Sgt
Stanley W Safford 39539976
5th
Auxiliary Surgical Group
Dodd
Field
Fort
Sam Houston
Texas
July 2, 1944
Dear Mother
Received your card of “Olvera Street”[1]
today as well as a nice long letter from Mr. and Mrs. Matsons. Yes, I wish that I
were there to enjoy the dinner etc with you.
The Laboratory group next door left yesterday
afternoon amid a lot of confusion caused by the post in getting them all
cleared. I really will miss them since
they were certainly a wonderful group of boys, in fact much better than our own
group is. They were all a little more
educated and read the most important magazines etc. They could always carry on a good conversation
where our group is always at a loss for that. Their POE was changed to Seattle,
Wash instead of San Francisco.
We as yet have not gotten our Port
call, but when we do we will really move.
You see we will go thru three stages.
First the Staging center then
from there (to) the Concentration center,
from there the actual POE or port.
It should take but a few days for the entire affair. And we will more than likely get about five
days notice to get ready and out of here on our way to the port. We are certainly scheduled to have a long and
heavy train. We are supposed to have Pullmans but we can very well still sit
up all the way. They already have our
seats all numbered and everything else all by the numbers.
Well enough for that, and on to other
subjects.
I hear that Mrs. Tedesco is going to go up to Denver to see her folks this
month and will return next month.
Our officers and nurses are all going
out on a bivouac this coming Tuesday and will be gone overnight.
I certainly hope that they like it
for a change. We were originally set to go but they changed their minds at the
last moment.
Enclosed you will find a picture
which was clipped from the post paper. I(t)
was taken a week ago when we had the award of “Good Conduct” medals. We
stood there and listened to the Colonel and our adjutant speak, and neither one
of them can speak worth a clam. When we
came n we were all wringing wet. Also you will find pictures of the surgical truck, which were taken on my
camera when they were loading it for shipment to Washington. I gave the
original negatives to the front office.
Also a picture of a peacock which is not very good.
My new helper is really a grand
improvement and is certainly a well educated person and is so much more
efficient than the last Texan which I had in here.
I have accomplished so much more here
lately and done it much better. Sgt.
Ryan is also in here helping me now on some typing etc. By the last of next week I should have
practically everything done and ready.
I am going to send you some maps home
that you may be able to use. They are
rather nice.
The weather has been hot as can be up
until this afternoon when it started raining, which should cool things off
some. The weather was fine at the pool
earlier today and the water ideal.
I have run out of news for this time
so will close and I will keep you posted.
Love,
Stanley
