Sunday, January 15, 2012

May 2, 1943


PFC Stanley W Safford
Co “B” Med Serv Sch
Barracks No3
Ft Sam Houston
Texas

May 2, 1943

My dear Mother:

Here I am about 9:30 Sunday evening after listening to Roosevelt give his little spiel.  That man can sure do more playing around with a vital issue.  Instead of dealing with them as he should, with a little force behind it.  It sure shows how much back from(?) he has to be told by someone else how to run things and it gives me a laugh and a pain in the neck.  And the mess which we every day see around us here.  Even some of the boys who here a month ago were for him are beginning to get a little tired of him in this affair. I wonder if he would win with such a great sweep of victory if he runs again.  We hear more anti this and that every day and the anti Jew idea is sure gaining more ground every day. There are a very few of them that I have seen in the army anyway and when they apply for officers training they are snapped up like gold and rushed off to school and the gold bars. And the Jews that are the captains up here in the section (Surgical Section) teaching just make me sick.  Two of them are hardly understandable that is their English.  And their idea of the enlisted man is sure a poor one because I have talked with them enough.  One of them asked me why I and the rest of us didn’t play golf and a few things of that type.  He thought we had just lots of spare time in which we could do such things.  Believe me I sure put him right on that point. Sgt Elkins was sure amused over it.
He and I sure can get together and have a good time complaining about this and that he is about 26 years old and he comes from Wichita Falls Texas which is north of here.  His wife teaches school there.  And he has no children.  Did I tell you in my last letter that he is leaving here within the next 6 weeks.  He applied for a transfer some time ago and has gotten it at last.
I am very glad to hear of Esther getting married.  The letter she wrote me was dated April 16th but she did not mention it then you may keep you mentioning the fence reminds me of the first that I always hated to take pictures there because of the awful looking fence.  Are the cannas amounting to anything along the back of the house? Maybe the tree will set seed and you can plant some more of them along the fences.
Yes you can still cut the plants back out in front.  If you don’t, they (will) more than likely get too big and break down.
The article on the Chilniks was an interesting one evidently drew a back page, didn’t it and the one with the Japanese writing is a very good form of propaganda. And the other Japanese items also.
Yes, I saw in the paper the Library get here from LA (The Examiner) about your blackout.
Yes, you are right about LA bad district.  The emergency room get all kinds of stab, gunshots etc wounds that all come from the Mexican district which is a big one and a bad, and the list of prohibited restaurants etc is a long one.
What was the man’s name that was there one time when we went out? Or do you remember?  I shall have to write Frances at once.  Wonder if I should and how to mention it to her.  I think the same as you do that she would not take a bum of any kind.  And as you say I suppose Frances does hate to see Esther do something for someone else for a change.
I am wondering just how Nelson and Muriel are going to come to.
Yes, the pale yellow iris which you speak of is one that Joseph spoke of and he gave me one when he had an extra plant of so if you can, will you keep tract of it for me.
In this letter I am going to enclose some of my negatives which you can have some made of for me if you will.  And the ones which I sent you are for yourself to keep and if you want extras I will pay for them myself.  The ones which you can put away for me are the scenic ones etc.  Any of me that you want.
The weather here has been miserably hot and sticky for my comfort.
As for my OSC it shall have to wait about another month now that I am leaving here.  But as you say I am trying to study for it. Altho I may have to take something else other than MAC but according to what I hear, a person can transfer after becoming an officer.  Who can tell?

Monday May 3, 1943
Well today was payday and the barracks has been deserted and is well gone empty of all of the occupants.  Any of those that are left are all gambling and a couple of them are here in my room making a good job of annoying me and if they continue I shall have to ask them to leave in the same way as I have had to do in the past.  But they sure don’t now what it is to leave another person alone.  I broke them quite a while ago of laying on my bed and otherwise.
Today was the first time that I have seen them not have enough money to go around and I was one of them that had to wait until they had gone and gotten some more. They can certainly make a big mess out of a very small item.  The smaller the problem the larger the mess it seems to be.
Mrs. Tedesco tells me that my name was not on the clearance list which they sent ones to be cleared by the library.  Altho they may have gotten it in too late to be put on the list. I wonder.
I am going to send home my Audubon[1] book and I may send my Hortus[2].  It just depends on how much room I have.  And then you may send it on later for me again or maybe after if and when.  Maybe I become an officer and can carry a couple chests and all.  I shall have to write the Matsons a letter.  You know they have not written me since my sending the vase.  You may ask Mrs. Barrow where she is using the little vase or if she has seen anything else of it, just for my curiosity I certainly feel sorry for him having that business on his hand all alone because I know what it was like.
I truly believe that I shall close for now and get this on its way, and let you know that I have not forgotten you.

Love,
Stanley


[2] http://www.archive.org/details/hortussecond029161mbp  - HORTUS SECOND. A concise dictionary of gardening, general horticulture and cultivated plants in North America. Compiled by L.H. Bailey and Ethel Zoe Bailey

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