July 31, 1942 - Gripping After the Let Down

Friday Morning

Dear Mom + Dad,

I feel a little better this morning than I did last night. However, I’m still down in the dumps and discouraged. I’m going to try to get it off my chest so if you’ll bear with me I’d appreciate it.

As you know from the letter I can’t apply again for it for three months. Right now I don’t care if I ever take it again. I tried to make something out of this army and I couldn’t do it. I have no aspersions of climbing at all now. I’m only here because I have to be. I’m just going to do all that is required of me and let it go at that. I have no desire at all to exert an extra effort to get ahead. I shouldn’t feel that way but the way this army is run you can’t get along on your ability so the devil with it.

I’ve been drilling a lot for the last few days. There is nothing for us to do but lousy details. Just to keep us busy they have you our marching up and down, all to no avail. It seems a darn shame that with men needed so badly all over that we waste our time drilling and sitting around. I can’t understand the rhyme + reason behind it.

Then too if you could see the ignorant dopes that are our sergeants you’d have a hemorrhage. It really hurts to take orders from them. They are impossible. It is the old story of a little authority going to a man’s head. They just get under my skin so much that a lot of the time it is hard to keep my mouth shut. I manage to do it though as it pays in the long run.

As you can probably see by all this griping that it has kinda got to me. Just bear with me and I’ll snap out of it soon. I guess it is just the let down. However there is a lot of truth in what I have put down here.

I hope to get a weekend pass and take off for Los Angeles this weekend. I can get on if I have no detail. As yet the list hasn’t gone up so I can’t be sure. It will be just my luck to hit one when I need something like that L.A. trip to snap me out of my rut. I’m still praying. All my luck in the army can’t be bad.

I borrowed some money today as everybody got paid except me. I hope to have a good time if I can get off. I’ll write you again this evening or tomorrow morning as let you know. Please write me soon as I need a little cheering up.

Love

Bob