It is an interesting sentence in the last letter where Poops says, “I can’t make up my mind whether it is good news or bad news . . .” when he is pondering his move to Indio California. Particularly so for us who can look back in history and speculate on this.
As you’ll see in the next few upcoming letters, Poops is going to Camp Young in Indio California. This camp is commanded by General George Patton, and was used as a desert training center to prepare for the invasion of North Africa which was occupied with troops of the Vichy French government and Nazi Germany. This invasion became known as Operation Torch.
So in response to Poops’ pondering as to whether this is good news or bad, I’d suggest it is bad. But we know that Poops does not end up going to Africa. I have not read ahead in his letters so I do not currently know when events will occur that will lead him towards becoming a B-17 pilot. So it is interesting to think, that at this point, Poops could have ended up fighting in Africa. History is interesting because it illustrates that any small event in your life, can change a huge part of the outcome of your life.
Also, a re-occurring topic in recent letters has been the health of “Nana” who is Poops’ maternal Grandmother - Ida Malinda Crum. From prior letters (May 17 and June 9) we learned that she is suffering from gangrene, and with this last letter (and Bobbie’s previous genealogical research), we know her death is near.
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