March 27, 1943

March 27, 1943

My very dear Mother:

I received your air mail letter today and surely hope you will forgive me for not writing you way before this. But in a way it is due to the sickness around that has caused me not to write you sooner. As I believe I mentioned we are very short of instructors because of one thing and another. And then I have had those exceptionally wonderful classes in the evening about three times this last week and when I finally went back to the barracks after the classes which usually ended about eight I was usually very much ready for bed and some sleep so that I could awaken early enough in the morning and again get ready for another day.
Besides the classes I have had other trying incidents to combat with. People I don't like but get along with. And they usually tire me quite a bit, the Sargent and all other are very swell people to work with but the nurse has funny ideas at times and then above all that the long lines that a person has to compete with to get anything around here. And then the Colonel got the brilliant idea of collecting for the Red Cross last pay day so when finally I got done with the line I had to take the class ones and when done with that I was ready for bed. I donated to the R.C. quite awhile ago to buy them off me and that is the first time that I know of that a soldier is asked for donations. It burns me up. Have you as yet excused any sign of those bonds? I am beginning to become very much disgusted with the whole affair. They take it out of my pay each month. This month I only received $25 which I cannot see because it has already increased in all other cases. Last month I only received $30. So if there is any chance of a furlough I shall have to wire for a little money. My cleaning bills are beginning to run higher because of my wearing my good clothes every day. Although don't take it that I am broke for I am not, it is only that I regret not being able to have some money to send home for I am very much afraid that my bills are going to increase in larger amounts as the months go by. And I did not plan on being in this long without saving some money. Although the bonds may amount to that if and when you ever get them. I also wanted to buy some Am T&T by slow degree of saving for it. I suppose my income tax took care of that for awhile. When and if you get a chance, would you do me the favor of making up a statement for me of what I owe you and also what kind of a balance I have left of the money that I left upon my entry into the army. And I will endeavor to get it straightened out soon. One of my recent expenditures was the book on birds of America by Audubon that I recently spoke of. So upon my completing the looking through it I will send it home to you.
My watch is in the jewelers for a day or so because I somehow chipped the crystal and there were already signed of it gaining some. So might as well hand it done now as later before the crack increased any more.
You speaking of the Victory Garden dad has dug up and planted you know I always would have liked to have had that area dug up. Only it was easier to take care of in lawn than in a garden. What kind of seed did he plant (what brand). I also suppose Grandpa is right out there all the time with the hose etc.
The article or clipping you sent me regarding C Hirsch selling horse meat was very interesting. Although it will very likely be soon a very common thing.
You had not mentioned dad wearing glasses all the time. I really saw very little of him wearing glasses. He only wore them in the evening while reading.
I received yesterday a letter from Miss Brode, Frances Whelchel and Ed Pfan. Of course they each owed them to me especially Ed Pfan in fact. I wrote him about two months go and it seems that he has just taken his time about writing and when he finally got around to it he didn't write much either and no news at all. All about some show or other, and rather sarcastic along with his very poor letter. So believe me he is certainly going to wait until I get around to it to answer. I see by his return address that he is now a PFC. He had a few rather catty remarks about my PFC in his last letter.
I also received a letter from Marshall the other day. His letters to me never seem to tell me the answers of the questions I would like answered. Although he had some more nice drawings at the top of the pages again. Very clever. When I got his letter it merely had the return address on it and I was rather puzzled about who it was from until opening it. Because I had forgotten all about his address being that.
Miss Mosher wrote me and told me that she had received the roses. She always writes such nice interesting letters and always full of news that a person is interested in hearing about.
I have not as yet received any news from the Matsons but suppose they are both busy. He is very likely far behind in his work at the nursery. So I can hardly blame him for not wanting to sit down and write any letters or otherwise in the evening.
I sure hope that you have good luck with your chickens this spring for you will very likely need them later in the year. Mentioning vegetable seed, you might hunt up some of these vegetable seeds that I brought home from the nursery. There are quite a few of them that should be very good as yet. They were in the bottom of the dresser in my room.
Are the Finleys ever going to settle down? I can't see any reason for selling their home now for all they have put into it seems like an awful waste of energy to me. And also the mining will boom only as long as the war in my opinion.
You mentioning the Income Tax. There were more of them around here worrying about theirs turned in before the deadline and then they were going to pay it with and then in the next breath tell you how much they earned before. Of course they get a reply from me on that subject. They practically every one of them earned more than I did and they haven't a dime to their name. They burn me up and then they want to borrow money the next day.
yes, your descriptions of the cymbidium are very good and I can see it very plainly.
Did you get a chance to wear one of them before giving it to Nina?
Have you heard just what Richard Minn is doing and what he is now in rank?
They had one of the worst storms that I have seen in ages here the first part of the week,
It was dark at 6:00 o'clock and very soon it started to rain and it came down in sheets and the thunder and lightning were sure a big addition to the storm. And I happened to have another of those classes and of course they became a little restless. So I finally dismissed them and did not march them back to the area.
Well I just finished having dinner and we had some very good steak, string beans, salad and cake and ice cream. We have very good meals here on Sunday . For lunch anyway. As for breakfast I am very seldom here for dinner on Sunday also.
our classes are not young to be so very good next week because the third and last week classes are usually the worst group to handle etc.
We are going to have an open house here of some kind tomorrow celebrating the second anniversary of the school and from what I gather it is going to be quite a day. We worked ahead off(?) last night in practice ward getting things set up for the display but I don't get the day off with the rest of them because we are required to be on the job.
Mrs. Tedesco in the library has invited me to an afternoon party at her home here on the post this afternoon. A very accomplished pianist is going to be there and we are going to listen to the Carnegie Hall concert also and I am looking forward to a very enjoyable afternoon. She is certainly a grand person. The pianist I have heard before at a concert at the museum which I may have written of before. He played for Giovanni Bruno the violinist also. I came to know Bruno quite well in fact he has written me since he has left here. He studied in Italy several years. He is the one that I went out to the Lady of the Lake College and Convent with to get the violin with which he was to play at the concert with Jose Iturbi when he was here in San Antonio.

It is indeed very bad that you have to bid Nelson goodbye, that is if he is really going, but it will be more than likely better if he does and then Muriel will probably soon let him go from her memory if she is not sincere about him or it may or course be a proving ground of her affection for him if she has any. What do you think?
I had really better begin thinking of closing now and get this letter in the mail box.
And I hope you will forgive me for not writing you before this. But I shall start another one to you tonight or very soon. I close telling you to take care of yourself and please not to worry too much about me.

Lots of love,
Your son, Stanley

March 21, 1943

March 21, 1943

My dear Mother,

I am so very much ashamed of myself for not writing you before this. And I really am just bubbling over with loads of things to talk about and the chances are that I will not be able to finish it tonight because I want you to receive this letter sometime soon. Believe it or not I have started two to you already and have abandoned them because I have had to go a day or two before getting them anywhere done and if I finished them then they would not have made any sense. So I am going to finish this one tonight.
Although I did manage to get a letter written to Marshall the first of the week.
I never realized that a person could be so terribly busy and there is no immediate need for it either than the fact that we have two or three sick ones on the list. Cpl Olson has returned now and they have told him that he has a duodenal ulcer which in the end will probably mean a medical discharge for they get their ulcer cases off their hands here as soon as possible that may be good news for Uncle Bill.
Yes you may renew my subscription to the Readers Digest.
How is the older Mr. Blair getting along now after his fall.
Your asking about my putting on of weight? I have put on about ten pounds but I suppose that is nothing exceptional and I bought the belt with the same idea in mind that you speak of about my height and also my coat pulls and looks so bad without it. Yes, I have changed the wearing of my hat also and I think it looks much better also.
Well, Ray and I really had an adventure last night. And also it was the first time that anyone had gone out of their way to entertain me in any way since I have been in the army. Ray and I met at the same place at the St Anthony and as I told you before it is very likely the nicest hotel here, two or three star generals stay there etc.
Well I had noticed this elderly lady sitting across the lobby from me when I was waiting for Ray and she had been looking at me a couple times when I had looked up from my reading the late "Time" magazine and a little later a very attractive young lady joined her. Anyway, time passed us it will and Ray came then all of a sudden this lady excused herself and introduced herself as Mrs. Hoffman and wondered if we had any definite plans for the evening and we told her no. Then she wondered if she could ask us to join her and her daughter for dinner, that they would be more than pleased etc. So we finally accepted under the provision that we be allowed to pay for our own. So in we marched to the main dining room of the hotel which was just full of army officers including a two star general and we were seated at a very nice table and we sat down and began to become fairly well acquainted that is in the respect that I know no more about them personally now than before. The daughter's husband is in the navy stationed at Terminal Island and the daughter has been living in Long Beach for the last few months. And she is here now trying to sell her airplane which she has been using previous to war. And she has been flying for about seven years. The plane has a broken propeller and therefore is hard to sell because of the scarcity of them. Otherwise she said nothing about themselves. We ordered delicious steaks and in all one of the most delicious meats I have ever had since they each ran above $1.50 each but when the bill came she took it and would not let us pay for our own so after talking for awhile longer we parted and thanking them. She said: "I hope someone does the same for my son". I did give them your telephone numbers, telling them that if upon her return to L A she needed any assistance for her to call you.
So on my account will you in case they ever call. I want to show them how much I appreciated them doing this for us. And charge anything to me that it costs you. Although I somewhat doubt if they will call. What do you think?
They did mention where they came from. And in speaking of it to the librarian here she said that there was quite a bit of oil and cattle people down there. So they may be some of them. They perhaps the most charming people I have met since I have been in the army. What do you think of them?
And after that we went adventuring down into Mexican town. Would you have any occasion for the use of whole nutmeg? And some of the things they had there were amazing, including some of those small dried shrimp.
Last Wednesday I started off the Surgical Study class for the month which consists of two hours between 6-8pm, four nights a week. They call me Sir etc. And I also have the position if I want it to lead them back and forth. Then the following night I volunteered for one of my friends, that is to take his place because he had a baseball game to play in. But that night I had the entire class of 150 because they had been noisy that day and what a time I had getting them over. That is practically whole company you know. But believe me they were certainly good after I got them over and threatened them with some GI soap and scrubbing brushes.
Well within a few days I hope to have some very good pictures to distribute if none of them areI will take a few more until I get a good one of myself.
The discussion of Muriel I shall enclose in another letter.
I sure appreciate the clipping you sent alone in one of your envelopes.
And I do enjoy receiving the nice news regarding the dear in-laws and I find them of great amusement.
I am afraid that I shall close now planning on starting another letter tomorrow and answering more of your inquiries. Then Good Night and take care of yourself.

Your son.

March 10, 1943

March 10, 1943
Practice Ward - Plaster Room

My dear Mother:

Here I am writing from the practice ward. I have no more classes for the afternoon. We had a very good lunch today consisting of roast beef, mashed potatoes, fresh tomatoes. But where they got them I do not know. And we had some very good pineapple cobbler which I sure enjoy. I am sitting on a very low stool and writing on a very high table so my writing is none too good.
Yes I received your very nice box Monday and want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for it, and I really like the tie. The cookies were just as fresh as the day they were baked and they are delicious. And I was just about to need another toothbrush. You be sure and charge me for the things you sent. And one of these days I will get it all straightened out.

I guess my teaching rather got the best of me the first day for I was a little hoarse Monday and yesterday but I am practically all right today. I taught the folding and preparation of surgical supplies Monday. Yesterday I taught the scrubbing up and the putting on of the gowns, mask, hats and gloves. Today I taught the Waggenstein suction apparatus which consists of rubber tubes and glass tubes and bottles and the second hour the duodenal tube. All my classes have been two hours watch and three of them a day.

The Camp Barkeley boys arrived here yesterday, four bus loads of them and they are the eighteen year olds and they not only look but also act young. And they had no sooner arrived that they sent three of them to the hospital. Practically the entire camp has been under quarantine for as long as eight weeks: flu, meningitis etc. And then they put a medical training camp there.

I can hear the Sgt. here in the practice ward in the next room giving a lecture on gasses and the care of gas casualties. He is certainly a wonderful person to work with in fact they are all very nice except one and that is that lazy guy from Georgia that I have spoke of before and he certainly gets on my nerves.

Sunday I went for a nice long walk. I took a bus for quite a distance out and then walked up into the hills and across the Olmos Dam and back down the other way through the park by the Alamo Stadium and the Greek Theater and through the park back out and caught a bus and returned home.
I just came back from the post office thinking that perhaps I may be able to get the mail early, but the late mail was not in as yet and I didn't have any in the early so I left it there. And there may be some in the late afternoon mail for me because the afternoon mail is practically all that has accumulated from until morning till about three o'clock. The morning mail is just what has accumulated from the afternoon until morning which is not very much.

I received a letter from Aunt Nina the other day which quite surprised me because I didn't know that she ever wrote very much and I never expected her to write to me. That must have been some wedding that the Prentices' daughter had. I suppose they think they have money. Did they ever pay the bill that they owed you?

Did you ever get the picture from Marie? Have they as yet moved to Salt Lake City. It should be quite q relief to have them gone for awhile. You might suggest that now that they are thinking of settling down that they take grandpa for awhile and see what she has to say regarding that. I can just hear her, can't you?

You mentioning the old age pension affair awhile back. I can say that she certainly deserved just what she is getting. Too bad they can't rope Clari in too. He would take their side when it does not affect him. And the little abused thing getting married to a woman with two kids and saying that they were his, Isn't that just like him? Too bad they had to get Nina in on the affair. And then they trying to run you down along with it. And I like your remark about it being none of their business about how much Dad makes. I would like to have been there. The day will come when that tribe will regret what they have done in the past to you and then hear their cry.

Have you heard the Minns say anything about receiving a birthday card from me? I also wrote a letter at the same time to them.
Have you as yet bought my chance on the quilt?
Have the tulips come up and bloomed as yet? They should be very nice. They are a beautiful (?) bronze-purple and they are one of my favorite tulips but I have never had any of them before and was n hopes of being able to see them bloom but perhaps shall wait another year. The larger daffodils you speak of may be Golden Harvest if they are the first ones in the bed the other side of the tree. I sure bet they are a beautiful sight. How are the carnations coming. Did the iris bloom very well out by the chicken pen this spring and how are the little apricot and the avocado trees doing, they should be grown quite a bit by now that is in growth.

I have now had dinner and have walked down the stream I speak of East of here and found that it was too deep to follow down a little ways there are wild strawberries growing amongst the other only green trees for quite a distance around. Someday I will follow it down to where they tell me it joins quite a large stream. There are a lot of birds of different kinds including one owl. And there are also a lot of tadpoles with about two legs on them.

I sure hope you are able to read this letter. I think I will be thinking of getting ready to go to the library soon for I am able to write much better there and I am also able to concentrate much better there. It does not have the confusion and the noise that we seem to have here.

I was quite amused awhile ago. One of the new boys here was telling me awhile ago that he was getting ready to start on his second razor blade since he has been in the army. He told me that he had been in for only six weeks and is only eighteen years old. They just can't seem to get used to sheets, bus service, at regular intervals etc.
The sun is almost ready to disappear over the roof of the Service Club. It turned out quite warm. This morning it was sprinkling some.
Well, I had better think of closing now and will write more in a few days. Closing with lots of wishes for your good health.

Your son, Stanley

March 5 - 7, 1943

Notice the Spanish moss on tree in picture of me (poor one)

March 5, 1943

Dear Mother:

Well I think Spring has been stalled off for a while because the cold weather we had has turned all the fresh little green leaves black and the trees are not too wonderful a sight, and it looked so very nice ans spring like from my barracks window. And the little pasture down below in the valley looks so nice and green and one of these days I shall take a nice little walk following the little stream down to where it joins a larger stream and perhaps spend a very enjoyable afternoon or some morning. This morning when I went out it was practically ready to rain but it cleared off and turned very warm this afternoon.
We have done nothing this week in the practice ward but my classes will begin Monday and from what I hear they are a regular bunch of hoodlums but in the army when a person is given authority he can exercise it very freely if he sees it necessary. I have had a chance to read a book since the first of the week, "Fabulous New Orleans" and it was quite interesting.
I sent one roll of films to the photographer store and had them developed and they turned out quite well and I am rather anxious to see the ones that come out of the roll you have there is one or two on that roll that were taken of me at Camp Barkeley. I am rather curious to hear how they have come out and there are some taken at the Alamo that should be very nice and I am going to take more of them at the Governor's Palace, the River, the Missions and the many other beautiful places here.
I received a letter from Muriel today and she answered my questions quite well regarding Nelson. I will send you the letter and perhaps you may be able to read it providing you are able to make out the misspelled words etc and read the handwriting. She should surely improve her hand writing and become more of a grown woman than a child.

March 7, 1943
Well here it is Sunday morning and I am here in the service club, writing at one of the tables on the balcony. There is a very beautiful dance floor below and a large stage at one end and on both sides there are two balcony like affairs and there are metal tables and chairs along it. When I started this letter they were having a performance down below. The celebrated Don Cossack chorus was performing and they were very good, that is one of the reasons I failed to finish this letter. So I am going to send this by air mail and you will get it sooner.

Last evening the wind was still blowing and was quite cold so when I went into town to meet Ray Coates I took along my overcoat and it surely came in handy. I sure enjoyed being able to see him and we had a very good time. We had dinner and walked and around town for awhile and visited a very nice Mexican shop and while there I sent Mr. and Mrs. Watson a fairly nice inexpensive hand painted Mexican milk pitcher which she can use for a flower vase. I hope she likes it because she is rather funny about the things she likes. One of these days I would like very much to (?) goredown and go across the border into Mexico and then I could get some fairly nice things much more inexpensive although most of the Mexican things I do not like. Of course there are a few that are very nice. Ray and I are planning on seeing each other again in two weeks.

You mentioning a William Tate. The name sounds familiar but I do not remember him. I have made an impression on a lot of people who remember me but I do not remember them.
T received a letter from Joe and your letter yesterday. Joe's letters as usual are always quite interesting. You mentioning me not answering your questions well quite often I do not bring over your old letters when I write so then I often try and answer them all in one letter so after your reading this letter if there are any unanswered one's you ask me again and I will be sure and answer them.

I wonder what Grandpa will think of the brat? He will very likely be overjoyed since his other grandchildren have failed to notice him very much.
Did you notice on the bottom of the Income Tax form I filled out regarding the exemption of my army pay?
I wrote a letter to Jay sometime ago but he has not answered it as yet and as long as he doesn't I will not have to answer again.
You asking if I had heard from any of the boys. Well I hear from Bob Eyman, whom I owe a letter too. But Herbert S and Charles W both owe me letters from what I hear he is not doing too well in the Navy and Charles is still down. Herbert has spent about half his time in the hospital, because of a fall he made and then no sooner got up then he fell again on some old obstacle course of some kind then he took some kind of shots which count bad for him... They in the army here had some trouble of some of the shots. They were giving the person the disease.
I am very well convinced that some of the doctors I have seen around here don't know everything. They can do quite a lot of experimentation in the army.

You wondering what I would think of being here for the duration, well the more I think of it the more I am convinced that I would not be too fond of the place here. They are very slow when it comes to handing out ratings and in all fairness I should be a corporal now but as long as I remain here unassigned and unattached I will be a PFC because they do not have the power here to grant it to me and that would be their excuse if they are asked.

You are right about a 2nd Lt getting $150.00. I don't know where I got the idea.
I am almost to the conclusion that I am going to turn down the Nursing course so there is one other thing left and I am going to see about applying for that next week and see what comes of it. It takes quite a bit of red tape.

I received a letter from Whitney the other day and they have given them something almost like Barkeley. So he is not ahead any by even coming here. And Ray was up in arms about the Medical Corp around here being hard to get anything out of them. after seeing the way the Hospital here is run I am beginning to wonder if I want any part of the Medic's around here. A person is able to get good ratings etc in the newer posts. I understand they are making one of some kind at Santa Anita.
I am looking forward very much towards getting the peanut butter cookies.
I am very glad you liked the grapefruit. Were they pink enough for you or had you expected different?
You speaking of me going elsewhere: they could send me anywhere in the South and not hurt my feeling too much, New Orleans or something. Conditions are terrible in Florida, poor food etc.
Find out from Mrs Barron what the Matsons think of the vase.
Yes the epidemics will be around with so many doctors in the army. Most of the contagious disease cases go to the old hospital.
After the danger of the frost is over you can if you want to cut the entire bunch of gerberas back and then feeding them good with rabbit manure and you find they will do much better if they are forced to go dormant for awhile. Has the cymbidium bloomed as yet?

You are sure getting a lot of rain, more than usual isn't it? Joe speaks of it in his letter also.

You asking about washing: I send all of it to the laundry except my good socks and good handkerchiefs. The laundry soon ruins them for a person. The same as they do everything else they wash.
That was surely an interesting clipping you sent last time.
Surprising some of the old things like that. That are still being carried on as yet after so many years.
One of these days I am going to go out and see at least one of the missions. I then can say that I have seen about all the important things around San Antonio.
Some of the new boys are coming in today and their class will start around the tenth. And when they start the system of the study after hours for the dumb ones I shall also get my finger in keeping them a night or so as their guardian which will include marching them once, keeping them 2 hours and then marching them back.

Is business still holding up at the garage and how is the desert coming along? Did you get more gasoline for the truck if so how much does that entitle you to?
I had better begin thinking of closing now for it is getting late and I will go to bed a little earlier today than usual for I may need the sleep about tomorrow this time.

How is your arm coming?
What have you done regarding seeing another doctor, Don't put it off. And be sure and take good care of yourself and don't let yourself become sick.

Give my regards to the rest of family. Good night

Your son, Stanley

February 22 - March 2,3, 1943

February 22, 43

Dear Mother:

What do you think of my new stationary. You are the second person who I have written to on it. The other one was to Muriel and I will mail them both the same time only I will mail yours air mail and send hers free and I want you to let me know which one gets there first. I found out the other day that the Air Mail goes North through Fort Worth then over to El Paso and on the California so in that case the Air Mail may not travel faster than the other. I am rather curious.
Which ink do you like best on this stationary the red or the blue I am using in my pen. I just could not resist buying it. Or do you think I am rather silly over stationary. The librarian here who I have become rather well acquainted with let me use the red ink. There are certainly some very nice books and stationary stores here in San Antonio. I saw a book the other day I would sure like to have in fact two, both of them by J J Audubon. The one on bird prints and the other on flower prints. If I continue to want them I will get them and send them home. What do you think of the idea?
The Camp Barkeley Boys are leaving next Sunday so I understand I do not believe that I am going because of the teaching affair. In fact I rather like it here and I would not mind being stationed here permanently that is of course for the duration. Although the heat may be too much for me in the summer. Although it is quite nice here now, the trees all coming into leaf and signs of Spring all around.
The other day I saw some daffodils in bloom and they were sure nice. They reminded me quite a bit of my own.
You know the little red spots I spoke of in my last letter, well the doctor tells me that it is pityiriasis rosacea, harmless non contagious type of disease and the pay off came when he told me he didn’t know where I got it and that they know of no treatment. Then a nurse at the hospital who knows the head nurse in the operating room told here that she knows of cases that come to her allergy clinic that it is quite often caused by linen or the water here.
Well anyway after complaining to the high heavens about my shoes the doctors gave me a written note to the supply office to exchange for some more larger ones. I now have 8 ½ C and he wrote down 9-D which is more like it I think. By the way do you still have my ration book. It may come in handy in some way.
And another good piece of news is that I do not have to pay tax on my army salary of last year. Which is quite a relief for I have enough to pay as it is, don’t you think so?

February 23
Well here I am back at the letter again and I intend to finish it this time and get it well on its way.
It sure has been warm here today and they are still trying to enforce the wearing of wool shirts, although in looking around I find there are quite a few of them being worn.
I also found out that I am for sure going to be here for another one month as an instructor in the practice ward. That news sure made me very happy as I wanted to stay here for a while longer.
We sure had some very interesting operations today, on one of them a hemorrhoidectomy. They removed a piece of flesh and fat around five by five and about two inches deep and they had an interesting herniated vein in the abdomen and I saw the beginning of another one on the back.
I went down the hall to the ward today with the nurses and intended on being of a … help and bringing him back for them. Well anyway after I got down there they decided to give him a retention enema so she asked me to give it for her and the both of them stood there and asked him to relax and watched me. I never would have thought that I would be doing such things, did you? The enema contained a sleeping narcotic of some kind and he was to sleep before we got back to surgery.
You ask what they intend to do with the boy that has the tumor on the brain well they are going to operate again. I also stood by and wiped the major’s brow today while he was operating. I watched a case today on a major and he was quite nice before and after the operation, thanked me etc.
I for some reason looked toward to receiving a letter from you today but suppose I will get one from you in the next couple of days. I sure realize you have your hands full both at home and garage and it surprises me to think you get as much done as you do. And I sure appreciate the nice long letters you write,
Have I mentioned to you that I sent Aunt Maibelle a couple more elephants the other day. In a previous letter I asked her if I could send her anything from S.A and she replied with her Valentine card to me “If you find any stray elephants without a home you can get them and send me a bill for them”. Although I didn’t send her a bill I think and hope she likes them.
I am looking forward to hearing from Marshall. Have you heard from him yet?
I got a very nice letter from Esther the other day and she was mentioning having big washing etc. I sure feel sorry for her.
I believe I will answer her very soon on this stationary.
I also owe Mrs. Sherwood a letter (Aunt Dell) otherwise I am not very far behind on my mail and I hope to have more time yet with my new occupation when my work is once in the hospital. I think I shall like the job of instruction for a while anyway.
I think I am going to be rather unhappy for a couple of days with Whitney going and the other acquaintances leaving. Whitney is the boy that came from Washington and I have grown to like him very well. Of course the army is very much that way. Well I had better close now for it is very near closing time here. So goodbye and good night with lots of love from your son.
Stanley


March 2, 1943

Dear Mother,

Well here I am again several days behind in writing you and I keep telling myself to write but there seems to be so many distractions and there has been so many things happening here of late that they are very hard to recall and to tell you of them and it perhaps will take a couple letters to describe them all to you.
I received your letter today and was very glad to hear from you and to hear that you have received the box and hope you find the grapefruit good as some of them that I have had and the cards may prove of interest to you. Your questions about Fort Sam Houston. I will answer another day when I finish reading about it. It dates back to before the Spanish American war I understand.
I was one of the lucky ones to be able to get in and see two brain operations and they were certainly interesting even though the agony the two patients went through was not so interesting. And the noises some of them made were terrible although the operations were very interesting they became very tiring. The one lasted 5 ½ hours and it was on the boy I spoke of and they discovered that he has a tumor at the base of the brain which cannot be removed and which was stopping the flow of blood from the head but he put a tube in and it may never cause him any trouble. And the other one only took four and one half hours. The captain drilled only five holes in the man’s head and then sawed between the holed and took quite a large piece of skull out. That man was able to talk today upon my return to the hospital, but the first one is not recovered as yet fully of course he was so bad off before.
The hospital train brings in the war casualties ever so often and there was one from Santa Barbara here today. You see they evacuate all of the important ones from the coasts inland whenever possible.
Well I felt rather sad Monday because the bulk of the friends that I came from Barkeley left early Monday morning just as I was getting up. They slipped some of their baggage out Monday. Some went to Colorado Springs Colorado and others went to Louisiana and Alabama and Whitney went to Camp Bowie still here in Texas just where he did not want to go. Camp Bowie is about 80 miles from Barkeley and from what I hear it is about as bad as Barkeley.
Well we awoke this morning to find it was thundering and lightening and I was looking forward very anxiously to having a good rain out of it because I have not seen a real good rain since I have been in Texas, but it just rained a little and finished there after all the expectation I had built up but then one of those cold Texas winds came up and has been blowing hard and cold ever since and is now quite cold outside now, in fact I had to wear my overall I am going to enclose some clippings from the paper here which you may be interested in. And I thought Spring was coming.
I inquired at the Internal Revenue Office here the other day and they told me my type of Income Tax form did not have to be notarized because the Sargent told me it did not have to be done so I inquired about it. I am enclosing the form with my letter and am disgusted with the whole affair and this amount of course the tax bothers more people than I.

March 3, 1943.

The wind blew all night and was as cold as could be this morning and the lieutenant who is officer of the day here this morning still ordered exercises and the company commands came out and made them much shorter and the same lieutenant turned the heat off as usual last night and the barracks became very cold.
The barracks were sure quiet when I went home last night. The lower floor only has two on it and the upper floor only has about 6-8 on it and that is out of about 20 beds which make up a full capacity barracks.
Well, my first class does not start until the tenth and even then I will only teach every other class. In other words it will be just a nice luxurious job until I leave here that is as long as I have this job. Probably the only thing that will bother me will be when it comes my turn to stay with the ones that fail the test for some evening for two hours and that is to make sure they study. During my ten free days we are able of we want to, to go over to the hospital. We went over yesterday in one of those command cars and we drove up to the front door of hospital and got out and went in the front door.
The man I spoke of as carrying his bottle to class in a briefcase last month. Well he returned this morning after being gone two days and I suppose they will finally get rid of him this time I hope.
Well the mailman’s job is now mine again and I am not too glad of it either. I raised such a rumpus about them giving the mail to anyone and everyone and I guess the postal sergeant decided to give it to someone else so he went to the First Sgt with it and he in turn appointed a new one. I also notice that the mail goes only to one person now and that is the mailman who in turn signs for it.
Well yesterday the corporal asked me to take the job back. I guess I was the only one that would put order into it.
I am sitting at the desk here in the practice ward desk trying to finish this letter and get it well on its way.
We are planning on going over to the nut ward this afternoon which should be very interesting. I believe I shall close now and write more tomorrow. Quite amusing about M & Nelson.

Love,
Stanley

February 18, 1943

February 18, 1943

Dear Mother,

Well here I am at work again and we again have nothing to do.
Of course they do the same old thing here, that is a well known army habit of having twice as many men as they need to do a thing and consequently we are idle half of our time here.
I have not done much here this evening except wash a few instruments and put them away, among them Major Millington’s, which are all European made with his name or initials on them and they are really nice looking instruments and (they all have to be oiled etc).
We also have a Captain here that has his own instruments and they are all brain instruments. He also has special cuffs for his gowns because his arms are rather long.
I walked in here Monday and there were about 25 people working in here and not a one of them paying any attention to us and we stood here about one hour before being seen. I have seen only two operations and they were both cysts one of them on the leg of one patient and the other one the arm of the other and neither one of them bothered me any. Watching the pain on the patients bothered me more than the operation. They had three to remove on the first patient but only took one because of the pain it caused the patient. I stood at the patient’s head during the operation and I think he rather enjoyed me being there. He said he didn’t see how I could stand there and look at it. He was 22 years old. They operated on one today that was really a mess for they had operated on him once for ulcers and removed half of his stomach, well he had done well for a while and then turned towards the worse and then today they reopened him and took out about a pint of pus. I did not go in because they had it in the small operating room, and it seemed that all the other doctors in the place wanted to see it too so a result even the corps men did not get in and it also smelled. They washed down everything with cresol(?) after the operation. Some of the brain operations last from four to 6-7-8 hours and quite often he has the radio going also which sure surprised me. They have changed the commander of the army in Australia and he is the former General Krueger of here at San Antonio and the new one is Lt Gen. Hodges whom I saw drive by in his car of course chauffeured, on my way to the hospital. A couple days ago a rash appeared of a few little small red spots on my neck and arms. They are practically gone now but tomorrow when I go to complain of my shoes I will ask him what it is and he will probably tell me it is too much sugar or something. They do not itch or anything of that type. Some of the food here is exceptionally rich and I may have eaten too much candy also although I have not eaten any recently because of the heat. I have just had to get up and take some material out of the auto-claves which has lots in sterilizing through a method of pressure steam heat. They seemed at first rather hard for me to work but they are quite easy now although I am running them this evening one of the lazy ones just left them in my hands. We have four of them here besides the other sterilizers in all they manage to keep the room quite warm. In fact too warm. I believe Spring is coming to San Antonio because most of the trees here are all coming out and the devil grass lawns are beginning to come to life. They certainly have some pretty birds around here and they can quite a few of them sing quite well. We are getting quite a few of the war casualties here: schrapnel etc. There is a hospital train which makes trips to the coast for them. I saw some very pretty stationary the other day up town and just had to have some so I will try and write you a letter on some of it for you. I am sure you will like it.
I am wondering just what kind of pay I will get this time. I forgot to ask when I signed the pay book this time. How is the yard coming? How is the cymbidium coming along? And did the Brussels sprouts ever amount to anything? Are the chickens laying very well now and are the pullets laying well? I sent my order to Mr. Matson the other day. Now I shall have to write Miss Mosher directions. I am afraid I shall have to close now for it is time to go home and I shall shop this in the mail box on my way home. How is your arm coming along?

Good night with lots of love,
Your son,
Stanley