November 18, 1943

 Sgt Stanley W Safford 39539976

5^th Auxiliary Surgical Group

Dodd Field

Ft Sam Houston

Texas

November 18, 1943

My dear Mother:

Here it is again Thursday and I have not written you yet this week.

So far this week there has been nothing of great importance happen.  The same old thing everyday.  Monday night I was not feeling any too well.  I had a hamburger at the Service Club which I think was the trouble.  Anyway Tuesday I felt very weak and washed out which of course I can see the reason for after losing everything during the night.  After spending the day at work I felt quite a bit better and got up Wed. morning feeling fine and am still the same thankfully.  A person sure does not have any chance for feeling bad around here.  There is no time for it and no place where a person can really spend a few restful minutes of each day.  I am here in the office all day long and there is never a break only for lunch and back I come for a few more figures.

Yesterday evening they told me that we were going to have a big inspection by Cols from the Service Command today.  So I went to work and worked myself silly over the confusing and voluminous records which we keep in here and not a person shows up.  So you see how much the average inspection of that type turn out round here or anywhere else in the army.

Last evening I went to dinner with Mrs. Tedesco and Gladys Hitchcock to a very nice Mexican place here in San Antonio.  They had some very delicious food.  The best Mexican food that I have ever had, and I have never been very fond of that.

Mrs. Tedesco is going to Ft Worth about the middle of next month.  She is going to take her daughter with her.  She says that she has never approved of wives following their husbands in the service but she is going to break her rule now.

I received a very nice letter from Joseph today and enjoyed as I always do his letters.  Also received a letter from Muriel the other day.

The radio being stolen from the car is really a good one.  Some people and their dumbness just get the best of a person sometime.  We have the same type here.

Yes, there are a few people which answer my letter very soon upon receiving them and then I owe them again.  One of them is Jay.  He always writes a card and I always a letter but I am soon going to start to send cards to a few of them.  And I can just see and hear him telling the Bellmore about the flowers.

Your question about the German prisoners wearing shorts.  They wear them of their own accord I guess.  They all seem to have enough clothes. They even take off their sweaters and shirts in the cold morning when they go to work.  They are getting ready for a few more from the looks of things.  They are building more buildings etc.  The other day they had them up at Mrs. Tedesco’s mowing and cleaning up the yard.  Their clothes have the letters PW painted on each arm, leg; front and back.  They are all from Africa and they say that is warmer here than there.  Well they can have their Africa and this too.  As far as I am concerned.   

They  had another dog surgery today a (thyroidectomy) removal of the thyroid but the dog died.  They have been having rather bad luck recently with them.  They enjoy it so, let them play on it the Col’s idea.  When they aren’t doing that they are playing cards in the next tent.  I take papers in the Major for signature at the card table.  If I were an officer I would be ashamed to see an enlisted man see me at a table gambling.  It does not seem to phase them tho.  And on the bivouacs they roll dice.  Major Skinner was telling me what a joke the whole thing was the other day when I was up to see him.  Major Grubin is the same way about it.  The less they have to do with it the better off they feel.

There should have been some more pictures here for me today but they did not arrive.  They should be here tomorrow I am rather anxious about them.  You will either get the negatives for more or some of the pictures if these don’t turn out so good here.  They sometimes do awful work, here in San Antonio.  Cheap labour is the trouble here.

The evenings here are getting more cool and we have good use for the comforters that they issued us a few days ago.

It keeps me busy keeping kindling for the office and my tent.  I am alone in the tent at night.  The other two fellows go to town where their wives are.  And they come in early in the morning and wake me up building a fire and burning the kindling that they should use to start the fire with only.  Well good night.  Take care of yourself.  Always my love,

Your son