June 27, 1944

Luke Field

Phoenix, Ariz

June 27

Dear Mother:

I got your last letter last Saturday and here it is upper classman's graduation day so we have time to spare.  I can think of nothing better than to write because I am thinking of home again.  Of late especially since those pictures came home has been on my mind.  Maybe I am getting homesick??

I get quite a kick out of the pictures.  Someone got a hold of that one 10 years old and got a kick out of me.  I think I shall return it because it is valuable.  I noticed that you are still wearing the same clothes you wore a year ago.  How about spending some of my money on yourself and get your picture taken so I can see what you look like in something new.  I wish you would take some of the money because it means very little to me.

I have a chance to go out today if I want but instead I shall stay on the post and go swimming and try to improve on my tan.  I am getting a swell brown in fact I think I look a little black.  Is there any black blood in the family?  You can get a sun burn around here in 1/2 an hour.  Of course I don't sun bathe all the time but try to do underwater acrobatics.  Sunday I banged my head on the bottom and it made my head ache.  Maybe I should take better care of it.

(I have just come back from supper)

I left this letter about 8 hours ago and have been swimming and to the library.  I haven't done much except get more tanned and read some of the book "The Strange Woman".  It doesn't seem to be much of a story and is much too big for me to read.  I have got a headache as it is.  

{ed note: The book was made into a movie in 1946 and can be seen in full, online}

I haven't told you much about chow lately.  I haven't eaten a piece of bread for over 5 weeks now.  We have so much more to eat.  We get all the vegetables we can eat.  We also get a lot more fruit.  Oranges and grapefruit are very plentiful.  We are still getting multiple desserts and cake for breakfast.  I think I eat too much.

I put a penny in a scale the other day and weighed 186.  I guess with flying clothes and a parachute I must run pretty close to the 200 lb crew weight in these planes.  I must lose a lot of weight during the day because it is so hot.  You don't sweat because it is too dry.

I am still thinking of coming home but I hardly think I'll have a good chance.  I know you would like to come out but you should consider everything before you come.  you know that T.W.A advertisement looked pretty good.  However I might find a B24 and crew heading the right way if I am lucky.  I must get ready for bed. Tomorrow is a big day.

With love

Austin

June 26, 1944

Luke Field

Phoenix, Ariz

June 26, 1944

Dear Bill:

I was more than glad to hear from you yesterday (Sunday).  I hadn't given up hope but I thought maybe you had a lot on your mind.  Mother has promised you would write so I half expected to get that letter.

I thought I had written I am flying an AT6 which looks like a BT 13 but performs a lot different.  The BT you saw in "A Guy Named Joe" was either a BT 9 or 13, I don't know which.  They are both very similar.  The AT has retractable landing gear and a much smaller tail assembly making it much more maneuverable at high speed and easier to handle.  Of course it is the most sensitive plane I have been in yet.  Your rudders and stick control are easily coordinated so not much thinking is needed to fly it.

A Guy Named Joe - Trailer with Spencer Tracy

It will cruise at an indicated air speed of about 145 at 5000' but can be made to go straight and level  175 with everything fire walled and hellbent.  It also uses a gallon of gas a minute at such speed.  It carried about 110 gals and can stay in the air 6 hours if the mixture is leaned way out and the prop spent in full high RPM and manifold pressure about 23".  At that setting you get about 120 mph indicated at 9000'.  You can see that its range can be about 1 hour and 50 minutes long or apron 6 hours long.  Of course the difference in air speed makes some difference.

This ship can do most any kind of aerobatics maneuver thought of.  It has speed restrictions and other than inverted spins it has no other than the speed restrictions.  It is red lined at 240 but can withstand 300 easily.  It is very sturdy because today I dove it to 200 and hauled back on the stick and put 6 1/2 g's and the meters.  You are supposed to "Black out" at 4 g's but you won't if you know how to handle them.

I can't say much about the radio because I don't know much about it.  It is a command set and standard army equipment.  Of course it uses crystal tuning in connection with coils.  The receiver is quite easy to tune to any station but this transmitter is really a baby.  I doubt if I could tune the radio and keep it on st. and level.  When you want to transmit on anything but a preflight frequency you have a headache.

Some ships have two radios in them so that you can hear 2 stations at once.  So! we listen to "Max Perkins" "Kate Smith" et al while listening to the tower.  The purpose of the radio is to get a radio fix by the intersection of two radio beams.  I have never heard of it being done.

Well we have sweated out 5 weeks here and the upperclass graduates tomorrow.  Most of them are going to P39 school or instructor school.  We have 39 days to go and each one brings the day that much closer.  I now have 36 hours so I am half through now which is quite a feeling.  You know I will be through before I know it and then I may get home.  Its a swell feeling to know you will get home soon but the wings and bars don't mean as much as they did once.  I guess the reason is that just like anything when you can't have something it looks a lot better but when you have it in grasp it loses some of its luster.  I also don't feel old enough to take on the responsibility.  Maybe I will be a flight officer but I hope not.

I wish we had a plane when I got home so I could take everyone for a ride.  I like this low flying.  It sure is a lot of fun to see how close you can come to something and miss.  We haven't had any low flying yet but my instructor has flown up some of these washes out here.  Pretty soon we get a low cross country max alt 500' and the way some of the heat come up around here I guess I shall fly in the shade of the cactus most of the time; well maybe not that low.

We got a look at a lot of combat planes here.  we see 47's , 39's, 17's and 24's every day.  B25's come in for repair every so often and A24's and A25's come in frequently.  We often get visited by 3 Culva Cadets with tricycle landing gear.  They come in at about 110 mph and look just like 39's.  Those little buggers cruise at about 130 and are really a nice looking ship but much too small.  Civilian planes in general are not allowed on the field but these need a long smooth runway and we have the only one available.  For my money I will take a Luscombe.  Any Army plane will not be suitable for civilian flying because they are not safe for the general run of the mill of flyer.  They have to be flown out of a spin and do not come out by themselves.  Any C.A.A. plane comes out hands off in 1 1/2 turns.  The AT 6 falls like a brick.  You have a very high wing loading and therefore make recoveries difficult.

I got some more pictures the other day and the only comments were that I had a nice looking sister; they mean the young one I guess.  You don't seem to change but Mary seems to be growing up.  Maybe work and w -ing people changes everyone.

Well I guess I could shoot you an old line but my social life is rather restricted.  I haven't left the post in 5 weeks.  What I saw of Phoenix didn't impress my particularly.  Say!  Tell Mary to get her gang on the ball and paint those dials straight.  I could do as well myself on some of the ones I see.

Give my love to Dot?

Austin

June 21, 1944

Luke Field

Phoenix, Ariz

June 21, 1944

Dear Mother:

Notice the new stationary!  I got it today and found out that is is airmail.  Well I guess I will have to send you the news in a hurry now.  I guess it won't be too bad if I send a few free because the envelopes are plain.

I think I will send a picture of a friend and me sitting on the wing of a BT.  He was my roommate at Basic and sleeps next to me here.  He comes from Tenn.  and is first rate.  I got quite a kick out of the pictures you send so I looked around and found this.  It was one of the few pictures taken of me in basic.  We couldn't keep cameras till near the end so not many pictures were taken.  (I must fall out for a pyrotechnic demonstration now.)

June 23

I have got to finish this letter so I am taking some spare time before dinner.  The fireworks were put on by the Chem Warfare Dept. and consisted of gas decontamination and protection and use and value of types incendiary bombs.  We lost 1 1/2 hours of valuable sleep so we're not as eager to go as if we had left the class room.

Yesterday Maj. Bong came and spoke to us.  He is a quiet sort of a fellow and seems awful bashful and shy.  I guess he is a much better fighter than speaker.  I doubt if he enjoys his present assignment. He has a lot of interest in fighting but tight as a clam.  I guess he is just modest about it all.  He said that the fighting in his theater of operation is safer than the flying.  He said that when flying a P38 against the Japs no American lives should be lost if you make them fight our way.  Only when you try to maneuver with them do we get shot down (noon chow!)

Major Bong, Ace of the Pacific

This is one of those piece meal letters.  I have about time to finish now.  I flew 3 hours this afternoon and had a lot of fun.  We had a "rat race" which you probably know nothing about.  We went up for formation but when the instructor gets tired of flying straight and level we get the signal to "peel off" and into a "rat race" we go.  It is just a race to stay on the instructor's tail and shoot him down if possible.  It is a series of steep turns and screaming dives and climbs.  It is just one black out after another.  You lose all vision in a block out but not sensibility at least in the ones we get into.  I guess we only gray out because we don't lose consciousness.  Even so you lose all vision.  It turns into just one mad race all over the sky.  We lost altitude from 10,000' to 5500' in ours.  Often they go lower but too little altitude is rather dangerous.  All kinds of maneuvers are done just so long as you can stay on the instructors tail and that is hard because they can really fly.  You can bet we ring these planes out if we can.  you can bet it is fun.  You get wonder head aches also.

Well ground school is going as usual.  We get a lot of interesting facts and figures which will some day help us out of jams.  We are learning all we can about planes now so that later we won't be caught short.  I am again taking code both auditory and visual.  We have to pass a 6 word check to get out but I passed that on the first day.  We have to get 5 words visual and passed that also but that is a heck of a lot harder.  About 80% of the class didn't pass.  I may have to go to class nights even so.  We also get navigation, Aircraft and Naval Recognition, two engine courses, First Aid, oxygen and oxygen equipments, gunnery of all kinds figuring leads and deflection shooting as well as gun maintenance.  I guess we have everything but a course of weather.  It is very interesting.

Yesterday we practiced for the upper classmen's graduation.  They sure are lucky.  I guess it will be our turn next.  I have a friend from C.T.D. graduating.  He sure is a swell fellow and deserves to get through.  By the way, you never can tell  I might not become a Lt. but a Flt officer like Terry Lee.  I hope not.

Well I must close now.  I am getting pretty tired.  Tomorrow is Sat.  I am getting an Arizona suntan.

With love

Austin

June 19, 1944

Luke Field

June 19, 1944

Dear A.P.

I hope I can write a letter on these two sheets of paper because it is all I have now and can get no more till tomorrow.

First let me say "Happy Birthday".  I hope this letter comes somewhere on time.  I don't think I know for sure how old you are but I guess it is close to 60 years.  That seems to me to be a long way.  I guess you said in your last letter that you were close to 60 so I guess I am right.  I can hardly imagine you as that old because I used to get the idea that after 60 you retired and looked old and brittle but I guess you kind of pushed through.  I guess you are going to keep right on just as your father has.  Well Congratulations and best wishes for next year.

I'm sorry I can't get a card to send but this will have to take the place.  I don't leave the past weekends because I have nothing special to take me away.  I go to the swimming pool and get a good tan and drink Root Beer all afternoon.  I also see 2 movies so my weekends are very enjoyable.  I am also saving a lot more money which I may use later.

Mother wrote and sent along some pictures.  I guess you know what I am talking about.  I got quite a kick out of them.  Everyone looks just as they did a year ago.  If you have any more taken please send them along.

I am glad you are getting so much fun out of Real Estate.  I doubt that you could interest me right now but maybe after I get home again.  You have got to work hard so we can have a plane when I get home.  By the way what kind of a radio license did you get and just what can you use it for? Please write something about it in your next letter.

Of course you know we use radio every day and it doesn't mean much to me.  I guess your radio deal is a lot different from mine.  I probably couldn't get a license to talk over it.

I have finished my instruments and got a instrument certificate saying I can fly in instrument weather and make take offs in weather with 500' ceiling and 1 mi visibility.  It means I can fly an kind of a plane in the "soup".   I call it quite a victory.  Right now I am back trying to learn to land the AT6 right and do other basic maneuvers.  I like my instructor very much and get along pretty well with him.

Yes, I got my watch all right.  Thank you very much.  I hate to say anything that might worry people but I had the watch only 2 days and lost the crystal out of it.  It had to go to the PX to get a new one.  It also lost 10 min that day so I don't know if it was due to the lost crystal or the watch.  I will see pretty soon.  I guess it is all right.  I almost feel like getting a cheap shock water proof watch for flying.  However I will see how this one stands the strain.

Mother wrote the other day and sent a clipping advertising T.W.A. 

(This is borrowed paper)

Well she has a very good idea and the expense doesn't bother me but I would hate to get grounded in Kansas City on the way back and have 12 hours to get to my next post.  It would be swell to come home but I would be foolish to try to come home in 10 days.  I might show up.

Flying is coming along all right I guess.  I am no hot pilot yet but I guess I still have an even chance of getting those silver wings.  Just think I have spent a year of hard work to get something everyone strives or wishes they could strive.  More fellows my age would like to be in my shoes.  I can see wha they want but I doubt if they can imagine the work it was and still is.  I have about 8 weeks to go and still have hopes.  A lot of fellows have given up and are now dropping out.  They all seem so tired that after the first E ride they give up.  After they are definitely out they seem to again come to live.  It seems that way with everyone.  Everyone is almost worn out.  Everyone is tired, all need a vacation but has 8 more weeks to go.  They have washed out 3 of our flight.  I hope they get no more.  They are bout to get another because he washed out a plane today.  Well it seems to be the breaks I guess.

I must close now.  Let me say Happy Birthday again and many happy returns.

With love

Austin

My address is just as you find it on the envelope.

June 13, 1944

Luke Field

Arizona

June 13, 1944

Dear Mother:

As long as I have nothing pressing at present I will answer your letter of the 9th.

Since you seem to be full of questions I guess I can answer them, while I still have your letter before me.  School papers etc.  Well I have no idea what I could use them for in the future except show them to my grandchildren.  You can throw away anything that doesn't look too much like a lot of work such as chem papers and mechanical drawing papers etc.  I have forgotten most everything else anyway so they do me very little good.  Shoes I guess you can dispose of them the best way possible. I doubt if I will need any more civilian shoes for the duration plus!  The same goes for the clothes.  I may wish I had them after a while but it will be a lot more fun buying a new outfit.  I'll bet the girls wish they had prospects of starting out with a brand new outfit some day.  It sure would be fun buying all new clothes once.

Yes let Esther take the money and buy a Bond.  That seems to be the best place for it.  After next pay day I may send home another hundred.  Since I don't leave the post on weekends it sure piles up.

So you're not going to get attached to that dog, huh!  Well maybe that's what you thought last week.

No a furlough does not have to good a chance here.  As soon as we graduate we are put on active duty and our only chance for a little time off is a delay in route.  That is usually 10 days and unless I have good connections on planes I would spend too much time traveling. If I flew I could get home in 28 hours.  That would be swell.  Otherwise I will get a better look at this west.

We are scheduled to finish 4 Aug 44.  That is the exact day and the hour is approx 11:00.  How do you like that?  

Now the plane I will fly.  As I have said we may get a chance at the P-40's here but that chance seems slim now.  P40's are training ships for P51's now and we are in the wrong area to get 51's easily.  What we will get is the P39 and later the P61 a brand new fighter.  They have a rumor around that we might get P47's but I haven't seen any yet.  All this training comes after graduation. After graduating I may go to "Gila Bend" a gunnery school before I get my tactical ship.  It makes little difference as long as I get through.  Yes I have a lot of time to put in yet before I am even anywhere near a tactical pilot.  I have gotten as far from bomber planes as is possible.  I am strictly a single engine man now.

I like your illustrations very much.  You should have followed up the art work.  You missed your calling.

A feather merchant.  Well they are civilians in general who should be in the army instead of hiding behind the dodge that they are doing vital work for the army.  We get kind of tired of seeing them getting all the privileges of officers and special people and yet enjoying so many more things we can't.  I may not be too clear but to me they seem to be enjoying this war too much.

I finally got through that letter, what do you know.  Well keep up the questions, you may get more letters.  

Skeet shooting in Tyndall Field, FL

Yesterday I had some real fun.  We went to the skeet range on the other side of the field.  We shoot 12 gauge shotguns at clay birds.  It teaches deflection shooting which is so important in good combat shooting.  We get all the shells and birds we can shoot in 7 hours.  We are supposed to get 500 shots but will get 1000 to 1500.  You can bet there are a lot of men at home who would like to get a hold of that many.  They had one gun mounted on an ariel machine gun stand in all the same set up .  We used the same 70 mil. sight which is used on a plane.  You lead the bird one ring in the sight and let fly and poof!! goes the bird.  It looks like this  The sight is a ring of white light on a transparent green background.  It is a lot like shooting the planes in the penny arcade. I got about 20 hits out of 25 and felt kind of proud.  It sure is good to see that old bird explode when you hit it.  You should see the mess of broken birds after we finished.  I sure do get a chance to do a lot of things I never thought I could do as a civilian.  For the 1st time of shooting a shot gun I think I did as well as any of the fellows who have had experience.

Not much happens here.  Everything goes on pretty much as usual.  A P40 came in the other day with his wheels up and landed on his belly tank and caught fire.  They had a lot of smoke and flame and a lot of damage but no one was hurt.  We wear shoulder harnesses now to protect us from sudden stops.

Keep writing about what is going on.  The Independent doesn't quite cover everything.  Please tell Dad what my right address is.  None of his have been held up yet as far as I know.

With love

Austin.

June 11, 1944

June 11, 1944

Luke Field

Dear Mother:

Here it is Sunday again and my weekly letter home.  I hardly have time for any more.

Sunday is our day of rest.  It is really the only break in routine we get. I have just returned from a movie at one of the post theaters.  I saw "Going My Way" with "Bing" Crosby.  I enjoyed the picture very much even though I thought I would not like it.  Maybe you have not heard of it much less seen it.  Seeing you have all kinds of spare time I think you should see it.  I will recommend it to you.  Maybe William could take "Dot".

"Swinging on a Star", the most well known song from "Going My Way".

Well not much is going on now.  I have soloed out and am in the instrument department again.  They are trying to teach me beam flying and not making a lot of headway at least I don't think so.  I have to get in 12 hours and have about 7 to go.  I will be done next week I hope.  Since I have been on the beam I have heard a continuous ringing in my ears.  They say that that is the case with all inexperienced beam flyers.  You are coming in on the beam for the next 3 days.  It is because the volume is too high.

Flying the beam

Well as always I am just worrying through the course from one phase to the next.  The next thing is check rides.  Why could I not have found something which be easier on the nerves.  I sure will need a vacation when this is over with.  I guess the next two months will be the longest.

So you had a spell of hot weather and now it is dry.  Well not to boast or anything but I haven't  seen any rain for a couple of months and have seen the thermometer at 129 degrees F here in the shade of a wing.  I went up one day when the free air temp gage in the plane indicated 40 degrees C which in F. scale indicates I don't know what; you figure it out.

I haven't been to Phoenix since that first day we were here.  It is too much bother to go.  We have everything right here on the post I need.  I can get some rest if I stay home and not bang around half the night.  It saves wear and tear on the nerves and the good humor.

Last week I was C.Q. one night.  I went on duty at 2115 and got off the next day at 0615 which gave me no sleep for 24 hours.  I then got about 6 hours of sleep and then went to the flight line.  Strangely enough tI was much more rested than if I had had a good nights sleep.  The PFC who put me on comes from Medford so we had quite a chat.  He had been home last month.  He knew William but William probably doesn't know him.  They went to Boy Scout Camp together.  His name is Berg.  I don't know what his first name is.  He says that he will ge me a pass some night and show me around.  He has been out here 21 months and knows his way around.

So Dada got a radio license.  Well I don't quite see what it can be used for but I guess if he and William keep up their efforts they may be able to renew it after the war.  I think he will have to have more experience if he expects to renew it on prewar standards.  I doubt if I could get one myself.  My code is dropping off so that 8 words is getting very difficult.  I doubt if a plane radio license is as hard to get.

So you have a puppy.  Well I guess it is about time something like that happened.  As for you not getting attached to it I can just imagine that.  Not the way you write.  By the way how does the other animal get along with a stranger.  He must feel kind of left out.  What's the dog going to think of me?

Even though you think you must give the paper a story don't give me too much of a build up.  I am just thinking of what would happen if I didn't make it.  I wish I had a better picture taken but I guess if I get those wings I can have a good one taken.  I kind of wish those pictures were better.  Maybe you should give a picture to Fred Lawson I mean that small print made.  I'll not need any money too soon so put all my money into bonds and save enough to pay my expenses.  I received my watch the other day.  It sure was a quick job.  If you see my Bellows thank him for me.  I have been thinking of buying another watch to fly with because of the banging around it gets.

Well I am going to supper now.

With love

Austin.

June 6, 1944 D-Day

70 years ago, Allied forces landed on the beach of Normandy and changed the tide of the war decisively.  Grandpa never mentioned it, but his mother sent a news clipping from a Boston newspaper a few days later that I'd like to share with you.  It was touching to me and offers first hand, immediate reaction to the news of the efforts and losses of so many men on that day.

June 4, 1944

Luke Field

Arizona

June 4, 1944

Dear Mother:

I really have the best intentions in writing but as in every other place time is short here.  We start about 7:30 in the morning and finish about 8:10 in the evening.  In between that time we fly and have school and all our meals.  After that time we have time to our selves.  As it is now we are preparing questionnaires so I can solo tomorrow.

Last week has been rather uneventful.  I haven't yet received any letters directly from town but I guess I should get one or two tomorrow.  (I can't find a good position to write in)

Saturday I went to the dentist and got my teeth fixed good and proper.  He filled 8 little holes in my head.  He had quite a time but said when he was finished I was done.  I sat in the chair for more than 2 hours and you can bet I felt done before he was.  The dentist ruined my Saturday schedule and made it impossible for me to solo.  Well tomorrow I will get off the ground in a hurry and solo and then go up and see what I can make this AT 6 do.

AT-6 Trainer

The AT6 is one of the best training planes in the Army.  It handles like a dream.  You don't have to move the controls you just think about 'em and they move by themselves.  You can fly by using pressures and don't have to make any noticeable movements.  It has retractable wheels and hydraulic flaps.  It has all kinds of safety devices to keep you from fouling up the works.  However it is a fighter pilots ship and much too hot for a bomber pilot.  It must be the easiest ship to ground loop in the Army so if I keep away from ground loops I will get through all right.  I have just go to get through.

I can just see that this phase of training is going to be the one to "sweat out" but be the most interesting one yet.  It is all in the plane.  It really is a wonder.  You can train it to fly straight and level and level and then you can fly it at any speed you want and not break an arm trying to control it like you did in that old B.T.  May the Lord help me if I have to become an instructor on BTs.  You can do everything with this ship you can do with a tactical ship. Spins near the ground are dangerous but with plenty of altitude you can do anything.  You can even do slow rolls going straight up.  When I get a little more familiar with it I am going to have some real fun.  "Rat racing" is in order here so we are really going to have fun.

This post is a regular GI post but has quite a number of "feather merchants" working in the hangers on maintenance.  Also they have WAC's but we hardly see any of them.  They have quite a lot of military discipline but it hadn't bothered too much yet.  The food is about the best you can get anywhere.  We really live off the fat of the land.  The only trouble is that the fellows waste more now.  I must admit I waste more myself than if I were starving.  We get pie and ice cream or cake for dinner or supper every day.

Would I like to get home!  I still don't see much chance for  quite some time.  We have heard that 1/3 of the class will get a 10 day leave when we graduate but 10 days will do me no good unless I could fly both ways and plane reservations are hard to get.  Well maybe the rumors don't mean anything.  They also say we will fly P47's or P39's before we get through.  

Well I have got to write to my old primary instructor so....

With love

Austin