June 26, 1945

San Marcos Field

June 26, 1945

Dear Mother:

I have had several letters from Stoneham in the last few days so I will write one for a change.

This is the last of the paper for at least of the envelopes.  It has lasted quite a while.  If you remember I bought it up in Lincoln right near the end of our stay there.  I guess it has lasted longer than any paper I have had.  Maybe I haven't written enough but really it was quite a lot of paper.

I got the clipping last week that came out of Press and everyone got quite a kick out of it.  I will keep it until I get home and then whoever can get his or her hands on it can have it.  That is the first time I have ever seen that particular pose.  I think it is the better of the two.  Anyway the boys thought it was good.

Samput got himself a girl in Austin and so I went on a blind date last Friday night.  She was one of these college girls who goes to a co-educational school to study campusology and for the social contacts.  We had a lot of fun dancing but she didn't act the age she was trying to make out to be.  She wished she were 21 but was only 17.  Tell Mary I am a little disgusted with the 17 year olds also.  It's not that we didn't have fun but that she was trying to impress me with what she knew and talking about all her dates and such stuff.  She had a date Saturday so I don't feel that I have to see her again even though I probably will because Samput wants me to go on a date with  him to Dallas next week when they both will be there.

Saturday was a quiet day with nothing special to do except entertain ourselves.  We went to Austin early and went from one air conditioned theater to the next in an attempt to keep cool.  There wasn't much doing in town so it was a rather weary day.

Sunday I went out to Bergstrom Field, near Austin, which is a troop carrier air base.  They have C46s out there and I went to eat dinner and look around.  I finally wandered down to the flight line and looked over the C46's.  They are one of the largest ships I have ever been in.  They are cargo and troop carrier planes but are often used to tow gliders.  They have enough room in them to transport 44 men with full equipment or 10 tons of supplies.  They can put whole airplanes in them if they find the need.  When I got back to town a young lady stopped me to buy a War Bond but instead she got a date.  She and another girl and sold $4,000 worth of bonds.  They took another fellow and I home and cooked us a meal and topped it off with a peach pie.  We had quite a lot of fun getting the meal which we finally ate at about 11:00 PM.  We all had to be up early Monday so had to leave early.

I started this letter last night but didn't have the energy of finish it.  It is so hot around here I just spend about all the time I can resting or trying to keep cool.  If I had a job to do I am sure I could muster enough strength to do something but as it is I have just about enough energy to get up in the morning .  As Ernie Pyle said, when you have anything to do and it is hot the Air Corp makes a lazy man of you.  We have so little on our mind I doubt if I could ever take a job again. 

Ernie Pyle, war correspondent

Most every day I go swimming at a place called Rio Vista Park in town.  They have a fairly good pool and the water is very clean.  It is spring water and cool.  One of the fellows has a pair of swim fins to put on your feet which are a lot of fun to play with.  You can paddle your feet and not have to use your arms.  However when you use your arms you can really move.  You can do all sorts of things with those fins.  I think I will buy a pair even though they cost $9.00.  I think I can have 9 dollars worth of fun with them.

I have some good news.  I am coming home on leave on the 6th July.  I am going to leave here on the 6th and drive with a buddy as far as possible.  We may get only as far as Dallas or Okla. City but may get to Chicago.  From there I will have to take the train.  Therefore I should be home on the 8th.  That will give me 10 days at home I hope.  It all depends on how long it will take to travel.  Most of the the transportation in Texas is so bad that it could take a day to get out of the state and then 2 more days to get home.  I am hoping to et a ride on an airline but that is almost out of the question.  So you can make all the plans you want.  I only hope we can schedule a few days where I can feel some good cool sea breezes.  Hint, Hint.

Well we are supposed to fly that darn double breasted sparrow this afternoon.  It is going to be a very boring 4 hours which will get me nothing more than flying pay for this month.  Boy this sure is a heck of a life.  I am getting rather tired of it.

Well I have to get to go eat dinner now.  I am not hungry because it is too hot but if I don't eat I might not get home pretty soon.

With love

Austin