I thought we would learn Morse Code or some means of communicating lke that. But these work just like a regular radio and merely talk over them. The two drawbacks to these are the way you must speak to be understood over them because they are so weak and the ease with which the enemy can intercept your messages. To overcome both of these at the same time the messages are translated into code and are spelled out by the phonetic alphabet. The code for deception of course and the spelling for clearness. The phonetic alphabet is merely by a word starting with that letter that you say instead of the letter. Letters sound so much alike and there are enough words that there can be a set picked out that no two sound alike. For example instead of saying “a” you say “able”, for “c” you say “Charlie”, for “f” you say “fox”, etc.

Then of course since these radios can be picked up by any receiving station you must use regular procedure which must be practiced and learned.

Tonight.
Well after getting my hair cut, cleaning my rifle, taking a shower and exploring and sampling my package I am at last ready to start writing again.

The package arrived this afternoon in excellent shape. Right now I have one hand in the popcorn and the other on the pencil. It certainly reminds me of studying on Sunday evenings. I sure wish I was in a position to do some more of this. 

Furloughs still seem to be on the way so I may be seeing you one of these days. I only hope this radio school doesn’t interfere with a furlough when it comes up.

I have a couple of acorns left so I am sending you one to see what they are like. Of course it isn’t the newest one in the world but it will give you some idea of them. Jim can put it on his khaki jacket if he wants to. It goes on the left sleeve a half inch from the shoulder.

May 5

Good evening people,
I feel tired as usual but otherwise pretty good this morning. I sure wish you guys were here to help me eat my birthday cake. 

I’ll be seeing you,
Donald

Page 3 and 4 of this scanned letter belong to the May 4 1944 letter

May 2, 1944
Tuesday
Hi People,

I’ll start this letter now at noon and maybe I’ll be sure of getting it finished tonight.

For the first time in a good while I have something to tell you that I am happy about. You wouldn’t guess in a long while what it is. Yesterday noon they came around asking for men to become radio operators. This is just a fancy name for operators of the little walkie talkies, but nevertheless it was a chance to learn something.

I volunteered and started right away yesterday afternoon. There are five or six of us from each company taking the training. The classes are conducted by the communications sergeants from each company and by the regimental and battalion communication technicians.

Yesterday afternoon we learned about communications in an infantry regiment, battalion and company. We started right in this morning learning about ham radio and a little about sending messages.

This is supposed to be a ten weeks course but it seems that we are going to complete it in about half that time. It seems that we are going on maneuvers or something soon in which we will be using the training.

Tonight.
I suppose that by the time you get this letter Ben will have started back. By the way at what port is he stationed?

There are a lot of rumors about our getting furloughs. I only hope that this radio school doesn’t mess it up. I don’t really think it will though. I got a box of cookies from the ladies aid so I am not out of something to eat now. 

Well, I hope everything is ok with you.
Love, 

Donald