Monday Evening
Dear Mom + Dad,
I’m back in camp again after a hard but nice weekend. I’ve been dead tired all day as I had very little sleep; but I might as well give you the details of the weekend and you’ll see why.
I started out Saturday at noon with a friend of mine from New Jersey, Howard MacFarland. We got a ride into Indio and we took one look at the road. There were at least 100 soldiers lined up looking for rides. We tried to get a bus but you couldn’t even get one of them. We then decided to try the back way out of town and go to Palm Springs and out. We got a ride halfway there and we ended up in the middle of the desert and only a very few cars. We finally got a ride going back to Indio as we couldn’t get one to Palm Springs. Back in town and the highway was still cluttered. About 6P.M. we got a ride with a truck and then about 4 rides right to L.A. We arrived there at about 12:30AM and then went over to Hollywood to the Brown Derby and various night spots. We managed to have some fun for awhile. We then tried to get a room in Hollywood but we couldn’t obtain one so we took off for L.A. as the American Legion were holding a convention there and you couldn’t find anything. We walked all over L.A. and couldn’t find a thing. It was then about 4 A.M. We had just about decided to hitch hike up to Santa Monica and see if we could get a room when we spied this sign service men welcome. We walked in and the man there fixed us up with a bed in the service man’s dorm. I don’t know just what kind of an outfit was running this place but it was some type of religious mission. They had this place fixed up for service men with a lot of beds, showers, etc. It was very nice and beds had clean stuff so we stayed there. The best part of it all was that it was free and it didn’t cost us a cent. The next time I go down there I intend to stay there as it was pretty swell.
Up the next morning at 8 (about 3 hrs. sleep) and after breakfast took off for Hollywood again. We walked all around there and saw a lot of the sights. We then decided to go to Beverly Hills and we thumbed our way there and looked that town over. We then came back to Hollywood and visited the U.S.O. for awhile and then out to have a spaghetti dinner. We then decided to go to a ballgame and see the Hollywood Stars play Sacramento. We hitched out to Gilmore Field and went to the game. The admission was absolutely free so we saw that all for nothing. It was a double header but we stayed for only one game. It isn’t much fun watching two games when you aren’t particularly interested in the teams. However the first game was fun and I enjoyed it. This California Coast League is class A ball and rates next to the major league. Pepper Martin old Cardinals player manages Sacramento and Oscar Vitt former Cleveland manager manages Hollywood.
After the ball game I went to a place called Trouwilles, a night club and saw their daily Sunday afternoon swing session. A lot of Lionel Hampton’s band were there and it was a wonderful session. I enjoyed myself more there listening to the music than I have in a long time. It was a lot of fun. I left there about 7 P.M. and started to head back home.
We did fine on the rides until we got to Banning 40 miles from Indio. Got there at 11:30 and got stuck there and couldn’t get out. It was 4:30A.M. by the time I finally arrived in Indio. I then hopped a G.I. truck and pulled in camp 10 minutes before reveille at 6 A.M. I got a total of 3 hours sleep all weekend and today kept pretty busy. I’m ready to retire as soon as I finish this letter and catch up on a much needed rest.
It was a good weekend and outside of the tough luck hitch hiking it was fun. I’m glad I can get out like that once in a while as it helps to relieve the monotony of camp life.
The latest thing that has happened to me is that I’ve been selected to attend non commissioned officers school here for an hour a day. I will learn how to drill men, exercise them, give orders, etc. Of course, I can do that now but - the significance of it is this: That probably I’ll get a rating out of it. Only a few men out of our whole company were chosen and I was one of them. I think ratings are coming out the end of this month and I hope to get at least corporals stripes. If I can get them it will be a help on my next jaunt before the O.C.S. Of course to I may get nothing but if I do well I’m fairly certain of making something out of it.
I received a letter today from Mr. Matteson, Director of Training in New Paltz. He’s is the first of my letters of recommendation I have received. He also took time to write three pages of a personal letter to me. I’m enclosing a copy of his letter it is a carbon copy.
I’m sending home some cards I picked up in Hollywood which I thought were very attractive. I’m putting them in an envelope and sending them to you.
I guess I’m going to bed now. I’ll write again tomorrow.
Love
Bob
Bob
Bloggers Note: Mr. Matteson's letter of recommendation is not transposed. Reference image.
1 comment:
John-I will write this again because I didn't see it on the comment page. Poops took me to see Lionel Hampton at the Peekskill Dude Ranch of all places, and he was really into the concert drumming his hands on the table as he always did when he enjoyed the music. The concert was really good even though at the time I was a die hard rocker. The enjoyment came from watching Poops enjoy himself so much. A fun evening!
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