Month: June 1944

June 14 (probably)
Wed
Dear Folks,
Well we fired our rifles for record today and I qualified as a marksman and would have been a sharpshooter with 2 more points. Several of the fellows made sharpshooter and expert but also several did worse than I did. Considering my experience with guns and my eyesight I am going to be satisfied.

I am sending some money for you to keep or spend for me. If Richard needs any money use it that way. Otherwise spend it on bonds or a watch.

My rifle is to clean so Goodnight
Love,
Donald
See how quick an airmail letter gets there

Thursday Evening
Hello Folks,
I had hoped to have plenty of time to write tonight but as usual by the time I got everything done time slipped away.

I got a package rounded up to send to you this evening. It is mostly stuff that I had been intending to send for a long time. Just like you find it when it comes to moving, anything that I can’t use or don’t need I might as well get rid of it. I’ll try to explain some of the stuff. 

The pants are “X” pants that I got when I was working in the supply room. They are getting so strict on extra stuff that I’d better send them home than have them taken away from me. If Richard can wear them go ahead if not I’ll be able to use them sometime.  The towels were all right till I got face towels but since I don’t even use the face towels except for inspections you might as well be using them. The handkerchief is one that’s not GI that I got back from the laundry – hope someone can use it.

I have a G.I. razor & shaving brush and so might as well use them. For sentimental reasons maybe you could keep my razor and brush for me. 

The books & glasses don’t need any explanation. If someone can use those frames, go right ahead. I kept the pictures I want to keep & you can keep the rest better than I can.

I thought you might be interested in my birthday cards. Dispose of everything in that bunch except Margaret’s announcements.

You can do whatever you wish with the toilet article apron. The apron served fine but the case I had when on furlough serves so much better and so much easier to take care of. The biggest trouble with the apron was that I was always losing things from it.

Today at radio school we learned about panel work. This is signaling to airplanes by stretching cloth panels on the ground.

I thought of something I’d like you to send me. That is 2 or 3 pr of light wool sox. We have to wear them now that our feet sweat in the hot weather. The g.i. Ones are like cotton ones only they are just a little heavier. They can be either (preferred) od., white or gray. If you can’t find anything like this some of those cotton sox (in these colors) like we used to get for work. I believe they were called Rockford Sox and had red heels. I think these would pass for gi if they were the right color. The advantage of having them look like issue sox is that I can salvage them if they do. Don’t forget the cigar box.

I was on KP till about 10:30 last night so I’m really tired now. It’s time for lights out anyway so good nite.

Love,
Donald

I’m sorry this had to be such a poor excuse for a letter. My ear has been behaving so nicely that I’m about out of the mood for fooling with the clinic anymore. I’ll try to do better about a letter on Sunday.

Written over a Saturday and Sunday, but there is no postmark on the envelope. Envelope was in box letters postmarked May 1 (written April 30) and

June 10, 1944 (probably)
Saturday Night
Dear Family,

I’ve been busy tonight but even at that I haven’t accomplished everything I’d like to. We went out yesterday at about noon on a problem that I said might be called off and got back from it this morning sometime around 10:00 I believe. We didn’t get much sleep but we didn’t have to do any extensive hiking and it wasn’t too hard on us.

The rest of the day has been spent doing details around the company, cleaning up our equipment, and trying to get a little rest between times. I have had fatigue clothes, sox, etc to wash from two problems this week so I have done quite a bit of laundry altogether.

I have spent most of my evening getting my stuff ready for an inspection  tomorrow morning. This is the inspection of all our equipment that was supposed to come off today if we hadn’t gone on the problem. It is the first of our inspections to get us ready for some movement. I can’t feature this outfit going over as a unit instead of as replacements as they have been doing but that’s what they are talking now.

We’ve got to get up at the regular time tomorrow and it will be a regular work day till the inspection is over. But by the time everyone is inspected I expect most of the day will be gone. I’ll close now and just hope for some time to finish tomorrow. D.T.

Sunday Evening
This hasn’t been much like Sunday and consequently I won’t be able to write such a long letter as usual. We got up at 6:00 and cleaned up the barracks as we do on any working day. Then we spent all morning waiting with our equipment and clothes displayed out in the sun. By the time they got around to inspecting us it was about noon.

So consequently I didn’t get to go to church this morning. Then this afternoon although I wasn’t in the mood for going to the movies there was a show on I didn’t want to miss so I went. It was Pearl S. Buck’s “Dragon Seed” about which I had studied in literature classes. It was a modern Chinese story about the war and it turned out to be a very good movie. After I got back I intended to write but I fell asleep instead and almost missed supper by not waking up. I have managed to do a little reading in between times but outside of that this has been almost a wasted day.

I was very glad to get your letter today but the package hasn’t arrived yet. I don’t know what we’ll be doing tomorrow but I haven’t heard any rumors so I expect we’ll be here tomorrow noon. A box will come in just as enjoyable then as it would have today.

From the looks of things now we will be pulling out but it won’t be for a few weeks yet. Anything is guess though and we’ll just have to wait to see what develops. I have several things I’ll have to send home and I thinkI’ll fix a box in the near future. I have several pairs of cotton sox that I don’t use now since we have to wear heavy sox to work in. I also have a pair of wool pants that I got while in the supply room at Benning. I was going to use them to wear under my fatigues if we went on winter maneuvers but it looks as if I won’t need them for that. They might come in handy for some similar use around home. If I get started I may find a good bit to send and what I don’t send now will have to be got rid of before we move as we can take only issue clothing and equipment. You are allowed 5 lbs of excess equipment though and I think I’ll keep my civilian shoes. I get a great kick out of wearing them.

A little incident happened last Monday that shows how much kids even a bunch of soldiers can be. We were out on a problem and we were attacked by a bunch of tanks. After the “battle” the tanks stopped and several of the fellows were climbing around over them getting a good look inside. They talked one of the drivers into taking them on a ride and they were hanging all over the thing. Well I was in that bunch and I rode astraddle of the cannon. We got as big a thrill out of that as if we had done something big.

Well I hope everything is going OK with you.

Love,
Donald

(Addressed to sister Mary)

June 4, 1944
Sunday Eve.
Hello Mary,

And of course all the rest. I believe you said that I had never addressed a letter to you so you may consider this one yours. I was very glad to get two letters from home yesterday – one postmarked the 31st and the other on the 1st.

I have just been back here a week this evening. That time doesn’t seem so long but it seems like a long time since I was home. And speaking of things seeming like a long time agao it sure seems like a long time since a year ago last Friday (June 2). I can sure remember what I was doing a year ago now.

It had rained a little last Sunday evening when I got in and it rained a nice little shower while we were eating supper tonight. At least I suppose it will make it more pleasant sleeping tonight. It has been so hot lately that the sweat just pours off you whether you are even moving around or not. It was hot when I left here for home but it sure did get a whole lot hotter during those two weeks.

Boy a little wind sure can play havoc down here. On Friday evening a wind came up that would hardly have thought about at home but it sure caused a sand storm here. The sand filled the air till you  could see only about as far as you could in the hardest snow storm I can remember. That may give you some idea of how the sand blew for 15 or 20 minutes.

I went to chapel this morning and of course wished I could have been home for more than one Sunday but am thankful for the one I was there. I wonder if you had a preacher for this Sunday.

This afternoon I went to a movie and then came back and laid down. You can guess just about what happened. I went almost immediately to sleep. The next thing I knew they were calling us for supper.

My ear hasn’t hurt very much this week but it is still running. My appointment at the ear clinic comes up tomorrow so if nothing comes up to prevent it I hope to have something done about it by this time tomorrow.

While I was straightening up on Friday evening I found two or three pieces of Mother’s divinity that I has stuck away when I got back. It is impossible to express how good that tasted to me. I guess I just had too many good things to really appreciate any of them thoroughly enough when I was home.

I hope everything is ok with you people. I wonder if Jim has found his old setting’ hen yet. How’s the bee house coming?

Your brother,
Donald
I wonder if any of you can figure out where the letter that  contained my dog tag was postmarked from.