PFC
Stanley W Safford
5th
Aux Surgical Group
Dodd
Field[1]
Ft
Sam Houston
Texas
May
17, 1943
I
decided to buy some tablet stationary but could find no other.
Dear
Mother,
Here
I am going to try and write you a line before going to bed. I took some laundry and cleaning into town
today or rather this evening and when a person does that from out here, they
had better decide on spending the entire evening there, then I stopped back by
the Service Club and surprised Mrs.
Tedesco very much since she had expected to find me gone upon her return
from Ft Worth where her husband is stationed.
Well I am beginning to think that I am going to like my job here very
much since I have had a day of it. I had
my first class today which lasted about one and a half hours and the captains,
that is the two of them, sat there and listened in, they afterwards told me
that is was very good.
They
all know m around here. The lieutenant
and the non coms. Even one of the corporals started to call me Sir, this
morning while they were putting up a tent which we will use as a classroom.
The
captain, lieutenant and myself were standing on the sidelines looking on.
Well,
good night, more tomorrow
May
18, 1943
Here
I am back again for a few minutes before starting to work.
All
of the non coms and all the including myself are all looking for the T4 Sgt
ratings that they are going to hand out, but most of us will very likely only
get T5 Cpl and have to look forward to the other later.
I
went to church twice Sunday. I
discovered that they have a very beautiful little chapel upon the hill above
here. The interior is all stained wood
and the benches are of stained wood also.
But the most beautiful part of it is that they have an organ. This is the first army chapel that I have
been in that has had one. The chaplain
there is a Lt Col which is very rare for most of them do not rank that high. Then on my way out I noticed the Bulletin
board which said began recital 5:30 till 6:00, and as you can well guess I was
there for both organ music and services afterwards. In the morning services one half the church
was negroes. The chaplain asked them if
they would sing, which they did. And I
never liked spiritual until I heard those that they sang, they were almost
entirely different (from) what we usually hear over the radio etc. And they
sang it all so beautifully well together. No discord or disunion anywhere.
A
peculiar thing that when I first went in I was in hopes of them playing Ave
Maria and I had no sooner sat down (that) he did play it and after that I was
in hopes of him playing Annie Laurie which he did. I keep on at this rate and you are going to
think that I have turned a religious
convert of some kind.
Well
we have sat here this morning and done not a thing but try bandages on the
officers and myself. The lieutenants
here are certainly a very good group of men and they seem to take a little
interest in a person. I just finished
typing some papers on the small portable[2]
that we have here and it certainly in no way compares with machine which you
have at home.
I
also just finished signing my new Bond allotment papers, six signatures in
all. They are made out this time with
you as co-owner instead of beneficiary, this way it will be much easier for
you, in case you need the money or I need the money in a hurry.
What
do you think about it?
Well
here it is after supper and again I am here in the tent office, only this time
for the purpose of writing. And there
will be no one here to bother me unless it is one of the clerks and that is
very unlikely for they are all but one of them gone.
When
I returned from my class today I found your letter of the 17th
laying on the table I use. Since I am
here in the office I get my mail brought in to me. And another distinction is
that I am the only PFC in the company now.
There are a couple of others but they are away at some school at Brooke General now. Well one of the clerks was just over and we
have say here and talked for a while on a little bit of everything, ratings
etc, then I decided to get up and go outside and let down the curtains. The tent has a board wall up to about four
feet and then above that there is screen and the curtains let down over the
screen and the wall both. I am now
inside writing again.
The
pictures which you sent were very good.
The one of Muriel and Dad is
quite good. And there are a couple very good ones of you. But in one of them you look rather tired, which
you very likely are; you had better begin taking better care of yourself and
quit your worrying about me and everything else. I am getting along quite well and very likely
much better than a lot of others. I feel
so sorry for some of the kids that I see around me here, and they are the ones
who really need the guiding they usually fall in with these older fellow and
then there is trouble for them and they try and keep up with the fast life that
some of the other fellows lead.
Say,
is that small bunches of grapes that I see in the background of the pictures,
and your suits (Muriel and yourself) look very good?
And
I do not want you to worry about writing for I know that you are very busy so
please don’t lose any sleep trying to write to (me) or anyone else.
The
lilly thing you speak of is one that Joseph gave me. It is a hybrid Amaryllis or Hippeastrum and
is supposed to be a very beautiful red one that is if it turns out like the one
that I saw at his house. After blooming
you can set it out in the ground with the top of the bulb about five inches
below the surface and the yellow callas always did so well for me at least. I never
saw any in anybody else’s yard that seemed to do so well. Don’t let the lantana take the place. I often thought of forcing it up instead of
out, in that way hide the neighbors. You
mention the heat here. It not only gets
hot but very sultry and we all run around here just about too well.
Just
what seems to be the matter with Nina?
Not enough rest more than likely.
Well
I believe that I have said just about enough for now and had better get this on
its way since I will send this free and try to keep them going to you. It looks like the trees on the desert could
be topped also to promote lower growth.
Lots
of love,
Stanley
PS
(on front page – And I like your hat.
When I come home I am going to get you another one.
