March 22, 1944 Wednesday

Dearest Hon,

If you heard a faint roar this afternoon, it was probably class 61 out demolishing. We divided up into crews and blew up everything in sight. Gus [?] and I and a few others blew over a tree over 2 feet in diameter with 18 lbs. of TNT. We devised a system to knock it down in the direction we wanted by attaching a smaller charge to the top of the tree. [sketch of tree trunk with positions 1-4 labeled]

1. Main charge to cut tree, forcing trunk to left [at bottom right of tree]
2. Small charge to push top to right [at top left of tree]
3. Theoretical position of blown tree [some distance to right of tree]
4. Connecting cord for simultaneous detonation [dotted line connecting 1 and 2]

That was initiative, the thing they looked for. I hope that in the confusion they did not notice that the tree did not assume position 3 at all, but fell at right angles to it. That’s war—always the unexpected!

Also am sorry to report that the beautiful Kentucky daffodil that I picked especially for you was lost during the ride back in. It would probably have met with the same fate as the cotton ball I sent you from Georgia. Anyway, I love you loads today, Hon. Could hug you a very great deal and only wish I could. You are the very best girl I know.

Which reminds me to ask how your interfacing is coming along. Scruptitiously, I trust.

You’re right about us being together again relatively soon. The class just graduated went directly to battle training the Monday after Saturday graduation, so I imagine that’s what we’ll do. But, even so, it won’t be long now before we are into another “decisive” period. You know how we start one thing and let time pass automatically for some time, then a break comes and we get our bearings, make some new decisions and start in on another phase. One of the breaks is coming before long. I am beginning to think that I might actually become a lieutenant. Before, that has been a goal, an end. Now I can see that there is much to come after it. For one thing, I will have to make a positive decision on my attitude toward the war. So far I have coasted along, a student half-heartedly playing soldier. Now it looks as tho I’ve got to decide whether to be a soldier in a very professional sense of the word, or whether to goof along waiting for the war to end so I can be a student again. I haven’t put that very well, but it’s really a problem. Because there seems to be little alternative but to be an active soldier, while I find that very hard to harmonize with what I want to do in the long run. I’m going to think that one over. It’s got a lot of angles.

About us, there are not many problems—except what to plan. That’s very hard, Bunny. We don’t need to discuss army uncertainty any more! Sometime I’m supposed to get a furlough. That’s about all we know. I don’t even know just how long it will be. Around 10 days, I think. However, that’s a life time and we’ll try to spend every minute of it together. The exact dates being so uncertain, I don’t know as we can plan a real 3-ring wedding. But we will be able to have the best one possible. That’s what I want. We can start planning, anyway, Bunny, using all information we can as it comes along. What I want is you, Honey, and if we can’t fix up everything in 10 days we just aren’t living in 1944. What am I worrying about? We’ll just have the swellest honeymoon you ever saw! And after that any number of chances can come to us to be together, maybe all the time!

You’d see how much I love you if you were here tonite, Honey. There’s no end to it.

All yours, always,
Wallace