February 18, 1943 - "...Living Conditions Here are Top Notch..."


Thursday Morn

Dear Mom + Dad,

               I have a few minutes to myself so I’m going to start a letter to you and give you a few more details than I did last night.  Let’s start back in San Antonio.

               On Monday night Peg came out to supper and she got a terrific kick out of it.  Previous to her coming that afternoon we had of all things two parades, one at three, the other at four.  That sure was a fine way for us to end up our career in flight.  It made us as mad as the devil at the time but that’s all behind now.

               We had to get up at 2:30AM and I didn’t get to bed until almost 12.  I didn’t get very much sleep.  We ate breakfast and took off for the train.  Naturally the train wasn’t there.  After waiting about an hour it finally got there.  Thus started our trip almost.  The distance from camp to San Antonio is about five miles.  To go those five miles it took just about three hours.  We laid over in San Antonio for all that time be we couldn’t get off the train so it didn’t do us any good.  There wasn’t anything unusual about the rest of the train ride except the length of time it took us to get here.  The darn train seemed to go awful slow, in fact it did.  It took us almost a day and half to travel 600 miles, so figure it out yourself.

               We pulled into Pine Bluff about 2:00PM yesterday and boarded buses to come out to the field.  Then we signed a few papers, ate, assigned to barracks, unpacked, got our books, etc.  In doing those things we spent the rest of the day and evening.  Then a slower, shave, wrote to you and then to bed on my innerspring mattress.  I really slept on that thing last night.  It was swell.  In fact the living conditions here are top notch, good food and good quarters.

               We start out on our schedule of classes today.  I think that tomorrow we will go up for our first flight and possibly even today.  They don’t waste anytime on us here.  I’m ready for it, as I’m anxious to find out whether I can fly of not.  Let’s hope so.

               The field itself is not very large.  The only ones here are the cadets and there are not too many of them.  It will get increasingly smaller as we start flying as almost 50-80 of us are destined to wash out unless we should have an unusual group.  That seems like a high percentage but this is where they begin to take the toll on us as we do actual flying.

               We get weekends off most of the time.  From 7 to 11 on Saturday night and from 7 to 7 on Sunday.  So at least we will have a little time off now and then.  I’m not quite sure just how out time off works but the above is reliable as far as I can determine.

               I guess that’s about all the dope I can give you now.  I’m hoping for the best and I’ll try my darnedest to make it.  Write me soon.

              
All my love
Bobby

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