Dear Dear, (He called his grandmother Dear)
By the time you get this letter I guess Mubber and Daddy will be on their way to see me. You will probably get this Saturday morning because the mail from here won't leave out until Thursday morning (tomorrow morning).
The other day I finally managed to take the time off to go and get the packages Mubber sent me. I really needed the stuff and clothes that were in them. Also I cashed the money order for $15 that Daddy sent me. I didn't need it just yet though.
Today they taught us how to conceal ourselves in the bushes and spy on the enemy. That is just what I did all last winter when I was hunting ducks on the sand bar. That's why I wanted to get into the infantry where each man is a single unit. Yesterday we threw hand grenades. You pull out a little pin and hold down a lever on the side of the grenade. As long as the grenade is held tight, the lever stays down. When you throw it, the lever goes up and sets off a fuse. After a while the grenade explodes, giving you plenty of time to fall into a trench. It's a lot of fun, but I won't do it any more, so you don't have to worry. You see, we are through training with hand grenades.
We march and drill a lot during the day and also we attend lectures by the officers. They teach us a lot about first aid and many other things. It's quite interesting.
Well, I can't think of anything else worthwhile to tell about, so I'll have to go. Tell Aunt Bessie and Fannie Rose that I will write them soon. Also I will write to Taddy again. I guess Anna and Ida have gotten my letter by now.
Well, take care of yourself and be sure the gas is off at night.
Love,
Howard
For more of my fathers adventures in World War II, go here and here.
My friend, Raine Cavin, sent me this: Elodie, I have a few letters my dad wrote home while he was in the Navy during WII. They're a treasure. When my very young 17 yr old dad joined the Navy, he was the baby of 11 children. He had 4 brothers and a very close cousin fighting as well. Well, my daddy being my daddy left Wilkinson County to see the world and fight the fight, leaving a sweetheart behind that wanted nothing more in life than to marry my daddy and raise a family. Daddy told her he wasn't ready and joined the Navy. While stationed in San Diego, daddy met another southern belle from, of all places, Arkansas. After my daddy was in the Pacific, he started writing his sweet little innocent sweetheartswithout each knowing a thing about the other ... until the sarge on his ship decided to play a joke on my daddy. At that time all mail was censored. The sarge switched the letters written to the girls. The end of my daddy being the player with those two! grin emoticon He got what he deserved.They both left him high and dry to find somebody else and they were married by the time he got home ...to somebody else. But I have a feeling my daddy really didn't care too much! Lol
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