April 24, 1944
April 24, 1944
Dear Shirley,
I ain't at the place I was before because I'm here on account of we shipped out Friday, I think we had a wonderful train coming down here. Generally speaking, it was old. Jesse James initials were carved in the side of our car. He put them there himself. Did you ever try writing a latter on a pillow?
This, darling, is Maxwell Field. It is known as "west Point of The Air". Strictness and honor are prevalent. Every movement has clockwork precision. We are under class men and that is the lowest thing on the field. We take orders from everyone. The ten weeks here are supposed to be the toughest in the cadets. If I get by here I should have pretty clear sailing. There have been more additions to the course and I may not graduate till next year.
Gee, I wish we were together today. I must be getting to like you. I like you most on Sundays. I sure do feel mushy today. You're much nicer than a hot fudge sundae with whipped cream and pecans.
We're quarantined for five weeks and can't leave our barracks except for classes. I've been in the army almost two years and I'm still a rookie. I'd probably been a Tech Sergeant by now in Tomah. Ah well, that's life.
We were busy all day yesterday until 10:00. We went to bed and I had just fallen asleep when I was awakened and told to dress in Class "a" with white gloves. We were to fall out immediately. This was at 11:30. We were told to be very quiet and marched over to headquarters. There must have been five thousand cadets there. There wasn't a light on anywhere and everyone was quiet. Then the drums started. They started softly and worked up to a roar. Then they stopped completely. The Corps. Commander and his Aides came up and faced us all. He announced a name and said that the named cadet had been caught cheating in a math class and that his name would never again be mentioned in the Corps. of Cadets. That's what is called a "drum out". It must be pretty terrible to have that happen to a guy. He's washed out and disgraced. This is a pretty honorable outfit.
Poor Lucille. That was a terrible thing to happen. If I get a chance I'll score one rep for the Captain. The war is getting close to home. People are going to have to grit their teeth pretty hard. They're going to get hurt badly. I hope to God they realize why it's all happening.
That about covers todays Communique! Write pretty darn soon, will yah?
Love,
Ray