August 7, 1945

Aug. 7, 1945

Dear Mother:

Well here I am at the "West Point of the Air", in fact this is my second day here.  Yesterday we cleared on to the post and got processed but today we have had it relatively easy.

I guess you kind of wondered what happened to me last week.  Well it was a rather busy week with clearing the post and all but mostly we went to Austin every day and went flying.  I have been checked out in most of the light planes now so I can give anyone a ride on my commercial license now.

Friday I flew a PT 19 which is one of the planes the army has sold to civilian when they closed all of the primary schools.  It has been rebuilt and was in very good order.  My buddies "Skip" and I took it up for an hour and did acrobatics most of the time.  It sure was swell to get upside down after a year of straight and level.  We did loops, clover leafs, Cuban 8s, slow rolls, barrel rolls, and everything in the book.  It cost $16 an hour so it was rather expensive amusement!

Training video for Army Air Corps Acrobatics

Then I took Addie Mae for a ride in a Stinson 105 which wasn't so expensive but it all mounted up.  We did the same thing for 4 days in a row so you can see we lived like a couple of play boys.  Of course we laid down the law to the ladies and went to the movies afterwards and ate hamburgers instead of steaks.

This B29 sure looks like a lot of airplane to me.  Seeing we are to be the lowly co-pilot we don't have to worry about the responsibility of it but still it looks like a lot of work.  We are all kind of disgusted with the way they picked he first pilots.  Instead of picking them for 4 engine time as they suggest should be done we all have pilots who have 105 hours in 4 (2?) engines and all of them time in low horse-power training planes.  Most of our time is in 4 engine planes but we have to be their co-pilots.  They don't know much about 4 engine planes and that is all we know.  They will probably give me a bad time but I don't care.  If they think I am going to take the bums rust for them and they take it easy I am sure they have another think coming because none of us like the deal.

Randolph Field

Randolph Field was really a cadet heaven.  We are living in cadet barracks and they are just like modern hotel rooms, hot and cold running water in every room.  All the buildings are stone and built 3 stories high.  They also have houses for the permanent personnel right on the post.  They look like these modern homes that were built before the war, ultra modern.  They have green grass and trees everywhere.  Really it is a modern town and industrial center, with its schools and churches right near home.  The student officer's area looks like a huge college campus.  They have ivy on the walls with Evergreen's and palms around the buildings.  It is really beautiful.  In fact I am a little amazed at what I see.  It must have cost millions of dollars.

Tomorrow we start going to school.  We are scheduled for 6 hours a day in 3 hour shifts.  I am scheduled for a class in preventative maintenance, and what that will be I have no idea.  Probably it is an engineering class.  For the next 8 days we are scheduled for 6 hours a day plus ground school which will be quite a long day but not so bad I don't think.  However some classes start at 6 in the morning and end at 9 at night and I am bound to get some of the night classes.  However after we get going we will get every 4th day off and will get to go to town and see what San Antonio looks like.

I suppose you all have had a nice cool vacation up in Maine.  I am sure wish I were there to enjoy the water and sunshine with you.  It would have been nice to have all of us together again.

Well it is time to quit and write another letter.  Please inform eh papers of my change of address.  That will save a lot of trouble.  Notice I have a box number which is rather important.

With love
Austin