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 book
and I may send my Hortus. 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
I seem to be so easily changed in my
ideas of writing within such a short time, which perhaps is due to the lack of
thing to write.
