February 20, 1944 Sunday

February 20, 1944 Sunday

Dear folks,

Your birthday party must have been in pretty close quarters, considering the number of people in the Court Street apartment. Nice bunch, tho.

Yesterday’s mail brought me a lot of vital statistics. Bet Wig’s bouncing boy is quite a bundle! Gee, I’d like to see him. Wig is about the first father in my immediate generation. They are calling him Michael Kenneth, according to the gay little announcement I received.

It’s been so long since I’ve seen the Rindge contingent that the funeral you spoke is not much more than a name to me, I’m afraid. The marriages of Les Jenkins, Parker Whitcomb, and Don Tyler completed the big news, and they all interested me. Hope Les got the very best.

Laura is taking a lot lately, I guess. She does take it well, tho, and that’s a lot. I think that calling fathers like Justin is about the worst thing this war brings. Especially men like Justin, and at this stage of the war. Even if married men are able to adjust to barracks life, it is still very hard for them to get any kind of a break as far as advancement goes. The army wants to train young men, and they respect past education as much or more as they do natural ability. In basic training the older men looked pretty lost and the ones that were able to get a stab here at O.C.S. or at A.S.T. looked no better. These programs are set up like college. Men who have been out of school or who have had a lot of experience themselves find it awfully hard to keep up with the pliant, nimble, studious college kids. They can’t study or concentrate it seems and try to do things their own way rather than changing to the army way without question.

This last week we have been studying tank gunnery among other things. It seems good to get to tank-mounted weapons at last. I’m quite a whiz at spinning the turret around and lining up the turret machine gun. We fired for record yesterday with the tank-mounted 30 cal. M.G. and I got a perfect score. Hit every target in the bull within the required time. Had to line up and fire five targets in 30 seconds. You sight through a periscope and aim the gun by turning the whole turret by power or a handwheel, and elevating the gun simultaneously with another wheel. The gun if fired by a solenoid, a gadget that you press with our toe, like starting our Ford.

Our course will reach the half way mark this week. The next 5 weeks are pretty crucial. If I get thru them, you might start to think about de-mothing that R.O.T.C. outfit. But you can’t tell a thing, really. Men have been tossed out the morning of graduation – for little things, even if their whole record has been good previously.

With love,
Wallace


February 20, 1944 Sunday

Hello my honey –

Our tank firing did go very well yesterday and cleared up many things for me. We worked in crews of three and fired for record with the 30 cal. Machine gun which is mounted on the turret. It is called the co-axial in case I ever use the word. I worked all the buttons and wheels with consummate (check me) skill and fired a possible. Lined up on five targets and got 5 bulls in 30 seconds. Whee! Many mysteries are now becoming clear.

Read with great interest all the vital statistics you sent me. More power to Michael Wiggin. The new generation of Alpha Gamma Rho is launched!

Weddings are pretty much the order of the day, aren’t they? Best of everything to all the lucky spouses – especially to Les Jenkins. Weren’t there a lot of familiar names in Anil and Parker’s ceremony?

You can see from my change of ink that it is later now then when I finished up there. That’s the trouble with using other people’s ink. You lose uniformity. However, it is less expensive.

I spent a quiet afternoon at the library, making out an extensive lesson plan for my TT lesson, which comes Wednesday. Found some good references, but had to fight the desire to do something else all p.m.

Now I find that I have spent most of my Sunday working and am sore at the world in general for not leaving me some time off. Got to go back now and rub on that rifle of mine for an hour or so.

Your vacation will be well along by the time you get this. Gee I hope you have fun and get well rested up. Tell me what you do, Hon.

I do wish I could write longer to you. I had planned to today, but things just didn’t get done on schedule. I love you more than all the world, tho. Don’t let all these other weddings make you discouraged about us. Maybe we’re right. Only time can tell. I’ve gone over our situation a thousand times and can see nothing to do but sit tight for now. Being married here would be like not being married at all except for grabbing uncertainly for a few short hours at the end of each week. And there would be nothing in between to interest either of us. The waiting would just be more intense than now, and we might easily slow up our plans for the future. Yes, we’re penned in right now, but let’s be ready to grab a break when it comes.

All my love always,
Wallace