Cpl Stanley W Safford
5th Auxiliary
Surgical Group
Dodd Field
Ft Sam Houston
Texas
June 20, 1943
My dear Mother:
Here I am again on Sunday and
again on CQ. It seems that my every nine
days comes around quite frequently but time does fly. And it has been quite a
mad house here this last week.
My captain has been in the
hospital this last week and instead of him or his usual two hands there has
been about twenty in everything that we have attempted to do and what a mess.
We as I have told you before
are going on the three days bivouac tomorrow and they all have their own
individual impractical ideas on how it should be run. And the lieutenants here who have been on
them have nothing to say per usual.
I am not going to even try
and write while out for it will be too much trouble. But will write as soon as
I return.
The other day the entire 95th Division had perhaps
their final review anyway here at Fort
Sam Houston and I had half a notion to go up on the post and see it because
it is something which a person if possible should see. I think that there were about fifteen
generals present. I will try and send
you a picture of some of them in this letter.
You know that the Division should have about 15,000 in it and with all
their equipment and trucks they would make quite a show.
I went in a grand style to
the post several days last week. Went in
four times in one day. I had to go to
the Post Surgeon office, Hospital, Post Headquarters, Service School, Finance
Office and then here. And what amuses me
is the fact that I am saluted time and time again, because it is usually only
officers that use a command with a white star painted on the car in four
places: doors, top and rear deck.
The picture of the Amaryllis
was very good although they both could have been a little more developed or
something wrong with them.
Yes, we have heard of the Zoot Suit gangs in LA. Pictures in the papers etc showing in the
jails etc the various members of the gang.
Your question on the Group
here are perhaps some that nobody knows much about. There is already one of this kind of Group in
Africa, one in England. We only have one
of these for each army and some tell us that we will be the fifth and others
tell us different.
In the Medical Army there are
6 echelons: 1 Battalion Aid Station, 2 Collecting Co., 3 Clearing company, 4.
Evacuation Hospital, 6 Receiving hospitals (ex Brooke Gen).
The Aid station is from 3-800
yards from the front. The collecting is
from 12-2000 yards from front. The
Clearing Company is about five to seven miles while the evacuation hospital on
where the nearest port or anything of that type is. There is one clearing station for each
Division. There is a collecting Co for each Regiment.
I received a letter from Cousin Gertrude the other day and she
tells me that Dad’s Aunt Edith’s husband
in Chicago died. I wonder what she will
do now? Altho I suppose she is quite
tired after so many years of worrying.
Will you have some more of
the pictures printed of myself on the porch, also you will find enclosed some
negatives which you can have five made of each for me.
I received a very nice letter
of recommendation the other day from Miss Mosher, which I am going to submit
after my return and then hope that it goes thru and is over with before my
furlough, because I would hate to have that mess come up when I am not here.
I hope to have another
surprise for you upon my arrival home
… seemingly one missing page…
port is etc.
Well it is getting quite late
and I must be thinking of going to bed so that I may be able to get up in the
morning and awaken the rest of the Co.
I just tried to fix out a
letter recommending Capt Skinner for
appointment to a Majority but I gave up those letters are a mess so I gave it
up and decided to get one of the clerks to do it. They are all so complicated and I am no
typist anyway.
Sgt Ryan my
friend here is having quite a time with his application for OCS too.
Well good night and good bye
for now. Will write you upon my return
to the camp here.
Love,
Your son,
Stanley
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