Category: Fort Benning

[Date Unclear – but probably January 12, 1944]
Wed Night
Dear Folks,

Well here I come again. I’ve been doing the same old seventy-six as usual. Supply room, going to the laundry, etc., etc. We have been and will be extra busy getting ready for the range. Besides getting all the thousands of things ready we must take care of getting everybody’s clothing and shoes repaired and all the outfits changed for the correct sizes. Stuff that you can’t wear won’t help a bit when it comes to keeping warm. Another reason that we are extra busy is that the Supply Sgt. is transferring to the Air Corps. He is trying to get everything into top-notch shape before he leaves. I hope that he doesn’t get transferred before I start back to training.

Someone else might not be quite so pleasant to work for.

I’ll bet that you think that the box I said I was going to send got lost on the way. Well it is still in my barracks bag. The only chance I have to mail it is at noon and I have had only or 2 noons free in two weeks. And when I could have done it, of course, it never entered my head. Be patient, I’ll do my best.

I got your roll of Sunday School papers and magazine today. I finished my last Sunday School paper on Sunday so you timed it perfectly.

Well how’s everything back there?

Love,
Donald

Tuesday Night
Dear Folks,

Time is very short so this might not be much of a letter. I had to work in the supply room until after 8:00 and then I took a shower. This leaves me very little time before 10:00.
I was glad to get your letter today which contained the sale bill. I had a great time trying to decide which description belonged to which cow.

I have been working in the supply room so far this week. All my boys in the sick hut have recovered so I am rid of that job at least until someone else gets sick.

The most real news is that I got my pay today that I missed getting at the first of the month. I wonder if my bonds are coming through alright.

I suppose that you must be getting back to some kind of routine by this time. I suppose that there is still work to do but I’ll bet you feel lost without all the stock to take care of. I wonder if you kept the one little cow that you mentioned about.

Some of these times (no hurry at all) when you want to send me something I  would like a couple of tee shirts. For one thing they have told us that we can’t wear our sweaters outside of our shirts any more because they aren’t part of our uniform. With a tee shirt I could wear it under my shirt without having it next to my skin. Tee shirts would also come in handy for lots of things. 

I hope you are all well. I am feeling fine.

Love, 
Donald
Your letter had 6th Regiment instead of 5th on it

[January 10, 1944 – written to his Carver grandparents]

Monday Evening
Dear Folks,

I wonder how things are coming along with you by this time. I am feeling fine and not having to work quite as hard as I did, so I am not complaining. I wonder how the school house job is coming by now. I’ll bet that things look quite a bit different down there now than they did in September. It doesn’t seem like it but it won’t be many days before I will have been gone for four months. I sure hope to see you again before another four months have passed.

I have been doing all kinds of odd jobs around here. But the time I spend doing hard work is easily over-balanced by the time I don’t work nearly so hard. Of course, I am busy almost all of the time doing something or other.

I haven’t had time to hear from the folks since the sale. Mother said that Grandpa might help clerk so I suppose that you attended. I certainly hope that things went off favorably.

I haven’t much news so I’ll tell you something that I was thinking about a while ago. I was thinking about how much different I would look to you then when I left. In the first place of course, my uniform would make me look different. I don’t know how much I have gained but I’ll bet that you could tell that I have picked up quite a bit. And then my short army style haircut certainly does change my looks. II don’t know whether I’ll keep it that way or let it grow out; but if you could see me now, I’ll bet you would smile to yourself at my looks.

Aunt Mildred says that Ben’s address has changed to the west coast so he has seen quite a bit of new territory by now. And no doubt he will see quite a bit more before long.

Well I want to do a little more writing before bed time so I’ll close now.

May God bless you and keep you,

Donald

[Date unclear, but probably January 9, 1944]
Sunday Afternoon
Fort Benning, Georgia
Dear Folks,

Well another week is past. This makes me just that much nearer to something or other. I haven’t received many letters from you this week so I am wondering about how things are coming back there.

I have been taking care of my sick boys so nothing very exciting has happened to me. The rest of my time has been spent working in or for the supply room. Yesterday afternoon I went with the supply sergeant to the main post to get the laundry.

I was pretty lucky in getting off of my sick hut job today. The job was given today to someone as mild company punishment.

We don’t have to get up on Sunday mornings so I slept over for once. I wanted to go to church so when I woke up I looked at my watch to see what time it was. It was only 8:20 so I had over an an hour and a half before church time so I merely turned over and went back to sleep. The next time I woke up it was 8 minutes till ten. I really flew around and by double timing (running) a little I got there just as the crowd was arriving.

I don’t know whether I told you or not but I got the books you sent me the other day. I also got a letter from Uncle Ernie this week that had a dollar bill in it. So Christmas isn’t over for me even yet. If I get a chance one of these days I think I will buy me a leather toilet article case with it. They are something like a small suit case. The apron you gave me is very handy to use but it is always coming unrolled and spilling things all over the street when I am on my way to the wash room. I hope you won’t mind too much about this.

I suppose you had the sale yesterday. I wonder how things came out. Maybe you can tell me about this if you can’t think of anything else to write.

Oh yes I wanted to tell you that the Tribunes are coming to my new address. I am beginning to get the news again. 

That’s about all I can think of so,
Love,
Donald

Sunday Night
Well I managed to get my package ready this afternoon. I will send it out the first chance I get next week. I sent my Christmas cards mostly just so you could enjoy them too. You don’t need to save them unless you just put them in with a bunch you happen to have. You will save Janette’s picture for me & the other pictures you can put into your album. Richard can whittle the US Army off the soles of the shoes to make civilian shoes if he wants to.
Donald

[Probably January 6, 1944]
Thursday Nite
Fort Benning, GA

Dear Folks,

I was using my pen after supper to get the fellows to sign some papers for the supply sergeant so since I have it in my hands I will use it now.

I am still looking after the boys in the sick hut. I keep wishing that they will all get well so that my job will come to an end but instead of that it keeps growing. It isn’t such a hard job but I just can’t enjoy it. It is helping the war effort so I sure am not worrying.

I don’t have to spend too much time down there so I spend a good bit of time in the supply room. I really enjoy the supply room work so life doesn’t get too monotonous for me. The supply sgt. Is a real nice guy so I go in and help him out and he lets me spend any spare time that I might have in the supply room.

Shux this sure isn’t much of a letter but I can’t think of anything else to write.

I want to take a shower before I go to bed so you’ll forgive the letter. Ask me some questions so I’ll have something to write about when news is short.

Love,

Donald

No envelope.

Jan 4, 1944 (Tuesday)
Dear Folks, 

I can’t make any promises about the length of this letter because time is very short. The main purpose of this is not to tell my exciting adventures but just to let you now that I am OK.

In our Regiment there is a hutment where they send fellows to recuperate from flue colds, etc. Well for the last 2 days I have been nurse maid to the boys of our Co. that are in the hut. There are 5 of them. I carry their meals, keep the fires going, sweep the floor, etc.

This morning I was also put on a detail of policing up the area. General Bonesteel was going to make an inspection tour and so just in case he came here the place had to be spic and span. I don’t think he ever got here but anyway he caused me to spend a very exciting morning. Also I have been working some in the supply room between trips to the sick hut.

This is all the news I can think of and I am heading to bed.
Love,
Donald

Jan 2, 1944 (Sunday)
Fort Benning, Georgia

Dear Folks,

Your letters sort of came at me all at once so I had to read them all over before I started this one so that I might be able to answer your questions.

I will start by saying that I got your package and letter with money on Friday. Everything in the package arrived in fine shape. I don’t know any of the qualifications of the watch but it seems to be alright to me. It is very nice looking and it runs fine. I am sure proud of it and very glad to get it.

I don’t know how you happened to run on to the nail clippers but I certainly never expected to get anything that will serve my purpose as well as they will. Even the Bible is a lot better than I ever expected to get. When I mentioned a small Bible I was afraid to mention one with a zipper on it for fear that they would be impossible to get. But this one is a very nice size and even has a zipper. 

The candy sure didn’t go begging this time. I’ll bet I had more Christmas than anybody back there!

A funny thing happened about that money you sent me. I opened the letter that contained it at exactly the same time that the other fellows were getting paid. You guys sure do things right; you wouldn’t have needed to send so much. Richard sure needn’t send me any money for the shoes now.

I surely do want you to take the rest of the money for the watch out of my graduation money. I hadn’t entirely forgotten about the money but I just didn’t think about it when I was talking about buying a watch.

I also want you to take the ten dollars you sent me out of this money. The rest of it (except the 2 dollar bill, which I want you to hang on to) I would like for you to save to put in with money that I will send in the future to be put into bonds. Does this straighten me out financially?

Now for a little more news. I have been working in the supply room with about an hour or 2 in the kitchen just to make it interesting. Ha Ha. Yesterday I spent all morning hauling coal. We were off yesterday afternoon and I read quite a bit in my Reader’s Digest. This morning I went to church as usual.

After I got back from church I tried to do a little sewing. As I was doing it I was thinking about how easy it would have been to ask Mother to do it if I had  been at home. She would have done it quickly and there would be no doubt about it staying fixed. But I struggle along with it and just hope that it stays. I’m learning though.

This afternoon I went over to see the fellows of my old company before they leave. Of course, the main thought on their minds was where they were going to be sent.

Well I feel a lot brighter than I did last week at this time. I hope you can get things straightened out all right back there.

Oh yes, I was glad to get Janette’s picture but you will have to keep it for me.

Love,
Donald

December 30, 1943
Dear Folks,

Well I’m still here. There isn’t much news but I feel like writing anyway. I have been doing so much of the same things that I can hardly remember how I have been spending my time.

I have been dividing my time between the supply room and the kitchen. After I had worked all day in the supply room yesterday I was informed that I was supposed to do K.P. after supper while the regular K.P’s went with the Co. on a night problem. Well instead of going to KP after supper we went on at about 5:00 and worked till about 11:30. Five of us did the work that 8 were supposed to do so you can see that we really worked. And to top it all off I was really feeling terrible. I was chilling and aching all over. I surely was taking the flue. Boy was I glad to hit that bed!

When I got back to the hut I took an aspirin and rubbed some vicks on my chest. Then I went to bed and piled all the covers and clothes on top of me that I could find. 

This morning when I woke up I was really surprised how much better I felt. I must have just caught it in time. I got along today without any trouble at all.

I spent today working in the supply room with about 2 hours in the kitchen this afternoon.

I have been thinking about something that maybe crazy but I think I’ll try it. If you remember on my medal I got from the Kawanis there were a couple of letters missing. I feel that some day I will want this to be complete so I would like for you to send me the address of the company that made it. The address is on the inside of the lid. It might be alright to send a rough sketch of the face of the medal, too. I will write to the company and explain the situations and if it can be fixed you can send it to them.

While I am in the begging mood I will say that I hope you got my letter in which I asked you to send me 5 or 6 dollars. If you don’t, I’ll explain why later.

I hope everything is coming along pretty well back there. Since tomorrow night is New Year’s eve I want to wish you a Happy New Year. I think I will welcome the New Year by sleeping. 
I want to take a shower so I’ll sign off.

Love,
Donald

Christmas Afternoon (to Carver Grandparents)
Dear Folks,

This is Christmas but it is sure different from my other Christmases. I wonder how you folks back home are spending your Christmas. I hope it is possible for you to enjoy it.

This morning I went to a Christmas church service and I came away feeling a lot more like Christmas. At noon we had a very good meal and of course we all enjoyed ourselves. I have spent the afternoon just being lazy, reading and otherwise enjoying myself.

I suppose the folks told you that I spent a few days off duty trying to get rid of a cold. Since you must get all of the training in order to complete basic, I was supposed to be put into another battalion that was just at the same place in their training where I lost out. But instead of doing this they put me into a battalion that is just in their second week of training. This army sure does funny things sometimes. Since I am about 6 weeks ahead of this battalion in my training, I am just doing extra duty around the company area here until they catch up to the place where I left off. This will mean that it will take me an extra 6 or 7 weeks to finish my basic. I hate this and don’t understand the necessity of it but if the army wants me here, I guess that it is the best place for me.

Right now I am spending my time doing all kinds of jobs. I spent one half day helping haul coal, another part of an afternoon cleaning up the area, part of a morning working in the kitchen and a couple of days working in the supply room. In the supply room I helped with the equipment and also did some paperwork. It takes a good bit of bookwork to keep track of all the equipment of a company of soldiers (250 men).

This is a pretty uncertain life not knowing from one minute to the next what job I am going to be put on, but I am not going to let it worry me. Of course, the worst part of it is that I am spending time that if I had been put into the right outfit could have been used to finish my training.

It is a cold, nasty, rainy day outside. I suppose that if I were up north this cold rain would be snow and then I would have a white Christmas. Anyway I am glad that I can be inside today instead of being out in this slop.

I hope things are coming along at least as good as usual back there. I would surely have liked to come home for Grandpa Tappan’s funeral but the army thought otherwise about it. I tried to get off but it couldn’t be done. They said that the death had to be your immediate family before an emergency furlough could be given.

It takes a good bit of time for mail to start coming to a new location so I haven’t got any mail for over a week. Therefore I don’t know how things are coming back there. I hope OK.

Love and keep writing,
Donald

My new address:
Pvt. Donald Tappan 35893186
12th Co. 5th Trng Regt. ASTP
Ft Benning, GA