Month: July 1944

July 4, 1944
Hello Folks,

This will be kind of a hurry up letter but it’s the best I can do this time. We were out on a night march last night till about 2345 and so by the time we were able to get in bed it was almost twelve thirty. We are off till ten this morning but I had to get up at 6:30 to go table waiter. We finished up on the breakfast part of our work at about 8:30. So by the time I got everything straightened up to fall out I have very little time left. I might have waited to write tonight but it may be too late to write when I get off. 

Yesterday during the day we marched for about two hours out to where we were to run squad problems. Then we had to come back that distance of course. So we spent at least 12 hrs working yesterday with eight of them being marching. And then I only got about 6 hours sleep. I feel about as tired this morning as any time I can remember. I really do ache all over and my feet are so sore I can’t hardly stand on them. I am wondering how I’ll feel after working late tonight. Boy this training is getting pretty rough if you ask me.

I don’t suppose July 4 will be much of a vacation for you this year either but I do hope you don’t have to work too hard.

Evening
Well to tell you the truth if I’d had to work very late tonight on table waiter I wouldn’t have got to finish this letter today. But I got off at about 7:30 so I consider myself pretty lucky. I’m going to hit the hay as soon as possible tonight and see if I can’t sleep a little of this ache out of my bones.

We had a pretty hard day today as usual. We spent all afternoon studying war gases. They threw tear gas on us 6 or 7 times so that we would get reality into our gas mask training and all of us were about sick from the stuff before the afternoon was over.

We had quite a treat for dinner today. I guess they were getting liberal on the fourth. They gave each one of us a pretty good sized slice of watermelon. And boy it sure did taste good.

This isn’t much of a letter but I am about out of news. I surely am still thinking of home. I hope to hear from you tomorrow. Take care of yourselves

Love, Donald

Wed morning,
Well I am feeling better now but I am still tired. I don’t know any more news so I’ll drop this in the box on my way to breakfast 

DVT

July 01, 1944
Hello Folks,

Well I’ll try something a little different this time; it’ll be something like your weekend letters are. I’ll start it tonight and finish it tomorrow. And thank goodness I don’t have detail tomorrow.

I got your letter on Thursday evening that you had written on spaghetti box paper (that was the easiest way I could think of to distinguish between it and any other letter). I was sorry to hear that the Chev. is giving trouble. Hope it can be fixed without too much difficulty. You mentioned about being hot and I saw in the paper that you have been having some record breaking weather. I can see how Richard would have quite a time sleeping through it. It’s been pretty hot here part of this week but I don’t know that it’s any worse than usual. In fact, the last couple of days have been sort of cloudy and the temperature has been almost pleasant. Much like Georgia the nights are a good bit cooler than the days.

Our training has been along the usual lines but, at least for me, there has been a little extra outside of drill hours. On Thursday evening I got off KP before too late and so I went to the show. Of course, I wouldn’t have gone if it hadn’t had some special attraction to me. The attraction to me was that the name was “Home in Indiana.” It was built around the horse races at county fairs but outside of that there was very little resemblance in it to Indiana.

I don’t know whether you saw it or not but I read in a paper (when I was home on furlough, I think) where Heck Kirk had gone over into Ohio to take part in a movie and I am almost certain that this was it. Although I don’t know him, if this was the picture, I knew which one he was. He 

Was an announcer at the horse races and had about the most important of the smaller parts. This was a fairly good sized man considerably past middle age. He was a pretty good looking gent with hair gray or almost so and some “bay window”. Do you know enough about him to tell me if this could have been him?

Last night the company had a beer party in the mess hall. This didn’t hold any excitement for me but I suppose you could say that I got some good from it. It sure gave me some first hand information on the results of drink. It sure made a mess out of several people and even went so far as to cause several brawls throughout the company before it was over. 

The third thing just a little out of the ordinary for me was that we went swimming this afternoon. My suit hadn’t come yet but everyone had to go so they had to let us swim in our underwear trunks. I didn’t learn to swim but I was in enough to sort of get the feel of the water and with a few more hitches at it  I think I’ll be able to accomplish the feat. At least it gave me a little confidence.

It’s pretty late now so I’ll try to write a little more tomorrow.

Sunday afternoon (July 2)
I feel just a little disgusted with myself this afternoon. I wanted to get up for church this morning and when I woke up this morning some way or the other I had the idea that it was about 0800. I was waiting for someone to call breakfast. But when I looked at my watch it was two hours later than I expected and church had already started. It was cool this morning and was raining part of the time and I suppose I was a little extra tired. I felt bad about it but it was too late and so I had to hold my own service out of my Bible.

I got the bathing suit in the mail at noon but my heart sank when I saw all the expense you had gone to in order that my silly request might be carried out. I should have been kicked for even asking you to get me something so quickly. The suit fits perfectly and I thank you a lot for it. But here is something I want you to remember whenever you are tempted to go to so much expense or trouble again. The army is supposed to furnish anything I need and anything I ask you to send me is just something extra and I don’t really need it. For instance, as long as going swimming was optional, bathing suits were required but when they made it compulsory the had to let us go in our underwear shorts since no bathing suits are issued. Therefore don’t get too excited over everything I ask you to send. Don’t worry about those sox I asked for. Just pick them up if you happen to find them.

The rain this morning cooled down the temperature and it is now a very pleasant day. I have spent most of my time reading the Sunday School papers I got from you this week. I was sorry to hear that Mary’s ear has been giving so much trouble. I wish she could get straightened up as quickly and easily as I did. 

Hope you are all coming along OK.

Loads of Love,  Donald