February 20, 1944

Sgt Stanley W Safford 39539976

5^th Auxiliary Surgical Group

Dodd Field

Fort Sam Houston

Texas

February 20, 1944

Dear Mother:

It has been quite a while since I wrote you so will try an get another on its way.

The weather turned quite cold a couple days ago and yesterday morning it was raining when we got up and is still doing so outside mow on off and on streaks.  As usual everything is quite muddy and therefore we get a lot of it inside.  I chopped a good pile of wood the other evening but it is about all gone now.  That seems to be about all we do here is keep wood in the stove and then we are still cold.

The wedding the other evening was a big success and everybody who is anybody was there.  Brigadier General Beach of Brooke General was there with his wife, mink coat and all, and there were several full colonels there and a lot of Lt Colonels and Majors.  There was also a Major WAC and a Major Nurse in attendance.  The bride was very beautifully gowned and the “Bride’s Maids” also wore civilian gowns.  The Lieutenant was quite nervous and white as a sheet.  The only reason for myself and the six or eight others of the enlisted men’s group going was merely to be seen there and other political reasons.

Someone here has the idea that they would like to have a bivouac to the “Gulf of Mexico Coast”.  They would either fly there or take trucks and are already laying elaborate plans for going, so we may end up by going on our bivouac there.

The new officers are already being called for.  We have lost four of them already.  They as a rule are a bunch of dopes as far as personality goes.

I had not been to town since my return trip so know no news of there.

You certainly do not have to think that you have to pay for my coming home.  Don’t you think that I enjoy coming home myself?

So you can just forget all about the money end of it.  It wasn’t all that expensive.  I still owe you for part of the last money which I borrowed.  I also intend on paying for the pictures of myself.

How is the rose doing which I transplanted?  Also what are the rest of the things doing, the cymbidium and all?

Have you heard from Aunt MaiBelle since we were out?

Was very sorry to hear of Aunt Nina getting a cold.  She certainly has one thing after another.

It is very nice to have the other Majors back here again.  Major Skinner is always nice to do things for.  And Major Grubin keeps us in tears all day with his pranks. We are starting an Officers’ Training Program tomorrow and that will keep us on the busy line for a while.  They are always on the run to the office here for some reason or the other.  They borrow and run off with things faster than we can keep tract of them.  One pleasure I get out of it is that they treat all these new officers about like the enlisted men, and some of them are quite insulted when they are treated so.  Major Grubin told one of them here that the job he had been given was going to cease when he was through using him in his Tng. Program, and then he could forget being an office and then he could forget being an officer and be a doctor again if he knew how.  The Capt. did not like that any too well.  They gave us some new identification tag chains the other day.  They are something new which the army is issuing and are supposed to be sterling silver.  They are quite nice looking and I was very much surprised to get them.

They are certainly cleaning out the post of all men who have been there any great length of time. Freddie while in the Library is going to be leaving soon and Sgt Elkins has been transferred to the Student Nurses course at Brooke General and will still have about two and a half months to finish.  He is so much happier where he now is.  He was getting quite tired of the Service School.

I have not heard from John Langstadt for quite a while.  Received a nice letter from Ray Coates the other day and he is still at camp Mystic rehabilitation center for the Air Corps.  He is coming in some evening soon and I will see him then.

My subscription to Time magazine has started and I am already behind in reading that but hope to catch up soon.  I have been very busy the last week and very likely will have a little more time next week.

How is Muriel’s pen working? I am going to get myself another one when they have them at the Post Exchange again.  I will send it home for you to keep for me.

I wrote Jay a letter the first part of the week so that he would not become offended because I did not write him as soon as I got back.  It is nuisance having anyone like him to be afraid of stepping on their toes.  He will, chances are, write me back a card with a couple lines on it.

Well it hardly seems a week since I got back here, yet it seems ages ago that I was home.  I can not cease to thank you for the wonderful time you showed me while home.

I have run down now so will finish now sending you all my love.

As ever,

Your son,

Stanley

Lt. Martha Smith Weds Lt. Ewing

San Antonio Light, 19 Feb 1944, p4

The Post Chapel at Fort Sam Houston was the scene of the wedding Thursday night of Lt. Martha Amelia Smith, Army Nurse Corps, Brooke General Hospital, daughter of Mrs. Claude T. Smith Sr. and the late C. T. Smith of Oakland, Calif., formerly of Westminster, Md., to. Lt. Robly Brewer Ewing Jr., medical administrative corps, Army of the United States, of Los Angeles, Calif. Lt. Ewing is the son of Mr. and Mrs. R. B. Ewing Sr. of Siloam Springs, Ark., and is stationed at Fort Sam Houston. Chaplain James H. Martin officiated.  Sgt. Fred McGown, organist, played the nuptial selections and accompanied Mrs. Jack Cobb Moore soloist.

The chapel was decorated with greenery and white blossoms.  Adorning the altar were vases of white gladioli and ferns flanked by tall wrought iron candelabra holding white tapers.

Groomsmen were Maj. Merton B. Skinner, Capt. William H. Falor, Maj. Ralph O. Christensen and Maj. Hoyt S. Kuhns[1], Lt. Joseph O. Redline served as best man.

Bridesmaids were Lts. Lesley Gaye Baker, Merle Henley, Margaret Shaughnessy and Elizabeth Katherine Brocktruk, Mrs. Joseph Edward Job, sister of the bride, was the matron of honor.

The bride was given in marriage by her uncle Col. John C.Woodland, of Fort Sam Houston.  She wore a gown of white mousseline do soie over taffeta. The full skirt extended into a long cathedral train. She wore a long veil of bridal illusion, caught to her head by a pearl coronet. Her bouquet was of white gladioli and ferns

Following the ceremony a reception was held in the officers’ s club. In the receiving line were Col. and Mrs. John Woodland, uncle and aunt of the bride; Mrs. Robert Christy, sister of the bridegroom, of Ada, Okla.; Col. and Mrs. Elmer D. Gay of Fort Sam Houston, and the wedding party.  After a short trip the couple will return to their station.

Transcribed from the “San Antonio Express”, 18 Feb 1944, p 11, San Antonio, TX – also found in the “San Antonio Light” 18 Feb 1944,p19

 [1] Hoyt S Kuhns (b. 6 Dec 1910 – Nov 1986, Terre Haute, Vigo, IN). He is listed as a dentist in a 1947 in Polk’s Terre Haute City directory

August 20, 1943

Cpl Stanley W Safford

5^th Auxiliary Surgical Group

Dodd Field

Ft Sam Houston

Texas

August 20, 1943

Dear Mother:

After a very tiring day which the temperature rose to alone a hundred and the tent here was unbearable at times and after a very short while of sitting here and sweating a person very soon begins to smell and I feel now as tho I had not had a bath in years.

I received your nice long letter today and really enjoyed it.  I would so much like to write so very much more but you very likely know just what that is to never have the time for anything at any time.  And the heat here just wears me and everyone else down to the place where we don’t feel like doing anything.  And on top of all that I have worked three out of the last five evenings on some of their stupid work that I have had piled up here all the way up to my neck.  I have not forgotten Miss Mosher and her letter is with three of four other unanswered ones in my box and hers was the next on the list but to ever get to it I have been trying to ever since bivouac but just to do it is another thing.  I do think that you should go to the desert for a day or so because the rest would do you good, and then you could just let the rest of the world go by and think of yourself for a while.

It is indeed too bad about Mrs. Finley and I do hate to hear about it.  I always liked the both of them very much and hate to hear of anything happening to either of them.

I guessed that when my clerk left me the time before that he would very likely be back and sure enough he is back and I am really able to give a big sigh of relief since he is such a big help and once again I can have a furlough in sight and it may be the 1^st or 15^th of September unless the OCS thing comes up first.  So once again we can have hopes and something to look forward to.

Here it is again another one of these tiresome and boresome Sundays when we here never seem to get anything done, most of them here seem to think that their Sundays are a day when they can lay around and do nothing else other than sleep or read some magazines of some kind.  But for myself it is a day when I can get a chance to clean up myself and a few other things of that nature.  It seems that my shoes always need cleaning and my head needs working.  The other evening I went by the library on my way home and it was 98° inside there where they have the electric fans and all the other things so you can well imagine what it is like where we are down here at Dodd Field and the conditions don’t lend themselves towards helping keep a thing clean.

Enclosed you will find one of those orders that was made out when I was sent down here.  One of them as you see was for me  (I & M) but I never received one of them in fact never saw one of them until yesterday when I was going through some of the files and found a couple extra so you can keep me a copy.  All things of this type you can save for me.  They may be useful to me some day.  To look at the thing you would really think that they were send an important personage to some place equally important Ha Ha !

Also you will find a copy of the other order that Major Skinner put over while his friend Col Hill was still here and not the fool that we have here now that listens a little too much to the 1^st Sgt who is entrusted only in his own welfare.

You asked about the watches at the PX here.  They are all sold out of all kinds. So they will be rather hard to find around here.

You asking about the mail being wanted by all soldiers.  Yes that is true but so many owe me most of their time.

I always tried to keep the Matsons’ away from the house since it in no way compared with theirs and you know me as far as pride goes in that respect.

You know that Mr. Matson quite often told me that they were always going to never keep the secret from Jon of his being adopted so it rather amuses me to hear about Mrs. M keeping it a secret.

The college where Donald Kingen is more than Texas A M where they have all sorts of these courses.

Your mentioning  the ocean makes me homesick to think of it since we have none of the sea very close here.

It is quite an affair of us being able to take back Kiska so very easily.  Perhaps the Japs saw a hard winter ahead of them so decided to give up without a fight.  The war news looks very promising from all angles today so the more of it the better we like to hear of it.

Yes, the bunch of bums here are all quite a bit like A Grumberg.  All of them always broke and they do nothing else but drink it up and throw it away.  They run around here in some of the dirtiest clothes that I have ever seen.  I get so disgusted with them sometimes.

Your mentioning Jay reminds me that he owes me a letter since I was the last to write him.

Finally the Company Commandment at the Service School put a stop to Sgt Elkins leaving even once Col Fargas’ orders.  So there he is stranded there for awhile, but his wife is down here with him now.

We have made arrangements to meet each other a couple times, that is, Ray and myself, but you know that he is acting almost everywhere now and he is always getting called the last minute and he also owes me a letter.  The same with Bruno who is in Burbank (Lockland) now.  Neither Mrs. Tedesco or myself have heard from home for a long time.  I returned the negatives to him with a note but have not heard from him since.  Also Whitney owes me a letter and I will write again very soon to find out.  He may have gotten a discharge with a recent cleaning up of Limited Service.  We have gotten rid of two or three of them here.

Well they made three more Majors here yesterday so suppose that there will be a wild party at the Officers Club now.  One of them is a very good man from Georgia and quite well to do from what I gather.  His cousin is Governor of Georgia, and his wife is a very nice lady. True Southeners.

Well have just about run out of things to write about so will draw this to a close and wish you all my love.

Stanley

 Inserted in the envelope this letter was mailed in were two pages seemingly out of synchronization.  No explanation why.

July 26, 1943

Cpl Stanley W Safford

5^th Auxiliary Surgical Group

Dodd Field

Ft Sam Houston

Texas

July 26, 1943

My dear Mother:

Here I am tonight only not in the office as usual since it is so hot and stuffy in there, so here I am sitting on my cot in the tent here on a little table which comes in quite handy as a catch all and a place on which to write when the occasion arises.  They have sent out the hurricane warnings this evening again so quite a few of the tents have been laced up but not ours and it won’t be until it actually begins to pour down good and hard as it does once in a great while.

The last rain which we had has brought out a very pretty little white bulb flower of some kind which I am going to get a few of and send them home for you to plant for me.

I went into town this evening to get some more cleaning and I will have enough to do me for another day or so now.  I went through one of those cheap shirts that they gave me, the other day, while I went up to the Service School to show one of the dumb bells here how to make a bed.

Also while showing him I showed a couple majors and a couple other officers who certainly knew nothing about making a bed of any kind.  I never thought that I would ever be back at the Service School but we are going to be up there eight days teaching some of the boys from here or rather try and teach them something.  Sgt Elkins was quite surprised to see me arriving at the school again with the majors, captains etc.  And he really thought that they were a big bunch of dumbbells from some of the questions that they asked him.

San Antonio Express, July 31,1943

Well we are really having quite a time here with all the officers here are just taking every chance to cut the other person’s throat and they seem to thrive better every day and they all seem to be quite content with all the mess that they have here and they are all too much interested in the gold leaf that they are or may get.  And a very good price of news is that the other day Captain Skinner became Major Skinner so he will return quite much better off. 

Here it is the next day and we did have the hurricane and as you have very likely read the papers by now about all the damage done in Houston and Galveston about 1:30 the wind came up and blew things all over the tent so we had to get up and let the curtains down and it still continued to blow and the floor shook and the sealing moved.  I expected the tent to tear but it survived it as the others did.  It did although tear the siding off the big ward tent when it fell over.  After a short while it began to rain and it came down in sheets and just pound off the tent,  And in the meantime practically everybody left their tent and went down to the latrine and stayed there until it was over, which I was asleep when that time came I was asleep.  Most of the boys here had never seen anything of that type before and were certainly scared stiff of it.  We got up this morning and it was all clear again and it has turned out quite warm or shall I say hot again which it has been ever everyday for several weeks.  I long so much for the nice cool weather in California.

Well the officers have again changes their minds as to when the next bivouac is to be and they have set it ahead to leave next Sunday evening and return the following Wednesday.  So all of a sudden I have had all the work of making up all the schedules and all the other things that go along with it and have been putting in a lot of overtime on it and consequently have been very tired in the evenings.

We went up to the Service School today and it was quite confusing, the first day or so will very likely be that way.   All the confusion connected with the affair: getting out the supplies etc. and when I sent back the boys I told the transportation corporal to send me back a car to come back to the field in and due to the confusion here they did not send one until after lunch and they had to fix a special lunch and all that mess.

If all my other ideas do not work on getting out of this place, I am going to pursue another avenue that is that they have a large green house here that I understand wants some help so I may get myself requested in some way or another and I am quite sure  that I would enjoy that very much.  What do you think?  I am hearing at present the radio in the distance with “Rosy" (see Fireside Chats with Franklin D Roosevelt)[1] telling all and yet nothing.  He has told although that the rationing of coffee is to be stopped.   I guess that they are beginning to realize that people are getting tired of that mess.  But they are still going to take more gasoline away, I guess.  And he tells of after war peace etc.  That is to keep the people looking forward to something which he knows he is unable to foretell.  Last Saturday I saw “Gentleman Jim[2]”, starring Errol Flynn, and I, in a way, liked it.  That is, as far as his pictures go, but I am not too fond of that type of boxing picture but it certainly was some good enjoyment and of course that does a person good once in awhile.

How does Muriel like her work by now or does she think that she would rather be home running the streets with the others?

I have had to change desk so that I could write a little more plainly.  The other desk was so high that it was very hard writing as well as uncomfortable.  I shall have to practice my penmanship and try and make it more like yours if at all possible.  Everyone that sees your handwriting always remarks upon how nice and plain it is and how straight the lines are. There are so many of the boys here that are lucky to be able to spell their own name much less write a legible letter.

It has begin to rain outside this evening and it has turned cool and is quite comfortable now.  The rain sounds so very nice on the roof of the tent.  I always think of home when the rain sounds that way upon the roof.  But as usual in the evening someone somewhere ruins the evening by turning on some of this rotten Texas music.  I never heard so much terrible music until I came down here.

I had better begin thinking of drawing this letter to a close and I will write again a couple times before bivouac for I am not going to be as busy from now on for awhile.

Lots of love from your Son

Stanley

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[1] http://www.mhric.org/fdr/chat25.html

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gentleman_Jim_%281942_film%29

May 28, 1943

PFC Stanley W Safford

5^th Aux Surgical Group

Dodd Field[1]

Ft Sam Houston

Texas

May 28, 1943

My dear Mother:

It seems that time flies by faster than I want it to when it comes to the subject of getting my letters written.  I just finished typing the last of next week’s schedule and I am very glad to get that off my mind even if I have had to do it after hours.

And by the way I hope that you will soon see a change n my return title or address. So watch closely.

Well today there was a couple new bookkeepers added to the force here.  And one of them is a Jew and he has replaced another one of the bookkeepers here which is a very nice person but he has received another job out of it.  I had better not have much to do with him because he is sure not very well liked much less by myself.  He is one of the refugees from Germany.

My classes have been very good so far, if they can be used as an example they will all be very good.  Today I went up to the hospital in the sedan with the captain.  I had some forms which I wanted to get and the captain had o see someone.  About all I have to do to go somewhere is to call a car which sits out front all the time.  You see we are so far out that they take anybody anywhere any time.  We have three Ford Sedans here and two trucks.

The old colonel is due back this evening.  We sent a car up once but the train is late.  He has been back to Washington pulling the strings.  He is going to be transferred out of here and more than likely be made Brig General.  He has been in about twenty eight years.  He has no use for the outfit and made the remark that he wanted to get out of it.  We now have two majors, two captains, one first lieutenant and three second lieutenants.  None of these MC (medical Corp) (MD) seem to know anything about the management of anything and the lieutenants know not much more.  There is no more management in this place that you would find in a barnyard.

And the Sgt that one of the lieutenants brought here and made 1^st Sgt knows nothing at all, it has turned out.  That is what they get for bringing in an artillery man into the Medics and then expecting him to do wonders.

I and John Langstadt took some pictures in town the other day and I hope they turn out well for I have really not had any good ones of myself taken.

I was very pleased to receive your letter the other day as I always am.

Quite surprised to hear that Leland and Marie are still around.  That shows how much they think about you.  They don’t even bother to drop you a line as tho you cared and yes I suppose he is leading quite a life with that woman of his.  And I wonder just what Florence wants or will have to say?  It would be just about like he to think of staying there for dinner or something.

Quite a joke about Richard Minus shoes etc.  Yet is cost me 2.00 to get mine fixed in town here.

You mention the amaryllis as to whether to plant it out in the yard.  Something should be done with it or it will become root bound in the pot or you may put it into a larger pot with good rich soil in it.  And you are right about it not needing planting so deeply.  I was thinking of the other amaryllis. You notice how shallow it is in the pot.  I had hoped to be able to see the flowers but I saw them at Joe’s once.  And the black Calla is very odd.  They are quite different and something for every collection.  Speaking of the amaryllis again, it would probably be better for it is a larger pot.  There it could be moved much easier, and also could be used as a house plant while in bloom only.  They make very beautiful potted plants and they do require nice light sandy soil.

Well I had better be closing now and going to bed. Good night

Once again I start and this time I will finish for I am very much determined to do so this time.

My days have gone by so fast and it seems that I never seem to get everything done that I intend on doing.

There is a new arrival at the group who is a male RN (registered nurse) and he is a very nice individual so yesterday after the rain I went up town with him and we had dinner, walked around down in the Mexican quarter for a while and I saw some of those very beautiful blue blown glasses and I am convinced that I am going to send some of them home because they are so beautiful if only to look at.  Would you like them?  Also ask Aunt Nina her opinion on how she likes that type of thing because she may get some one of these days.  We went prowling around in a couple of these stores and they certainly have some very beautiful things.  Or if I don’t get them here I am going to get a three day pass and go to Laredo and more than likely get some things there.  You will very likely be very much surprised to get a huge box of things some day.

We are getting a new officer every day or so, majors and captains and so far they are all quite nice men and very easy to get along with and very agreeable.

It rained here Friday and most of Saturday and a good half of yesterday, but it did clear up yesterday afternoon but it rained again last night. But today it cleared up and the sun came out and made things terribly sultry and they seem to hang on all night and get worse the following day.  Then it will cool off and then get worse the following couple days.

Alvin Whitney said that he would come down one of these weekends on a three day pass and we would be able to get together.  I will enjoy seeing him again as I see few of my friends because most of them are gone by the time I get up to the Service School.

Altho I did talk to Sgt Elkins today over the phone regarding some film which I would like to get for my group.

Well I shall have to close now for it is getting late and I will have to go home.  I am sending this air mail because of the delay.

Your Corporal

Stanley

You may change the title on next letter.  I wanted to surprise you.

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[1] http://www.airfields-freeman.com/TX/Airfields_TX_SanAntonioNE.htm 

May 20, 1943

PFC Stanley W Safford

5^th Aux Surgical Group

Dodd Field[1]

Ft Sam Houston

Texas

May 20, 1943

Dearest Mother:

Here I again take up my pen and will try and write you a few lines to let you know how I am getting along.

I have enjoyed myself very much the last couple of days probably because I have been busy and I learned a thing today that made me rather happy.  The captain told me he was going to see that I got another rating of some kind. What kind I don’t know.

I spent practically all day today typing out the schedule for next week.  I made the Master one in triplicate and then another one of six copies.  Of course you know everything in the army has to be made with several copies.  The one is about the length of two and a half regular size typing sheets and always at the bottom a person puts who prepared for.  And also who is to approve it.  Quite a lot of detail and extra work.

I received a very nice long letter from Joseph today and as always his letters are quite interesting and he always has so much news.

I washed my head this evening and I feel so much better now. And then tomorrow I will have it out.  My hair is getting thinner in some places for some reason.  It seems that I spend so much of my time and money on keeping up a decent appearance.  My clothes alone are quite an item. I send on the average of about two pairs of khaki to the cleaners a week and a haircut about twice a month etc etc, on it goes.

I am planning on going to the concert at the service club tomorrow evening and will then go out for dinner Sunday with a friend of mine at the Service School. Otherwise there will very likely be not too much for me to go into town for, Sgt Elkins will be back from his furlough next week and I will go in and see him.

Are you having trouble getting potatoes? The mess halls here have been unable to get them recently for some reason.

We have since Monday been having about forty civilians eat with us I our mess hall.  They are civilian employees of the army who work in the ordnance repair shop.  The army send them from place to place as they do the soldiers, but as a rule they don’t eat in the mess halls, but are able to live in town and eat there.

I have the last few days been trying quite hard to find enough material around here to give a few practical classes with but they don’t have sheets and a dozen and one others and the Captain tells me to do as I please and see who I please here regarding such things.  So I do and am having quite a time.

The captain bought me a bottle of pop yesterday he liked to have floored me because that is the first time any office ever bought me anything.  They are real people here. And some of the things they gather in here and talk about surprise me very much especially in front of an enlisted man.

I sure enjoy looking at the last pictures you sent.  The ones on the desert are rather good.  I just happened to look out and see the Indian that we have here in the company.  He is quite a character especially when he gets dressed up.

Right next door to us here is the Reception Center for this part of the country and about all they are bringing in now are a lot of young Mexicans and a few white boys.  But the largest group that live around San Antonio are Mexican.  Some of the little brats will drive you crazy if given the chance to shine your shoes, and believe me they won’t give in, they will actually get down and wipe your shoes off before you know it.  And then hold their hand out and want you to pay them something.  They certainly get on my nerves.

Enclosed you will find the receipts for my latest bond purchase and I hope that this is the last time that I shall have to go through with this mess. Also you will find two negatives which you may have developed fro me.  About five of each.  They are some that Bruno took of me out at the Lady of the Lake College[2].  I am rather curious to see them since I have not seen any to the prints.  So hurry if possible. You may forget to charge me for them, ()

Well enough for now and I shall write again soon

Your son,

Stanley

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[1] http://www.airfields-freeman.com/TX/Airfields_TX_SanAntonioNE.htm 

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_the_Lake_University

May 10, 1943

PFC Stanley W Safford

Co “B” Med Serv Sch

Barracks No3

Ft Sam Houston

Texas

May 10, 1943

My dear Mother

Here I am still here, and they keep telling me that not to go very far for fear of getting a shipping list for me and them not being able to find me.  I have already graduated and no longer belong the school and I am legally under orders from Washington, but in a way still responsible to the school in a way that is hard to explain.

We had Brig. Gen. Beach[1] speak at our graduation and he is certainly an old sleepy eyed fool.  He sat there and yawned and acted as tho he were simply disgusted with the entire affair and the room was very hot and stuffy as the weather has been the last week or so.  That is until last night we had quite a storm which the wind had blown in.  Thunder and lightning included but it has cleared up and is a very nice day today not too hot with a cool breeze blowing.  The rain has sure been needed here for things have been very dry and were beginning to look rather withered.

You may tell Muriel that she may have the baseball and bat she wanted, but to take good care of them.

All that I have asked about my leaving think that it is a very good idea. Even all the attached Co A cadre would like the chance to leave and also a new order has come though that only limited service men may be kept here attached.

The pictures of the cymbidium are quite good.  I suppose in spite of the film.  What is the size of your film?  I think that I have forgotten.  Perhaps I may find some good Eastman somewhere and will send it to you.  We quite often have access to such things which the public do not.  How is Muriel’s supply of gum holding out?  I shall still get you your medical corp. insignia.  I have a small one for Muriel but have not found anything decent for you both.

I received a note from Ray Coates the other day and he now tells me that he, at long last, has gotten into Special Services (production etc of plays etc) which he has been trying to get into every month since he has been n the army.   He is a very good example of a good person being held down. Even then a Major General gave him a boost.  What doesn’t a person have to go through to get somewhere here.

I just found out yesterday that there (are) some greenhouses here on the post and that there is a special branch which this comes under.  But as usual no one seems to know any too much about it but they never do.

The picture of Ann which you sent in your last letter was very good.  Only she shows signs of growing up.

And it is quite a laugh about Richard M sending for money.  Big shot.  And again the PX is run by the government and they usually always serve better food.  I wonder why, although I have only eaten here about twice.

There is sure a big graft here somewhere.  You can get ice cream in town at all the places and they have none here most of the time.

A couple of the boys who came in last night were in my same Co. at Camp Barkeley and at the same time and they are corporals and Sgts.  They seem to get somewhere else everywhere but here.

Sgt Elkins finally got his final transfer through a roundabout way from Senator Raiburn[2] of Texas.  His wife’s father knows them in some way.  And when the Co. commander heard of that he could hardly wait until he had called Sgt Elkins in and told him that it was a better idea for the army to run alone without the aid of civilians and that they would all get long much better in all ways concerned.  He was quite disturbed over it although I don’t blame Sgt Elkins for wanting to leave.

For some reason I just don’t seem to have much nerve very likely because I haven’t done much but wait and have not tried to start a letter for fear of having to drop it for the reason of the usual last minute rush.  And I had intended on writing and letting you know of my leaving by special letter and then would have mailed you one upon my arrival at of course I don’t know where. What a mess.

Enclosed you will find some negatives of which you can have about six copies made of the one of myself on the porch when you are around some drug store or other.  And maybe some or a couple copies made of the other couple good ones.  The purpose is to send a couple to the Matsons and Miss Mosher.

They would probably like a couple.  The same with Frances and Esther. Then you will find another envelope with nothing else but negatives of some of the pictures that I have taken here.  Unless you want any you can put them away for me.

I, even after doing nothing today, feel quite dragged out,  I suppose the waiting is the reason.  It gets on a persons’ nerves after a while of it.

The sun is now going down and evening is coming on.

One of the Sgts. asked me how I was enjoying my vacation.? Ha ha.

How are the rest of the cymbidiums doing and also how are the two doing and also how are the two doing that are in the ground.  And has the Easter lily come up again this year. And how is the large begonia doing after so much rain.  Joseph tells me his garden is just going wild with so much water.

Well I had better really bring this to a close before it becomes boring and tiresome.

Your son,

Stanley

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[1] George Corwin Jr., Brigadier-General (1888 – 1948) - http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/gcbeach.htm

1941- 1942: Commanding Officer Station Hospital Fort Sam Houston

1942- 1946: Commandant Brooke Medical Center Fort Sam Houston

1948: Commandant Walter Reed Army Medical Center

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Rayburn