June 20, 1943

Jefferson Barracks

Missouri

Sunday June 20, 1943

Dear Mary;

We are having a pouring rain now.  It is just coming down in buckets and is running into all the gullies. It is following in under the door and is beginning to wet the floor and make it rather uncomfortable.  But it is a welcome change.  All day long it has been too hot to do anything and I have stayed in an slept or stayed in the shade.  I did a little washing and it was rather hot work and I cam back with my clothes rather swetty.  I went to look up my friend Dick Moir who got in last Thursday.  They had com in coaches and had sopped for six hours in Chicago.   I had seen them come in and had read the shipping orders with all their names on it but I had not noticed his.  if I had know he was hear before I would have gone and seen him.  All of his gang were very interested in that picture.  Thanks a lot for telling me of him and for sending that picture.

When I think of the poor people at home I feel sorry for you with all the rationing.  With the gas shortage you have to walk and the sugar rationing Mother has to worry about how she will come out at the end of a period.  We don't have any rationing at all out here.  The gas shortage don't bother me at all.  I walk everywhere I go and when I go to the main P.X. that is some walk.  We get all the sugar we want and I have gotten so that I leave sugar in the bottom of my coffee cup.  What a waste.  The meat we get may not be the best but who can pick when it tastes good and fills up the right spot.  We really have an easy life on Sundays.

I was glad to hear about the banquet and I am glad you had a good time.  Last year there were cars and gas for pleasure driving but this year you seemed to have a tough time to get around.  As you say Mr. Thibodeau stole the show from the rest of the teachers.  Last year he shared honors with Mr. Miller but he is gone.  The kids always have fun when "Thibby" is there.  He is really a good sport.  I supposed most of the after-dinner speeches were rather dry but that seems to be the case everywhere and every time.

I sure wish I was home to go to the "Pops" or the Esplanade concerts this summer.  As it is we have prospects of staying here 56 days but it probably won't be that long.  If it is I won't get home to go to any of the concerts at all.  Most likely I won't get home for quite some time yet.  Have they played the "Rhapsody in Blue" lately.  I heard it today on the radio and it made me rather wish I was hearing it in Stoneham rather than in Missouri.  It rather reminded me of William and his records.

We really got a good laugh today.  One of the fellows got a letter from his girl and she wrote, quote, "how many hours of flying have you had".  The nearest we get to planes is seeing one or two flying over every once in a while.  We really don't expect to see planes until the end of our college when we get the 10 hours of dual instructions.  That will be the day and will be something to write about.

Today I went to church.  It is really a little chapel that has been dedicated in the last week.  It was really a beautiful service and it made me homesick.  I guess that church is one of the things that I really miss.  I guess I got so used to church at home I will get homesick everytime.  This seems to be the only time of week I felt like I am missing something.

I am writing this by match light because the lights are out.

So!
With Love
Austin

Here's what's on the bottle of eye drops

187864            4.23.43
Drop two drops in eyes twice daily
Dr. Crosby

June 19, 1943

Jefferson Barracks

Missouri

June 19, 1943

Dear Mother;

How is everyone at home?  I hope that everything is going well.  I sure would like to go home for a day or two to see what is going on.  I am not very homesick because I don't get time to think about it but I would like to know how the garden is growing and especially how and who is mowing the lawn.  I think someone must be doing that job but who finds time besides you?

We are really going to work out hear (sic).  Heat or cold, rain or shine we get out at 5:15 and begin.  Today we really got the works.  We started the day by learning how to assemble to pitch tents.  As I am a squad leader a little of the resonsibility (sic) of such movements falls on me.  We have to give a few orders to the squad only and since there are 3 of them besides mine you can see I do not get much gratitude but a lot of criticism by people who think they can do a better job and in some cases probably could.  After we had done the movement several times the instructor gave up and we went to an hour lecture.  After the lecture we had an hour and a half of P.T. (physical training) and cross country.  After the 1 3/8 miles they decided we were ready for dinner.

Most of us felt too hot to eat dinner but most everyone did.  We had potatoes, meat, vegetables, ice tea, two slices of bread and butter, and desert (sic).  After a break of about 1/2 hour we started out again.

Picture from a Jefferson Barracks booklet found at http://www.b17tailgunner.com/, a website dedicated to a soldier who served just a few months before Austin and on at 2 of the same bases.

At 12:00 we headed for the lecture field, (a beautiful woods behind the huts) and had an hour of gas mask procedure with practice gas masks.  These masks are good for all gases but become saturated with gas in a short time and become unusable.  We use them for learning the procedure and for a short time in a gas chamber (which we get later).  You should see us when we all (50) get into the masks and light field helmets.  We look like Orson Well's "Men from Mars".  If you will send a camera I will send you a few shots of such things.

The camp is really a swell place but has too many hills on it.  This really makes it tough marching.

(I seem to be off the subject)

After gas procedure we had a couple of lectures and at 3:00 went for P.T. again.  The instructors are trying to build muscles in the arms and stomachs (The necks get developed in St. Louis) and to get a high degree of coordination in development of reflexes.  We therefore get a highly diversified bunch of exercises.  You really feel like going home to bed after that because they don't take it any too easy.

To top this off we ran for the first time the obstacle course.  It is just what you have seen in pictures and when you get through you don't feel like standing up.  You first run down a steep hill to several narrow planks, across them to 3 hurdles, 3', 4' and 5' high respectively, over them under a low platform, down a gully to the bottom and a steep wall. up the wall you go by the aid of ropes, run from that to a fence of logs piled about 11' high.  You crawl up that and jump down if you feel like it, from there to jump hurdles going uphill until you come to a wood fence 7 1/4' high you have to get over this any way you can.  I had very little trouble because I am tall, next is a series of pipes you have to crawl through, followed by a ladder over a very very muddy hole, you have to swing hand over hand over this (it don't pay to drop off) run up a very steep hill and you are done.  We ran it slow today but I was still ready to drop at the end.

Maybe you thought at one time or another that you would like to live in the nice warm tropics.  Well they may be alright to live in but terrible to work in.  When you get the heat we have had you still would like to live in the tropics but do nothing else harder than sip nice cool drinks and relax.  This is a killing climate to work in.  Everyone seeks shade at 1:00 and stay there as long as possible.  Today we had to sit one hour in the sun at the end of which time our uniforms were soaked through.  When you get P.T. after such a period you look like mud has been thrown at you.

Many of the fellows are taking it rather hard.  They were used to another easy life without too much hard work.  There were used to only the best food also.  Now they have trouble adjusting themselves.  Some continually complain and threaten what they will do if they get a chance.  Some just go off to the Service Club and pay 70 cents for a meal.  I find however that what ever they do they feel a lot better when they get back.  I guess there is a reason for letting the fellows gripe and groan.

I suppose you remember the letter that you forwarded to me with the Shrewsbury return address and wondered who I could have found out there.  Well don't get excited because the girl was one of the class, them that took the pictures out at Prof. Thompson's house. {ed. note - See the 3 pictures posted in the 2nd post} She was a swell kid and I was delighted when I got the letter.  It had several pictures of the gang and I am sending them to you.  You can look them over but I want them sent back.  I think you will be interested.

I hope you didn't miss the letter yesterday but I just had to thank the girl for those pictures and the letter.  I guess you understand.  Angela Fiorelli is the girls name and you will find her in the group. {The girl on the right in the second picture} The picture came out so good a letter was the least I could do to show my gratitude.

We are always looking for surprises out here in the form of packages with candy and cookies.  If you send anything, don't make it too good as I will get about 1/8 of it.

With love;

Austin

  

Jefferson Barracks

Missouri

June 19, 1943

Dear A.P. (Do you like that better than Pop??)

You put A.P on the end of your last letter so you will get that until further notice even though I like Pop better and I may forget.  

How's the potato business?  I should think that the farming is booming but the buying and selling about stopped.  This seems a little late to be still planting potatoes.  William told me a little about what you were doing and I wish I could be there.  I sure liked driving that tractor and I think potato planting could be fun when you can sit on that tractor and let the man behind do all the work.  That is really hardly the case it seems.  That tractor driving and the little hard work I did sure toughened up my hands.  Now they are peeling and all the hardness is leaving them.  We get no chance to use them.  If you read Mother's letter you can find out a little of what I am doing.  It is really tough and put muscles to work that have been sadly neglected.

How is the radio school coming?  Do you realize that I haven't a copy of the code out here and I have almost forgotten it?  Your better put that in the next mail.

Tell me something about the farming.  Tell me what's going on at home but especially make sure that a letter comes every day from someone.  You really miss mail and word from home when you get into such a different country and so far from home. Tell William to have patience and tell Mary I would like to hear from her.

One thing I didn't tell Mother was that yesterday we went on our first 5 mile hike.  We walked along the outside fence for quite a ways and I was surprised to see the difference in the country.  We also saw a pair of mules that Missouri are famous for.  There really is not much to a 5 mile hike taken in the way we took it.  We just walked a very slow pase (sic) along the sides of the road.  As it took us more than 3 hours you can see we did not hurry.  My feet did not hurt at all.

You ought to have a pair of shoes like I have.  They are the most comfortable thing you ever saw.  They are always a little large to give you plenty of room and although they don't look too hot and don't take a polish too easy I would rathe wear them than the Civis {Ciwis?} you wear.

Our whole issues is worth in bulk about $100 but piece by piece a lot more than that.  We have 2 pair of shoes, 6 pair of socks, 3 sets of light underwear, 1 set of heavy woolen, 2 tan uniforms, 1 dark brown, that looks like my old R.O.T.C. uniform, 1 heavy coat, 2 sets of work clothes, a shaving outfit, 3 towels, a rain coat, 4 hats of different shapes sizes and use, 1 gas mask, a flight jacket, and other stuff I can't think of. {ed note - For pictures and descriptions of the standard issue, see this website }The gas mask is quite a thing.  Send a camera and I will show you.  You should see the gang when they have them all on.

I forgot to write and tell Mother that all my clothes were not sent home.   They were my sport coat and undershirt, and some handkerchiefs.  I will send them as soon as possible.  I don't know when that will be.

Tell William that I am not supposed to send any service insignia home but as lots do I may send them home until I have to wear the uniform that it goes on.

It's lights out so

Sincerely Yours,

Austin



{For more information on the training program used by the Army at this time, see the first 6 pages of this article.  Not a lot of details, but it does give a few more specifics on the types of lectures he might have attended as well as what he should have expected from his commanding officers.}

June 17, 1943

Jefferson Barracks

Missouri

June 17, 1943

Dear Mother;

My morale has come up 100%.  I got 3 letters today and they sure looked good.  I got them this morning at 11:00 mail call.  I expect that I would have received it yesterday at 4:00 but we had no mail call.  We are also over the typhoid shots and I feel a lot better.

About that watch I spoke about, I saw it in the main P.X.  It is a 17 Jewel Swiss movement and looks exactly like two other watches I have seen that cost $50 and $45.  The only trouble is that I haven't enough money as it costs $26.50 and I have about $20.  I may put some money down on it and send for the rest from the bank account.  However don't send any money till I send for it.

I forgot to write that I saw Harold V. {ed note - a friend who attended the same church} Sunday and he was sure glad to see me.  I almost missed him as he was about to go to town.  He looked swell in his uniform and a new pair of shoes.  He lives in a two story bunk house where as we live in little 8 man huts.  He is in the second story and the hottest part of it.  He seems to be having a swell time even thought he hates this heat and weather more than I do.  He has only 2 Mass. boys with him where as I have 50 fellows from Mass. with me.  They are swell fellows.  The fellows in the hut represent a cross section of America; they represent the major religious faiths and you can imagine some of the arguments we get into every so often.  But all the same I would not trade them for someone else.

When you wrote (we don't write about him!) I forgot and didn't realize just what you meant until I had reread the letter a couple times.  I still haven't forgotten him (you know that).  I know he won't know me when I get home.

I feel terribly ashamed to say that I don't miss home.  I do however feel sometimes that tomorrow I will be going home and when I realize I am not, I wish I could.  The chief reason is that we are busy from 5:15 a.m. till anytime after 9:00 p.m. when lights are put out.  We have a definite schedule to follow until 4:00 and then the time is our own to write letters, do our laundry shine our shoes, make our bed, take a bath and a multitude of other things that have to be done.  We can always go to the movies or go to the P.X. or go to the amphitheatre and see a Broadway show.  I saw Hellzapopping (spelled wrong) and thought that it was kind of corny.  {Watch this scene from the show, Hellzapoppin'.  It's probably the most athletic and energetic Lindy Hop I've ever seen!}

This business of writing letters is some job.  I would like to write to all the fellows, Mabel, Grandma, and Grandpa Rounds and everyone but I can hardly write more than 3 letters a night, so if you see or write to any of them, tell them that I am thinking of them and will write as soon as I find time.  I am missing Chow now and will have to sneek in late.

I have something else on my mind but I can't remember what it is so I will sign off.

With love,

Your Pvt. Austin.

{ed. note - The paragraph about "(we don't write about him)" was so confusing to me that I went through the letters his mother had written him to see if I could find out what she was talking about.  In her letter she describes seeing young robins in the garden.  The next day she found one dead and guessed that (we don't write about him) had killed it.  Is it possible that they had a cat or dog with the personality of Lord Voldemort (You-Know-Who)?}

June 8, 1943

{He mailed 3 letters at his first opportunity.  It's long, but be strong and endure to the end.}


From Pvt. Austin L. Rounds
29th Training Group
Squadron C
Jefferson Barracks, Missouri

To Mrs. A.P. Rounds

15 Wilson Rd.

Stoneham, Mass.

June 8, 1943

Enroute to

Missouri

Dear Mother:

Please pardon the poor writing as this is the best I can do under the conditions.  The train is traveling fast enough to make it hard to write.  But we are slowly but surely tracing our way (on the map) to St. Louis.  We are now somewhere in the middle of Ohio.

William has probably told you that he left me inside the N. Station where I met that other fifty or so.  There we had to wait till 9:00 for the train to Devins and in the mean time we had our group picture taken by an army photographer.

There was not much to the ride to Devins other than that I hoped it would stop raining as it did not you can guess what would happen when none had a rain coat.  It began to rain for good when we hit (train bump) the station.  A lot of future infantry men were there ahead of us and they marched off ahead of us.  But to heck with the infantry, we rode in trucks and did not get wet at all.  At the camp we had a meal that was very good, mash potato, peas, apple sauce, a pork chop, bread and butter, and something else I don't remember and topped it off with a piece of pineapple pie.

As time means very little to the army we stayed about 6 hours instead of the 3 to 5 hours.  All I could do to amuse myself was to play "bid whist."  It was a lot of fun and easier to score than just bridge.

All this time it had been raining and the roads were a mass of puddle.  We got our orders to line up in front of our barracks with our suit cases.  And there we stood for a half hour until we were soaked.  We then walked a 1/4 mile and am now on a Pullman with all the luxuries of a 5-cent a mile fare.

The meals on the car before are not too hot as most of the cooking is done in the baggage car.  We are being fed all right and I don't think that I will starve. 

We are having a swell trip.  You would really like it.  Everything is swell. Even the clothes are beginning to dry.  All last night we traveled up hill until we came to the Hoosac tunnel in Northern Mass.  Hear (sic) are the towns.  Devins 5:10 pm, Fitchburg, Royalston, Sheldon Falls, N. Adams, and then the tunnel at 8:25.  The next part of the ride was mostly down hill, Troy N.Y 9:45, Albany.  Our beds were then made and I slept through until Albany, then to Syracuse, and woke finally in Buffalo 5:00 am. All this time the hills began to flatten out and became smaller.  The cities and towns farther and farther and smaller.  This land is an awful lot like N.C. but much wetter.  I don't see how they can use machinery.  Pop can tell you what happens when you use a tractor on wet land.

Next came Erie Penn 7:40, Conneaut Ohio 8:20, Ashtabula, Madison, and then Cleveland at 9:45.  Hear (sic) we had a chance to get out for the first time and walk around.  After Cleveland we saw the Great Lakes and it seemed like the ocean.  The land that comes down to Lake Erie is very flat and much land erosion can be seen.  The rivers that lead to the lake and the lake itself near shore are very muddy.  It was the last bit of water that size we shall see for a while so we watched until it was well out of sight.

Since then we have been going through all the little towns in Ohio even down the main street. 

It is getting very hot but I am enjoying every bit of it.  We may sleep on the train again tonight and I expect we will reach our destination early Wednesday morning.  

I am surely getting a chance to see things.  ( We are going down the middle of a street again).  We are writing as we ride on the Nickle Plated Road, a R.R. I never saw such piles of coal before.  In every town we find enough coal to keep it going a long time.

Ohio is very flat with the acres divided by a line of trees.  Every once and a while you see a grove.

I may not write again, because the train is going too fast and I may be too busy, later on.

It is now 4:00 pm and I am closing

As Always,

Austin

P.S. Tell Lenny not to get impatient.

From Pvt. Austin L. Rounds
29th Training Group
Squadron C
Jefferson Barracks, Missouri

To Mr. A.P. Rounds

15 Wilson Rd.

Stoneham, Mass.

Enroute to
Missouri

June 8, 1943

Dear Pop,

I am writing this as a kind of continuation of Mother's letter.  As so much has happened in the last 2 days I can't see why I should write twice.  I am writing this under much the same circumstances but I am in bed and have a little bit steadier rest than my knees.  I am in an upper birth, and as I will sleep alone I should get a lot of sleep.  The only trouble is that we will reach Missouri between 1:00 and 2:00 in the morning.  I doubt if we will have to get up then.

The meals have been fine considering they originated in the baggage car and were served onto paper plates.  With such little K.P. to do this army could be heaven.

We are really a troop train.  There are seven cars filled with soldiers both with and without uniforms.  Some of them have ratings already and I don't know whether they will keep them or not.  I have been keeping track of the towns I have gone through and I will send it home when I get a chance with the route all mapped out.  It is about 1200 miles long.

I have seen some of the damage done by the recent floods.  Levies were built along the tracks to keep the water down and away.  In some places the tracks lay on bare ground and the ties and foundation very inconspicuous.  The rivers raised 5 to 6 ft and left large deposits of brown dirt and large pools of water.  This water seems to be very shallow as the grass sticks up in many places but it covers a large area.  From what I have seen of the water standing on the land as it is, it seems possible that this water will remain for many days.

I can't get over seeing the long rolling plots of land that reach as far as the eye can see and broken only by a narrow slip of trees or a town.  Often the highway runs through these trees and it in turn stretches for miles without a turn.

Back near Lake Erie and farther we saw wine cultivated.  They were grape vines and the Harris Grape Juice people were the buyers.  In Ohio we saw pigs, cattle and corn.  Indiana is much the same only the farms are getting larger.  I hope I will wake up to see the Mississippi River and the damage done by the flood.  It will be dark and then and I don't know how much I will be able to see.

I am sorry I had to leave you this way but it was not all my choice.  I am however glad that I have started and will find out just where I will be in a year.  I hope the potato business goes good.  I really miss the farm and the machinery.  It was a lot of fun to drive that tractor.

Don't let Mother worry because there is nothing to worry about.  Tell her that I thought the party was swell but I am still worrying about the two glasses. (We are riding down another main street in some small town.)

There is so much to say but it is now lights out and we are supposed to go to bed.

(See if you can get another prescription for those eye drops.  I lost some when the bottle tipped over)

Sincerely yours,
Austin.

{This is the map of the route that he included.  You can see that he drew a line along his route from Boston to St. Louis.  Below is the list of towns that he passed through.  It's a little hard to read.  I wish had pictures him riding through Main Street.}

{2nd letter included in the letter to his mother}

Jefferson Barracks

Hi Everybody,

This is just a short note to let you know that I arrived safely.  I have been assigned to a "hut" that is really a pretty good cabin.  I don't have much time to tell you much other than that this looks like a good place to stay a while.

My address you can find on the outside of the envelope.  I have been issued all my clothes for about a year, hot and cold alike.

You will likely get my two letters at the same time as we could not mail them en route.

It sure is hot out here.  I don't know how hot it really is but this is the first time I swet (sic) like I did today.

I am in a hurry to get out and cool off so I will sign off.

Sincerely,
Austin.

Draft Notice and Official Business

Austin Rounds turned 19 on Febuary 9, 1943.  He was in his first year at Boston University.   These are 3 pictures of him with classmates and a professor.  He's the one with wavy hair on the left.

February 14, 1943.  He received this card directing him to report to the Winchester, Massachusetts Town Hall for a physical examination on Feb. 18.

April 14, 1943.  The next piece of mail is a copy of his application, complete with 3 letters of reference, to the Aviation Corps.  As you can see, he came highly recommended.

On May 8, a letter from the War Department was sent to report Austin's results on the Joint Army-Navy Pre-Induction Test.  I don't know what kind of test that was, but he passed, apparently with flying colors.

On May 15, he received mail from The President of the United States, for probably the first time in his life.  'ORDER TO REPORT FOR INDUCTION", on May 28, 1943.  All he had to do was pass the examinations at the Induction Center and he would be in the Army.  For further explanations on the process of Induction, check this website out.