May 23, 1943
Sun. 7:30 pm
Dearest Mother,
Just a few lines to let you know that I'm O.K. and hope that you are the same.
Mother, I received your letter you wrote on Fri.
Mother is it real cold in Altoona, that you got a cold. Boy you ought to be here, and I'll bet
you would really appreciate a little cold weather and if you get a cold or any sickness and you
can't get rid of it go to a doctor, maybe he could do something for you. But if the doctor is like
the ones we have here, don't go, because if you're sick here, not matter what's wrong with you, they
give you the same kind of pill. ha ha ha
Tell daddy to take care of himself, and that if his legs or stomach hurts too much to take a few
days off, because maybe a little rest will help. I know a little rest once in a while helps me.
What I mean is, that all week. they work and knock the hell out of us and then on Sun. we rest, only
to take another beating the next week. ha ha.
Well mother just one more wk. and my basic will be over, in fact it's over now, because all we
do this wk. is have tests on everything we've learned so far, and one thing we are going to be
tested on is a bivouac. We'll go out on Wed. at 3 oclock in the afternoon for a 7 1/2 mi.
(stroll ha ha) hike, and pitch tents eat in the dark and about 12 or one thirty we'll start back.
They'll mark us on how we march, how quiet we are while camping, and give us several gas attacks
and see how we march with a gas mask on and a few other things.
I washed my pack in the latrine and also a suit of fatigues, because all our equipment is
supposed to be clean.
On Fri. furloughs will start to be given out, but I'll probably get mine in about another month,
at least I hope, anyways the money I get this pay won't be enough to come home on. I owe a few guys
some money, about 8 dollars I owe all together, and I'll only get about 40 dollars payday and it
will cost about 60 dollars to come home on.
You know mother, you really made me laugh when I read about color blind snakes. I told my buddies
that were around me at the time and they also had to laugh, but mother, don't worry about me I'll be
O.K. (always)
Mother if you don't get a letter from one of us for a little while, like not hearing from Tony,
don't worry too much about it because the reason usually is that we are too busy, and a night that
we aren't bushed, well we like to take in a movie or go to the U.S.O. to forget about the army a while
understand mom. I'm sure that Tony is O.K.
About the flood mother, we didn't have any here but it was raining pretty much on Thur. and Fri.
and Sat. but today all the water is dried up and it's really a nice day.
By the way mother my Co. was out in the fields yesterday in all that rain and mud and I'm
telling you I was soaked.
Coming back, we were all wet and we really had fun. We walked in the deepest water we could
find on our way back just for the fun of it. We figured that we were wet and couldn't get any
wetter so we took the roads that had the most water and mud on them, and if you would have seen me
when I got in my barracks you wouldn't have known me, no fooling I was really a sight.
Well mother I guess I'll close now with lots of love to you mother dear, daddy and the kids.
Your loving son
"Jimmy"
