Category: Fort Jackson SC

                                                     Monday Eve.
Dear Folks,
   Well my first day of training here is over. I really don’t have anything to tell you but it is just that I want to talk to somebody.
   We had a fairly easy day today and I hope that maybe tomorrow won’t be too difficult. This morning we had an interview with our company commander. The main purpose of it was just for him to get our address, birthdate and other such details for the company records. I suppose that he also wanted to look over his new charges just to size them up.
   This afternoon we were taken on a march around the camp here to get our bearings and find out where different places are. Then we had a couple hours of orientation, talks and movies. With this sort of thing over now, we will be ready to start right to work.
   I don’t know for sure how the officers and non-coms (non-commissioned officers) are going to compare with the former ones but  there is one thing that I do know. We had good food in Ft. Benning and especially in the 12th company but it is a lot better here. It is not only fixed in a more appetizing manner but so far there seems to be also a more peaceful spirit about the eating and not so much of this old snatch-grab-stuff. I guess that since the majority of the men have been in the army longer and are a little older, they have calmed down a little.
   I am in somewhat better spirits right now than I was for a while. I guess I just needed something to quiet my nerves. I had run out of anything to read except that philosophy book and it takes far too much concentration to be enjoyable. (I have read a couple of chapters in it and I’ll get back to it one of these days.) So I bought me a book at the PX for a quarter. The best book I could find was “See Here Private Hargrove.” I find it very interesting. So far I have read it about a fourth of the way through.
   Well I want to clean up and get some shut eye so - Good night,
                   Love
                    Donald

Pvt Donald Tappan 35893186
Co K. 356 Infantry A.P.O. 448
Fort Jackson, S.C.

   I’ll be sure when I start getting mail. Get my address on the Tribune fixed will you? And maybe you could let Aunt Mary and some of the rest know about it until I can get everyone written.
                       Thanks

Note from: An Historical and Pictorial Record of the 87 Infantry Division in WWII

The Division left the maneuver area by motor convoy on the 18th of January 1944 to begin a trek to its new post at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, a post commanded by Brig. Gen. D. G. Richart. Upon arrival at Fort Jackson and until 21 February 1944, the Division conducted a “pre-post maneuver” training period. Its objective was the immediate correction of deficiencies disclosed during earlier periods of training and during maneuvers. The fourth period of training, “Final Preparation for Combat,” began on 21 February 1944.

Thus DVT was merged into the 87 Infantry Division one month into this period…

                                                    Sunday Afternoon
Dear Folks,
   Well here I am in Ft. Jackson, S.C. So far I am not very elated about it but anyway I am not any further away from home. I am in an infantry rifle company at present and it seems very likely where I will stay. This was about the least of my ambition but we just got a bad break, that's all. I am not with any of my close buddies but most of them landed in the same kind of place that I did so I am not the only one who didn’t get anything fancy.
   We are going to take sort of a refresher basic for the next few weeks to get us into the swing of things. After that we will go into training with the regular division.
   This division has been organized for about a year and part of it has been sent overseas. We are filling in the vacancies that were made by those who left. I don’t know all the details of our situation but I’ll let you know more as I find out myself.
   At least we have barracks to live in here and there are a few more conveniences that we didn’t have before.
   We left Ft. Benning on Friday about noon and got here about 10:00 yesterday morning. It usually wouldn’t take that long to travel over this distance but in the usual style of troop trains, we zig-zagged back and forth across Georgia and South Carolina instead of coming straight here. There were a little better accommodations on the train than my last train ride and we even had pullman beds to sleep in. Of course we had to sleep two in a single bed but it wasn’t too bad sleeping. We got to see a good bit of scenery but it was a whole lot all the same. The territory here is just about the same as where we came from. The ground is hilly and the soil is sand or clay. The only difference is that the clay isn’t quite so red as it was down there.
   We spent all day yesterday waiting to be classified, having our equipment inspected, getting settled in our barracks and getting our clothing straightened out. We took a physical examination this morning at 9:00 and I have been busy about all after - getting my rifle cleaned. I was hoping that maybe I wouldn’t be using a rifle for a while but it seems that I’ll be doing it regularly from now on.
   I am sure anxious to hear from you so here is my address.

Pvt. Donald Tappan 35893186
Co. K. 346th Infantry, APO 448
Fort Jackson, South Carolina

   Write me as soon as you can and I’ll probably be sending you a lot of short letters for a while.
              Lots of Love
               Donald