“Today I got paid at the rate of 70¢ per day. It doesn't leave much, but it's a lot better than nothing”.

Hello to Wes and family. Also Aunt Nettie and hers - soon there won't be any boys left at home according to the papers

Love Stub

 

United States Army Air Corps

First Air Force

Selfridge Field, Michigan

Thursday 31

Dear Folks,

 

Today I received the letters and the two newspapers from home. (thanks a lot). It certainly was good to hear from you. We have so many different places here that mail can go that the recruits often don't get their mail until they are "turned to duty". That means that we have had all our drilling, lectures, gas mask drill and are ready to go work for U.S.A. We will move from our barracks into the hanger today. Just as soon as they get the field at Meridian, Miss finished we will be transferred there. No one knows just when that will be. Rumors are that it will be this fall probably the later part of August or first of September; however it might be tomorrow or Christmas so you see it's useless to try to guess on it.

 

Today I got paid at the rate of 70¢ per day. It doesn't leave much but it's a lot better than nothing.

 

Everyone here sleeps in either two story barracks which holds about 50 men or in permanent brick barracks which hold about 1,000 men or in the hangers which hold about 500 men. The officers and non commissional officers have brick homes and apartments furnished for them here on the field. They are swell. We have steel cots with good mattresses to sleep on. Our meals are well balanced and fairly tasty. First call is at 5:30 and we are released at 4 o clock which is retreat. In this branch we don't have to hike out in the night. They are more interested in teaching us how to handle planes etc. I will tell you more about the etc. after I find out myself. We had a math test to aid in our classification. There were 20 questions and I answered 18 correctly, this put me the upper 5% of the group of 380. I will probably be sent somewhere to school for technical training of some kind. As yet I don't know anything about it.

 

The officers here are just swell and it surely is a fine group of boys. We have good times in the evening playing tennis, soft ball, volley ball, soft ball and sometimes we can go swimming in Lake St Clair. We have three Chaplains here at the field, two are Protestant and one Catholic they seem like swell real men. They hold church every Sunday morning. I went the first Sunday I was here and enjoyed it a great deal.

 

Last Saturday nite Charlie came and we went to Detroit for the night. We certainly had a good visit.

 

I am going to meet him in Anyda, Indiana tomorrow and he is going to take me to Chicago on his way home. I'll get to finish up my business there and will do something with my car. I will let you know about it after I've been there. I will stay at Tuling while there. I miss being able to call home and also miss seeing Patsy but I guess I'll get adjusted sometime. I'm glad to hear about the Minn job for Margaret, only hope everything turns out all right. I've got to get started moving now so will write more later. Hope you folks are well. There are about 300 planes coming and going here all the time. 

 

With Love

Stub