18 June 1944

Sgt Stanley W Safford 39539976

5^th Auxiliary Surgical Group

Dodd Field

Fort Sam Houston

Texas

18 June 1944

Dear Mother:

Another week has rolled by and it has really been a hot and sultry one and perhaps another week towards our leaving here and the sooner the time comes the more I think that it will rather nice.  We have been here too long and should really have been gone long ago.  I never saw such a large amount of red tape and so many officers getting away with things as we have had here lately.  And the Colonel just sits there and smiles and never knows all that does go on.

I bought a sheet for myself the other day because they called in our mattress covers and pillows and I am not going to start sleeping on the bare mattress yet.  I will take it along with me and may find use for it in the future.

I believe that I forgot to mention receiving the package with the cup cakes and candy.  They were all very good an arrived here in good shape.  The candy had not melted.

I finally got the saber wrapped up and on its way to you, and you very likely will have received it by this time.  The government I understand will ship home things for us from here, so I will have a few things to send home and will but not just now.  We have to wait for our movement orders before we can have it sent that way.  As I understand it, this service is available for all from T/4 up.

Received the letter with Aunt Maibelle’s address the other day, and will now try and take the time to write her.

What did you think of the pictures of the airplanes taken from the windows of ours?  Yes that is me standing by the front of the truck.  I was eating when it was taken.

The unit next door is even more advanced towards leaving than we are.  They are a very highly specialized Laboratory Group and have thousands of dollars worth of microscopes, iceboxes etc.  They have in twenty three officers, 4 Lieutenant Colonels and one full colonel.

I have already been to the swimming pool this morning and it was really wonderful.  We were over about eight o’clock and remained there about an hour.  The sun is again out very bright and the fresh clear water cool which made the whole thing very nice.

Just now received Muriel’s Graduation Announcement and (I) think it very nice.  The picture was certainly or is a very nice one.

In answer to your question about our groups, there are no more in training and if they were to have one, they would very likely take the cadre from our group.

They are training smaller groups now and will use them quite a lot more.  You have heard me speak of Whitney. He was in a station hospital in North Texas, and he thought that they were ready to go several times.  But about two weeks ago they broke them up and are training them all over again at Camp Barkeley and after the completion of that they will be sent out as cadre for other groups.

Major Eskin while in Los Angeles said that he called a couple Saffords in the telephone but neither seemed to claim me.  His wife is staying there for the duration.

Well enough for now and I will write again soon.

All my Love,

Stanley