June 11, 1944
Sunday
Hello Folks,
Well today might be a whole lot worse but it isn’t exactly a day of rest. The reason is that I am on guard. We went on at 5 o’clock yesterday evening and get off about that time this evening. I walked from 8 till 10 and from 2 till 4. That would make me walk from 8 to 10 this morning and from 2 till 4 this afternoon. But since there are twice as many posts at night as there are in the day-time there are twice as many men as they need in the daytime so they gave one post to 2 men and let each man walk one of the shifts.
I got the afternoon shift and so since this is Sunday they gave those of us, who don’t walk till this PM, the morning off. I won’t get much resting done because we have to go back at 11:30 but at least I’ll get my Sunday letter written and get to go to church. I appreciate this because I was afraid that I wasn’t going to get to go.
My night consisted of only from 10 till 2 and from 4 till 6:30 but I think I’ll clean up and hit the hay as soon as I get in tonight so maybe I can make up for it.
The company gets up at 2AM tomorrow morning to start on a two-day problem. My name is on the detail list for some kind of detail tomorrow but I don’t fall out till 7:30. I may be stuck for two days but at least I won’t have such a short night tonight. There is always a bright side to everything I guess.
There was a general around inspecting yesterday and he wanted to see us working so we didn’t have our regular Saturday inspection. I went over to the radio school as usual. We studied radio yesterday for the first time in two or three days.
Friday afternoon we had quite a strenuous but interesting job at communication school. THey wanted to give us practice in using a compass so they set up a compass course for us to run. And what a course it was! We each started out alone and were supposed to follow certain azimuths (magnetic degrees) for so many yards. We had no way to tell distance except by our paces. We followed one azimuth for 2200 yds, another for 2000 yds and a third for 1200yds and were supposed to end up where we started from. It was all up and down hill and through thick woods. If you can see a hundred or so yds in front of you and walk towards certain object this is a fairly easy task, but through woods you have to look at the compass about 25 or thirty yds and this makes it very easy to get off your course. Then through brush, etc. you really have to concentrate to keep track of your paces.
I got back at just about the exact point I was supposed to and by the map we had to keep I had reached the points we were supposed to so I got through the course all right. Some of them even got lost on the course. And come to think of it this wouldn’t have been so hard to do. It would have been pretty easy t o get 2 or 3 degrees off your course when going up and down hill for a mile and a half in one direction. That much off can make a lot of difference when going that far.
I was sure glad for the letters I got from you this week. That surely must have been a horrible train accident… [folded sentence]. I have been out in there but I just don’t remember having seen the crossing. Is it just west of that power station on the Riverview road?
How was the circus? What color and kind is Old Corie? How is she coming by now?
As you can see by the things I sent home you can see how strict they are getting about having extra things. In connection with this I have a request I want to make. When you send me packages I would like for you to send them so that they will be here between Saturday evening and about Wednesday evening. If you could do this it will give me time to have it taken care of before Saturday inspection. Of course, Sunday is always the best day to get packages.
Well I’ll sign off now and put on a tie for church. I’ll write soon more tonight it I have any more news.
Love
Donald
Evening
Well I have a little to tell you. I got your package and letter today; you timed it just right. Thanks for everything. Please send another cigar box like that some of these times. That is sure good candy. I suppose it’s home made?
I have a request for the next package. I’d like for you to send me a pair of swimming trunks. Any kind. I suppose 30” waist will work. On Saturday afternoons we sometimes are allowed to go swimming for our exercise if we have trunks. Maybe I could learn to swim this summer. The simpler the better on these.