Category: Fort Jackson, South Carolina

The 87th Division staged at Camp Kilmer, at Stelton (now Edison), New Jersey, on 10 October 1944 – placing this around Sept 15, 1944 based on letter

[Unclear Date – United States Army stationary – with mention of school – possibly written to Carver Grandparents]
Friday Night
Hello,

I got about half an hour so this can’t be very long. We have just finished scrubbing the barracks and getting everything cleaned up for inspection tomorrow.

I got the letter you sent out on Wednesday this evening. I also got a letter from the Mongomerys today. They sure are great folks. They said that they had the Lilly Creek ministry read my letter to the church. I suppose it was alright but it wasn’t a very fancy letter. Most of what they had to say was news about happenings that likely you know. I was glad to hear that Bob has taken up football and that Richard is helping him out a little.

They sent me the first news I have had about the Lilly Creek preacher, but I don’t quite get the whole story on him yet.

It seems to me I have heard of the new teacher but I just can’t place her now. No doubt I have seen her. It sounds like you’ll be able to get things straightened out and running in good order.

Down here we’ve been doing the usual kind of thing. It does seem that it may not be very long before we’ll move out of here. We took a physical examination today and they are packing up equipment all the time. Things like this don’t happen all at once though so we may be here for 3 or 4 more weeks.

I don’t have much news and maybe I’ll have time to write a decent letter Sunday. I sure hope so anyway. Good luck and God bless you.

Love,
Donald

 [hot  – sometime after Basic at Fort Jackson, South Carolina – written on “United States Army” stationary – mentions “news” – perhaps after D-Day?]

Thursday Noon
Dear Folks,

I’ll start this now and I’ll be just a little ahead of myself tonight. This is a pretty sweltering day and I hope it is a little more pleasant back there. We had a pretty hard day so far and I think  we are going to do a couple hours of hiking this afternoon. So far the really hard part of our work was a period of physical training and an hour of bayonet drill and believe me this i swork.

To top it all off I don’t feel like work today. I haven’t had to take any shots for a while but yesterday afternoon it had to be done again. I got a smallpox vaccination, a tetanus and a typhoid shot. I don’t suppose the other two will bother me but the typhoid is sure sore today. The arm is about hail(?) and I just ache all over. It really made me grit my teeth to take those arm exercises this morning.

Yesterday all day except for about an hour in the afternoon when we were the shots was spent doing basic subjects like we did this morning.

What do you think of the news by this time? I sure hope things go well as they have in the last few days. I just wonder how these developments will effect me.

Thurs Night
I sit down now to write and I find myself wondering what I am going to say. I just about hit the nail on the head when I guessed about this afternoon’s work. We spent over half the afternoon hiking out and back from a training area so we didn’t have a whole lot of time to spend out there. But I guess they consider the hiking part of the training too.

I sure have been a drag to myself today. I just seemed that part of the time I wouldn’t be able to put one foot ahead of the other.

I got a letter from Aunt Mary this evening and from what I can gather she isn’t feeling very well yet. It’s been three months now and so surely her tonsils weren’t the only trouble.

Aunt Nora also sent me a very nice box of cookies that I received tonight. They were really good and we all got a very big kick out of them. And I forgot to say anything about them but those cookies int the last box from you really were something. You can send that kind to me any time you want.

Well I want to take a shower and hit the hay. We got in late tonight and I didn’t get to take a shower before retreat as I’ve been in the habit of doing. So I’ve still got it to do.

Hope everything is well with you. I’ll not put an airmail stamp on this but save it for some other time.

Lots of love,
Donald

Was in envelope postmarked March 3.

April 2, 1944
Sunday
Dear Folks,

It is a very nice day today in South Carolina and I considering how it is at home. I hope the weather has cleared up some by now.

I went to church this morning and no doubt you did the same. We had a larger crowd than usual but I think it was because of the nearness of Easter. I spent the evening last night at the library and the service club so I think that I’ll just take it easy this afternoon. Reading, writing, sleeping, etc. I got a book from the library so I’ll have plenty to do. I am now acquainted with the library and so I don’t have to worry any more about something to read.

I got your box yesterday evening and it was swiftly consumed. It sure helps a lot to get a package from home. The excitement of getting and the thrill of opening is almost as good as the actual contents.

The first of my mail from Ft. Benning also came yesterday. I think that I have received just about all the mail that has been sent to me now.

I am beginning to get just a little more into the swing of things around here and am feeling a little better about my lot than I did. I might as well make the best and get as much from it as possible. Even if I never get to enjoy it, I will be a lot less miserable if I don’t hate it. Since this has fallen my lot, I am glad that the SATP basic was an infantry basic.

I wonder how football practice is coming by now. I hope the sore ankle is coming O.K. Once in a great while during our physical training classes we play football and I at least have learned the difference between the line and the backfield but that is about all I know. I often wish I knew a little more about the game.

By the way, how did the state tournament come out. I missed that entirely during my move.

About my K.B.F. (Kiwanis) medal – It was supposed to be sent in about middle of April. If you should happen to be in Marion in the next 2 or 3 weeks you could drop it off or you can send it in. I’ll send you the letter so you can get the address, etc.

6PM:
I have a couple more things I want to tell you before I close this letter. One is that I found a scale in one of the PX’s and at last  I know approximately what I weigh. In my shirt sleeves but with my heavy shoes on I weighed 158 lbs. That means about 18 lbs gained since I have been in the army.

I am going to start the letter to Dady’s room and I’ll let you know later how I come out.

8:30PM:
I got the letter finished and am sending it at the same time as this letter. I sn’t very fancy but maybe it will serve. One thing I want you to remember is that it is for your room and not public exhibition. I think you can see what I mean.

If you would rather I’ll write the letter to the marion company.

Love, Donald

first letter found so far from Ft. Jackson, South Carolina – seems that he has been there 1.5 weeks

March 29th, 1944
Wed Night
Hello, 

Well another week is half over. Even though it has been in a new place it has been a whole lot like the ones we have spent in the past. We are doing quite  a bit of the same things we did in basic but the rest of the men in the division are doing about the same things so we aren’t so different. I can’t remember whether I told you or not but the division was on maneuvers all winter in Tennessee. They are more or less reviewing now – doing bayonet work, running squad problems, etc, etc, etc.

They shifted us all around into different barracks this evening so I have about spent my whole evening straightening out my stuff. 

Where I am now I have a lot more room than I did before and we all have single beds here. I have slept in the top bunk of a double bed ever since I left the 16th Company so it is quite a relief to have a bed to myself again.

It is raining outside tonight and the temperature is getting pretty cold. It has been raining off and on ever since we got here. I have caught some cold but it isn’t very serious.

I’ve got only about minutes till lights out so I’ll close for tonight. Likely I’ll put this excuse for a letter in the envelope in the morning.

Goodnight & God Bless you All, Donald