January 9, 1944 Sunday

Dear folks,

Another big week has passed, without anything special coming up. We drove tanks and half tracks most of the week. Over regular driving courses and Saturday on an all day convoy. Had a lot of exams, got a lot of gigs, and had a new officer put over us. A strict one that we all hope meets with a fatal accident soon.

Last night a bunch of us went to Louisville and saw the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. It was a great program and worth traveling to see.

The high point of the week came on Saturday, when they gave us an exhibition on using a tank's fire extinguishers. They set a great big fire with oil and dramatically trained the extinguisher on it. The fire blazed merrily on at the same rate and then as they increased the stream it burst forth about twice as big as it had been. It continued until it burned down by itself. A dignified officer put on the exhibition, so we got the biggest laugh of the cycle. Seems the wind blew the extinguisher gas away as soon as it came out.

Next week we start our gunnery course, taking the M1 rifle first.

How's everything in Keene? What does Russ do these days. Logging? This is the time of year when the farmer sits before his fire and roasts chestnuts, I thought.

We are kept just as busy here as we expected to be, and it looks as tho we'll be busier than that next week.

With love,
Wallace