April 27, 1944

April  27, 1944

Dear Mother:

I guess it is about time I wrote again.  I wrote last about a week ago so I guess this one is long overdue.  Anyway I can still use the old excuse of no time I guess.

We have been on a new schedule this week.  If I were getting night flying as some of the fellows are I doubt if you would have even received this one.  Our day starts at 08:00 in the morning when we fall out for an hour of P.T. we get back at 0900 and take showers and get ready for breakfast at 09:20.  Breakfast is never ready on time but we have to keep our schedule even if we have time to eat or not. Classes start at 09:45 and last till 11:45.  We then get off till 1200 when we have dinner.

Dinner is just a hit or miss affair because there is such a short time from breakfast till dinner.  We go to the flight line at 1300 and stay till 1800, we then have an hour to do what we have to during the day such as go to the canteen, get hair cuts, read the bulletin boards etc besides have a retreat parade and stand in line for evening news.  We eat at 1900 and go back to the line at 1930 and are there till 0200.  That is just about an 18 hour schedule with few loop holes and spare time.  Thank goodness my week like that doesn't start for some time to come.

I got the box the day before yesterday.  Everyone was glad to see it including me.  Such things are pretty much of a surprise to me.  I never expect one and then all of a sudden it pops up.  The chocolates were very good of course.  I like the raisins very much because they were a surprise to me.  I haven't had anything like that for some time.  They sure brought back the picture of the pantry shelf with the beans in front of the raisins to save them.  I guess raisins ran out fast while I was home.  I got Mary's contribution.  I got a couple of them and they were good.  I left them in my locker at night and they were pretty well gone by the morning.  I guess the night fliers are hungry when they get home.

Not much out of the ordinary happens around here; just the training keeps going and changing all the time.  I finally got in that cross country I wrote about so long ago.  It had been put off about 2 weeks because of "Unusual weather conditions" along the route.  You see you can't just go out and fly the trip any time but must get a clearance.  When we could get clearances we couldn't get the weather.  I flew the trip in a ship that was a poor excuse for a good plane.  It flew like a "mac" truck and had to have a lot of control movements to get any reaction.  The airspace indicator was off 20 mph; the radio made a terrific racket, so much so that I listened to it very seldom and then only when the engine was on the left mag because once there it made a little less noise.  When I was on the last 100 miles the weather started to close in and the engine almost quit because of air in the carb.  I only found 4 of my important check points so that I felt lost most of the way.  And to cap it off my parachute fitted too loose so that I knew only the most extreme circumstances would separate me and that crate.  Well I got back all right a little grayer for my experience.  There really isn't much to such a ride if you have a good ship and everything is in order.  It was more or less a joy ride and I guess I enjoyed it just the same.

We are now getting our instrument training.  There really isn't much to such that can be told except that it is a lot like link trainer only not at all like it.  You can get the simulated conditions in a link but never the real thing.  This is really precision flying.  You don't get a lot of leeway on altitude and air speed.  Also the instruments and you don't always agree but you can always bet you are wrong.  They have a word for the sensations you get but I forget what it is.

All this talk about graduating is all well and good but I guess no one can plan on it till the day before.  So far our sqn. has had no wash outs but they may start most any time.  I am trying to get my check rides so pretty soon I will know how I stand here anyway.

I saw in the paper that "Al" Seward was missing in Europe.  That came as kind of a shock to me.  I had no idea he was anywhere near the fighting.  That kind of brings things close to home.  I always used to think that you didn't loose navigators but I guess you do after all.

So Bob Page is the local air plane spotter.  Maybe I can send him something to put in his collection.  I will try to answer your last letter next time because I want to close this one.

With love

Austin

April 24, 1944

War Eagle Field

April 24, 1944

Dear Mother:

I guess you heard the Kay Kyser program the other night. {Link is not the to actual program, but to another from the same year in DC}.  It sure was a lot of fun to put on.  Everyone here enjoyed it immensely.  Kay Kyser really has quite a sense of humor.  Also his program is well gone over and planned before he goes on the air.  There was nothing hap-hazard about the way it was put on.  The contestants were the only unknown quantities and one didn't even seem to be a quantity at all.  I refer to L. Pounds who by the way is a big wingding around here.  He had himself put on the program even if he didn't know what goes on half the time.  He really has one of the slowest functioning minds I have seen.  I suppose I could do no better myself.

Kay Kyser

The fellow Shearin flies with me.  He is from Tenn. which you found out from the program.  He is a great big fellow and is some character.  I guess he is just a typical southerner.

Of course the program was full of over statements about the country and the weather.  However once you have been here and know a conditions in other parts of the U.S. you are very glad to leave.  Not that it is dusty all the time but we live in a kind of funnel here so that 3/4s of the time we get pretty strong winds.  The ranges of mts around tend to send the wind down this valley.  All the program amount to was a lot of fun for everyone.

I have had 3 different instructors for transition flying already and have had one instructor for instruments and will get another next week.  Most of the men have taken the chance of getting into the A.T.C. rather than get another job when this school closes next month.  I guess I am just hard on them anyway.  I lean a lot from each one because each has quite a different style of flying.  Each one harps on different details and therefore I should get most of them pretty well straightened out.  However what I learn helps and of course hinders in that each time I spend too much time learning a new technique and not getting some of the essentials such as chandelles and lazy 8's and acrobatics.  However they are not as important as just plain flying ability.

I think I am pretty nearly ready for check rides so my career in the Air Corps will be determined pretty soon.  I feel sure that the next 40 hours will put me over the hump.  They are getting rid of men in Basic pretty fast and when they get to advance they are too valuable to wash out for no consequence.  I am sorry to hear that Fred B. was washed but that is just one of those things.  

We have the floor to clean now so I will close.

With love

Austin

April 19, 1944

April 19, 1944

Dear Mother:

We have a day off and I am writing letters rather than sleeping because I can't sleep nights if I sleep days.  Kay Kyser is here giving his show to the civilian personal and so everything is in a stand still.  It's not too good a day to fly anyway.

I wish you had written about Grandpa's birthday sooner because I would like to have sent him a card. How ever I sent him a letter a short time ago so I guess he won't think is forgotten.  I guess 95 years is a long time.

Calif. weather is not much to my liking.  It is much too cold in the morning and too much wind.  We also get a lot of dust and dirt.  Maybe that is the case anywhere near a desert but I wish the Chamber of Commerce wouldn't paint such beautiful pictures of this state.  Frankly I am very disappointed.  Everything is green here but they have to flood the place once a day to keep the bare spots from getting barer.  The wind is what really gets you.  It always blows and from aprox. the same direction. It varies in strength is often reach 30 miles an hour or more.  It doesn't bother flying but makes living on the ground rather miserable.

I didn't get the bracelet for Mary last weekend because I didn't realize what time it was until I was too late.  I hope she isn't too disappointed.  I will try next week.

I should think 48 hours a week is a lot for her to be working.  I don't see how she can sit all day and paint dials for instruments.  I would want to play with the instruments a little.  I guess if you paint a variety of them the work becomes more interesting.  I guess she is doing all right if she doesn't have any rejections.  Still it must be pretty difficult work.

I guess your family does hold down quite a variety of jobs.  I guess if we get together again some time we can teach everyone something and learn a lot.  I guess you can learn a lot by just listening to what goes on.  Boy would I like to get home and into a good argument.

I guess Daddy likes his leisure time.  It sure would be wonderful for me if I had a lot of time to kill but do something while I was killing time.  Real Estate looks to me like working while you rest.  (Maybe Pop won't like that last comment).

B29

I will try to find you a picture of a B29.  They are scarce yet but a few pictures do show up in a few Army Publications.  If I find one I will send it along.  Really all it is is a very big B17 with more turrets and blisters and a Davis wing.  When it gets on the ground you would be surprised at its size.

P39

P63

You know we are stationed out here where the testing for all the new airplanes is carried on.  If you read a very interesting article in "Collins" about Jet Propulsion you will see Mojave and Muroc mentioned.  Well these planes are very close in fact I could fly over these planes most any day and at least can see them every time we go up.  I have never seen any of these so called "Blow Jobs" but many of the fellows who have wider eyes than mine have seen them.  The article mentions one that resembles a P39 or the P63 but the one they have seen looks like a F4U Corsair and the engines are placed in the wing below the grill part of the wing.  These planes can go straight up until they are out of sight and leave only a ver small streak of smoke behind.  They can go 800 miles an hour if pushed hard enough and have made an all time record over a run from Niagara Falls to Washington which few civilians now know.  Around here they expect they is be in the war by 1945.  Not too long.

F4u Corsair

Things are pretty mixed up in the A.C. now.  No one knows what the other is doing.  The fellows that are being hit hard are the ones who are in Santa Ana and further back.  They have shipped about 10,000 cadets back to their old outfits.  Only the boys who come directly in are still left and they have very little chance to get through for a long time.  I guess they are not sending pilots to the infantry yet but no one knows what will happen next.  I guess things will work out.

I am glad you heard from Beloit.  I don't think I would ever want to go back there however Mary might like it.  I think you are getting my bonds all right.  You should get another in a month or so.  I guess more have been lost.

I have saved some money to come home on if I ever need it.  I hate to keep it here but I never send it when I intend to.  I have almost sent it home in the form of Bonds a dozen times.  I think next payday you will get a rather large money order.

The box you are collecting will be very welcome.  I never thanked you for the gum in the last one.  I be you think I didn't find it.  Well I did.

Love

Austin

  

April 10, 1944

War Eagle Field

Lancaster

April 10, 1944

Austin and Martin E. Roth of Tennessee

Dear Mother:

I got your last letter today that was post marked April 5.  It took 5 days to get here and I guess that is pretty good time.  You mentioned that I had neglected to write for some time and I guess that is the case. So I will reform.

Easter has come and past.  As we had to depend upon our own wits for our transportation I was on the way back Sunday when I should have been in church.  Transportation is rather difficult if you don't have anything scheduled.  We just stood by the side of the road and looked eager and we made very good time.  We came about 80 miles in 2 1/2 hours.  Part of the way was on a bus to San Fernando.  We rode all through the big Lockheed Vega plant on that bus.  We were not in a special hurry so we could enjoy looking at the camouflage and the B17's, P38s, C54's and C47's parked around.  We came the last 46 miles in a Ford with a sailor and we did that stretch in less than an hour.  We clocked him because he didn't have a speedometer and he was going about 55 m/h up and down those hills.  There are really hills too because the tops of some still have snow on them.

I suppose you wonder what I was doing to L.A.  Well I wished all the time that I had enough sense to stay at Lancaster where I belonged.  I went to a few movies and worried all through them.  Next time I will stay here and get sack time like I should.

I guess you have seen in Mary's letter that I thought that plane you see is a B29.  It could very easy be that they are training B29 crew all up and down the East Coast as the next move for them is over to Europe.  It seems to me that they will go over just before the invasion because their surprise will give them a terrific advantage which will help in what they are assigned.  If they go all of a sudden you can guess where they are off for.

They are getting very strict around here now.  The last class, 44F, lost about 50 men in one week for military reasons and flying ability.  That means that they are not so sorry to let go of men who are not quite up to standard.  They are just making it harder to get through.  After they have spent $10,000 on you like they have us they care about washing you out but if you are not behaving or don't care about flying any longer they no longer hesitate about washing you.

I really feel sorry for fellows in Ralph's boats because their Air Crew training is much more uncertain than mine.  All through the line now they are lengthening the course so that at present rate fellows just going in will have a two year training.  That is an awful long time to go to get a pair of wings.  They can be sure of never seeing the war.  That may be a good thing even so.

I got the box Saturday and was very surprised in what I found.  The fudge was swell and made quite a hit.  The sewing kit was what I have needed for a long time.  I have a few odds and ends I have collected and so it is very complete.  Thank you so much for seeing that I am so well cared for.  You would be surprised at how little these fellows get from home in the way of needed goods.  I am really well taken care of.  Must close to go to the flight line.

With love

Austin

April 7, 1944

War Eagle Field

Lancaster

April 7, 1944

Dear Mary:

Please pardon the pencil but I have had trouble with my pen leaking when I fly so I have given up carrying it. When I get up to 10,000' it must leak because on such days my pocket always has a new ink spot on it. 

I went to L.A. last week and got you a couple of my pieces for your bracelet.  They don't mean anything special as far as I know.  Maybe I have duplicated some of the others but I guess it won't be too noticeable, however I hope I haven't.  I guess you can get William to put them on the chain.  I guess the bracelet was rather bare but should be something to look at when you get a few more.  The little airplane is a replica of what I would like to fly but probably won't.  You can guess what it is.

There isn't much going on here except the flying.  That is coming along all right I guess.  They are beginning to put the old squeeze play on us the way they are through out the whole A.C.  They have washed out about 20% of the upper class in the last 4 days.  Right now they are more interested in getting officers rather than flyers because they can make a flyer out of most anyone but officers can be made only by personal effort.  We are going to be on the ball if we get through.

War Eagle Field is going to be closed by the Army after next class so all the instructors are tying to get into the Air Transport Command.  Our instructor was lucky and got in right away as so is leaving us right away.  He was a swell egg and even though he made you feel miserable most of the time he was teaching us to fly which is the important part of the training to me.  Well we are sorry to see him leave but he was getting himself a commission flying rather than being drafted in a couple of months. (Just had supper)

I must tell you what we had for supper.  I guess some plane crashed into a den of rabbits because we had them tonight and they tasted real good.  I guess Mother knows how they taste but maybe you have never had any.  They taste a lot like chicken and have a lot of white meat on them.  The ones we had were very tender but I guess they could be as tough as old hen.  (By the way this is Saturday now and I have just come in from a practice parade and my hands are so cold I can hardly write.)

Have I written that Kay Kyser is going to make his appearance here on the 19th of this month.  He is going to do his radio program and remain as long as he can furnish fun for the fellows.  I guess the show will be in a big hanger because it is the only place that all the cadets can be assembled.  I guess everyone should hear the broadcast.  You know that there is a chance I could get on it and that would be something.

Kay Kyser and his orchestra

There is going to be a big parade here today for the graduating class. They have all their flying time in (70 hours) and will leave here in about 10 days.  Some are going to get 3 day passes this weekend and some may get longer ones because 10 days is a lot of time especially when there are no scheduled formations.

A message just came over the speaker system saying that there are no busses going to L.A. this weekend.  That means that 600 or more cadets are stranded here on the "Mojave" 4 miles from Lancaster and 80 miles from the bright lights.  I am a lucky exception.  I have a ride in a '39' Dodge convertible.  I can get down but how will I get back.

'39 Dodge D11 Graber

This letter must be getting very boring but I can't find your last letter to find out something to tell you.

Oh yes.  Tell Mother that the plane she sees flying around is probably a B29; that is what I gather from her description.  The B29 looks an awful lot like the B17 only it has a longer nose and longer stinger in the rear and a wing that looks like a B24.  The plane could be a British "Sterling" but I doubt if they have any of them around.  However B29's are going overseas soon so they may be getting transition training on the East Coast.

Well I must close now.

With love

Austin 

April 4, 1944

War Eagle Field

Lancaster, Calif.

April, 4, 1944

Dear A.P.

I have received a couple of letters from you lately and have just got around to answering them.  I hope I get this one finished tonight.  I guess I should be studying but I can't study with these fellows making all the noise they are.  They are repairing a radio or what was a radio and you can imagine what is happening.

We had a little speech the other day from our Sqn Flight commander.  Sqn 15 is going to be inactivated, after we leave.  The reason seems to be that the school is no longer needed to train pilots. They are now training the replacements for the replacements and because losses are not nearly as high as anticipated the training program is being cut down.  He also said that it is more than likely that unless we pull a lot of strings or are very lucky we will never leave the good old U.S.A.  We will become members of the Air Transport command and remain in the U.S.

I suppose this is good news to everyone but it brings to mind the fact that I might not see much more of the world.  It also makes me think that I may get a chance to go back to school.  In a way that will be good but I hate to think that I will not be able to fly.  I am getting to like BTs and I can hardly see myself flying anything smaller.

How will I ever be able to settle down to an accounting problem again?  Those things used to be a constant dread to me, ask Esther if you think I am fooling.  I can just see myself poring over the books in the wee hours of the morning.  The Army may be tough but it has something that appeals.  

I know how much you want to learn code but please don't write a letter in code!  You see I hardly have time to read my mail now and code takes a long time to decipher.  It is also a lot of work and I kind of lose a lot of pleasure from the job.  You see we are getting code at 10 words/min now and I don't need the practice.  I don't think visual code practice helps me in what I am doing.

I get a heck of a kick out of our radio course.  They make a very interesting course out of something that could be bad.  I am learning a lot about radio that I could never learn before.  It is getting very interesting.  In fact I am getting some good radio books and am going into the thing a little further.  You see if I learn a lot and remember the code I have learned I could even get an amateur license after the war.  I could fly a plane with a radio.  That would be what I would want.

I am writing this letter form my bed so the writing must be very poor.  The table is covered with radios and I can't write there.

Sqn 15 has a pretty good record now.  It has had no accidents in 4337 hours.  That means that no accidents of any type have happened.  If you drag a wing or taxi into a plane or scratch a plane in anyway that is an accident and you have to start all over again.  I think we have the best record now on the base.

Last Saturday we went to L.A.  I stayed in the Hotel Clark.  Boy what a bed I had.  It felt like feather or a cloud spring.  I thought I would fall through before I hit the bottom.  There isn't much to do in town except go to movies.  I saw a triple feature of horror stories "The Corpse Walks", "Dead Men Tell" and another.  I slept well however.  Each weekend costs an average of 7 or 8 dollars.  3 dollar bus tickets $2 for a room and $1 for a meal and $1 or more for accessories.  Often you see how you can spend a lot more.  If you want to send anything home you spend a more costly week.  The overhead on a job like this is well paid for but the entertainment is what runs up the bills.  You can't live on the flying but you have to get some relaxation somehow.  During the day tension is always building up.  Unless you have a relief valve of some kind something is bound to go.  You don't just blow up but you don't give a darn and that leads to tours and tours lead to more tension and that leads to getting in trouble such as going AWOL or talking back to the wrong people which all leads to a washout.  I guess the first battle is getting along with people.

I guess what I wrote about going back to school isn't as bad as it seems.  The only trouble is that right now all I want is a month to sleep until I wake up of my own accords and not by a whistle or a bugle or some san Commanders raspy voice.  I have a rather tired feeling now.  I also have a year for adventure and a lot of excitement.  How can I slow down to an everyday prewar 35 m/h when I now drive and zoom at a mere 200?

Well it is time for taps.

With love

Austin