December 1945

December

Dear Doc,

Hello, Lt. Rounds, or should I say Mr. Rounds?  Just a short note to let you know, Doc, I haven't forgotten you, such a thing is not possible.

These mad San Antonio shoppers are going to drive me crazy before the Christmas holiday.  I'll be so glad when Christmas comes and Jo and I can go home.  I wish today was January 16th.  Boy, what a glorious day that will be.

It has been very cold in San Antonio, but, of course, no snow.

Well, Tex, now that all the citizens of Stoneham have recovered from the shock of seeing your boots, you can settle down to a quiet life with one of your father's most admirable secretaries.  For you, Doc, that may be a very good thing.

Doc, there are so many things I want to tell you.  Please be patient, I'll write you a nice long letter soon.

Tell me, Lt. Rounds, where are all those Third Airforce men?

It's getting late - will write tomorrow - 

Good night, Doc - 

Anne - 

December 25, 1944

Dear Mother:

Well here it is Christmas day and me a thousand miles from home.  What a life! Of all the days I would like to be home, this is the one and yet I am not the one to say.

We came up here to see a couple of friends from Luke.  R.H. Smith is up here so we thought we could at least enjoy Christmas a little more together.  Two Mass boys ought to have a lot of fun together.

We had quite a trip up here.  The bus was loaded and we had to stand about 2 hours but sat down for the last 5 hours so it was all right.  I came up with a fellow from Tenn who also had a friend up here.  Ruvis is the fellow's name.  Samput went home for the holiday to Dallas.  He invited me to go with him but the transportation was so indefinite I thought it would be better to go some place I was sure to get home from.

I had a chance to get a leave of 14 days last week but didn't take it because it would be my last leave this year.  I will be able to get a travel priority by staying and waiting so I will get more time at home by waiting.  Christmas means a lot to me but I would rather have all the time I can get at home rather than come home for the holiday.  Maybe it is just as well because the transportation problem is so bad.

I told you about the stunt we pulled one day last week.  We didn't get up for the first scheduled class but almost got burnt by our folly.  We were going to get a court marshall but they decided to let us off with a restriction which is the usual thing.  They tried to scare us I guess but didn't have the authority.  Anyway I learned my lesson so I will stay on the ball.

I don't have anything special to write so I will quit.  We are going out to Kirtland Field now to see what B24's look like.  Our room here was in 410 as you can see on the front of this paper.

With love
Austin.

Modern look at the El Fidel Hotel, now an office building and condos called Copper Square

December 19, 1944 (2)

Roswell Field

Dec. 19, 1944

Dear A.P.

As I write this letter you and Mother may be making your last minute plans to go to Chicago.  I hope that is so.  This letter should get to you about the time you get home or ahead of you.

I cannot get home for Christmas and get only a pass from Sat noon to Tues-noon which in my poor opinion is a very poor Christmas leave.  I probably will go to Dallas with my friend and spend the holiday with them.  If that is the case it will be the second year way from home each time with friends.  Last year it was with Mother's cousin and this year with friends of mine.

I wrote to tell you about the horses we rode the other day.  They were regular cow ponies and really spirited animals.  After we got on they went into a trot and continued to do so no matter what we did. We galloped them so much after that that I guess we wore them down to a walk but even so they were awful jumpy.  The one I had was so jumpy that when I kicked him in the ribs his hind feet almost slid out form under him in his efforts to get going.  I tried to remember all you had ever told me about horses so I guess we didn't hurt them any.  We only had trouble taming them down because they just couldn't stand still.  I doubt if I am a horse man but if I had a horse like one of these I'll bet I could fool most of you easterners.  They had very small feet and had smooth shoes.  They even slipped on the paved road to say nothing of the frozen snow on the roads.  We rode through the woods in about 3 inches of snow as much as possible and then let them go.  We could steer them by laying the reins against one side of their necks, no pulling but just pressure. 

What surprised me was the way they ran with me 185 lbs and them so very small..  They are really rugged little nags and would make any owner back home proud.  They were awful looking having none of the shiny hair and well kept manes but they were not kept in stables and had real thick coats.  They were the best fed horses I have seen.  They weren't in the least bit bucky making no attempt to buck or bite you.  I don't know but I guess you must have seen them when you were out in this part of the country.  I would really like to own one of my own.  Maybe when I get home we can go for a ride together and you can show me how.

We had a lot of fun last weekend and hope to go up to the Ruidoso again.  It is a winter resort with ski trails and toboggan slides. It would be fun to get on the snow again and have a snow ball fight or make a snowman or something.  It would be more fun to do in Stoneham but your week ends come where you find them and you can only be in one place a short time so you might as well get your fill of everything because no two places offer the same opportunities.

Well I hope you have had a lot of fun in Chicago.  Tell me what you think of that big town.

With Love

Austin

December 19, 1944

Even if I am a thousand miles away this coming Christmas day I can be with you all in spirit.  I hope you don't miss me as much as I miss you because it could be a lot happier if we could at least be together on this day.

With love

Austin

It now seems that all the plans I have made for this coming holiday will be dashed.  I had so wished to be at home but I am not so unhappy that I cannot enjoy my second Christmas away from home in the memories of the many so happy celebrations before.

With love
Austin

December 18, 1944

Roswell Field

Dec. 18, 1944

Dear Mother:

I started to write this letter last night and got as far as the date and then quit because we had a couple of visitors. With all the gab and the tall stories flying I just couldn't concentrate on a letter.  I guess you have the same trouble.

I want to tell you about Ruidoso N.M. We were going down to Mexico but didn't get our plans made early enough to make the trip.  Now I guess we will never get there.

The bus going up leaves at 1230 and our last class ended at 1200 so we figured it would take a lot of hurrying and fast talking to get in on time.  We had to get a pass in the form of a V.O.C.O. and had to sign out.  We also had to wait for a ride so we missed the bus.

Well seeing the next bus was at 2000 we decided much to my dislike to kind of stand on the side of the road and look very hopeful and maybe get a ride.  We got a ride all right with a young lady traveling from Nebraska to San Fransisco.  She was going to see her husband who is in the signal corp stationed out there somewhere.  She was a very attractive young lady and I might say that she had a lot more courage than a lot of women I know.  We asked her how tall she was and she said 5 ft and weighed 94 lbs.  She said that she wished we were going to Calif so she could rest from driving all the time and know that there was someone to change any flat tires.  Her car like most women's cars was a little rickety but I am sure it would get her to Calif all right.

She took us to the junction to the town and from there we took a taxi.  The two of Ruidoso is not anything wonderful except that it is very quaint and a typical movie town.  Except for a few modern buildings which would look out of place the town could be taken for a real live 1890 boom town.  It has one theater, 3 bars, 1 pool parlor, and a couple of drug stores.  There are novelty stores about every five steps so there are plenty of places to buy things.  They have rollerskating rinks to go to but the were not open.  Of course this town survives because of the tourist trade and therefore there are about a thousand cabins in and around the town.  The principle residents of the town are ranchers, Indians and the bar tenders and waitresses.

We got into town at about 3:30 PM and got steaks at a drug store and they were the best I have eaten in a long time.  They were cooked on a grill in the window of the store.  This drugstore had most of the amusement in town as it had a jukebox and lots of hot chocolate so we spent a lot of time here.  The owner also didn't mind us talking to his waitresses as long as we drank hot chocolate and played the music.  It was rather cold so we didn't do too much running around. 

Right now there is a slack season because there is no summer crowd around and not enough snow to draw the winter crowd.  We looked around and found skis and toboggans and sleds in all of the lodges so when snow comes we will go back.

I had the softest bed I have ever slept on.  I sat on it and almost disappeared into the mattress.  It was one of those beds I have dreamed of, one that you don't need covers on because the mattress flows over the tops of you when you get in.  Of course that stretches the point a little bit it was a very soft bed.

We went horseback riding Sunday (By we, I mean, me, Sanput and another buddy, Ernest Punis from Tenn.)  Sanput the Texan had never ridden and neither had Punis.  I had ridden once in Phenix so I got the most spirited horse.  They were western cow ponies and very small compared with what we have at home but I'll be they would take on all comers for their spirit.  We had no more than got on when off they went in a trot, which developed into a gallop with no urging on our part.  You don't steer these horses by pulling on the reins but by pushing them from one side of the neck to the other.  The harder you push the sharper they turned and we later found out that the only way to stop them was to put them into such a sharp turn they had to slow down to turn.  These horses gallop at very little urging and stop only with the greatest effort.  I think they find it easier to run than to walk.  Most of the horses I have ridden before had to be really stung before even trotting and then you got the roughest ride of your life.  These little ponies gave you the easiest and smoothest ride I have ever had.  The horses in Phoenix are old fans in comparison to these.  We rode for 3 1/2 hours in our shirt sleeves and half the time in a trot or a gallop.  I think I shall some day be a horseman.

It is known to be rather cold up in the mts so we bought a pair of long underwear.  I remember how many times you had tried to get them on me and my excuse was always that it wasn't cold enough.  Well it was only 38 degrees F up there and we had them on.  We were riding without our blouses but that made little difference.  I had on that sleeveless sweater which was a great help.  I went it quite a lot under my jacket and find it swell.  I had no idea what a wonder it would be when I got it last year.

We skipped our first class this morning and go caught at it and will probably be restricted to the post a couple of days.  It is quite a price to pay for staying in the sack an extra hour but we got what was a due so I am not too mad and have learned my lesson.

I always look forward to mail from home.  My little mailbox is often empty for days on end and that is a disappointment and a morale destroyer.  You wouldn't want me to go AWOL just because I don't get mail from home do you?  I am sure I won't if you keep up the letters.

With love

Austin.

December 30, 1943

Santa Ana Army Air Base

Dec 30, 1943

Dear Mother:

I have a lot of spare time now so I am writing and spending the time the best way I know.  Of course I could have written last night but I wrote to Cousin Emma in Hollywood.  I think I hsall go there over the New Year weekend.  She is really so nice I really enjoy the visits very much.

In a week or 2 or more you will get a package of stuff I have collected here in California.  There will be old letters, cards, etc. along with books, papers and other junk.  The reason I am sending them you may be able to guess.  We are sure to be shipping out in a short time and although I am not positive I will go I am not worrying as  much as these fellows who got low academic averages and too many giggs.  They have washed out a few fellows already for too many giggs.  My grades in school were not too bad and we don't know just how the averages came out because some classes got more credit than others.  Anyway I got a 95% in Physics, 87% average in Math, 93% average in Aircraft Identification, 93% in chemical warfare, 85% average in gunnery but fell down in Navel and at 78%.  I had one midterm examination that was very poor and it pulled the whole average down.

One thing I do know.  The squadron will be broken up and different sections will be sent to different fields.  We were not good enough to stay together.  I was going to leave a lot of friends anyway because a lot of fellows are being held over for some reason or another.  Only 7 from one section of 46 will leave.  In our section however (No I) we got all good averages and will have only 1 holdover if things all go well.  Our section by the way seta  few records around here.  We got the largest number of superiors in class (43 in a row) that has ever been recorded.  No one failed code, another record.  Got the highest marks in Aircraft Identification of any class (above a 90% average).  We carried the E flag for 4 straight weeks.  Oh well, we did pretty well but I only wish the whole sqn had done better so we could stay together.

There has been a rumor around that we are going to ship out of California to Arizona or Texas or some such place.  The reason is that the last class has not received enough flying time to leave for Basic and therefore we shall be shipped to some clear weather states where we have a chance flying.  This is a poor time of year to be flying out here.  Last week there were only about 1 1/2 fly hours per student and that is not enough.  You have to have at least 20 to get out. Well it really isn't too bad to see such rain if you don't have to fly but if you want to it is disappointing to see all the rain we get.

Maybe the Chamber of Commerce has fooled the whole country but not the natives around here or the soldiers who are training here.  We fall out at 5:45 and find a clear star-lit sky but it is usually raining by 8:00 and not later than 1200.  It isn't a bad rain but a slow drizzle that always seems so cold and penetrating.  Out here however they are warm and do not chill so much.  Some times it really pours and then it really rains.  The water comes up about an inch every where so that it is impossible to keep the feet dry.  We wear the wet shoes to dry them out and because they will dry out no other way.  The only trouble is that socks wear out fast and with no mother around to mend we just have to buy new ones.  It is terrible waste but then we figure our time is worth more than the stockings.

So far I have been very lucky and have lost only a few minor articles of clothing.  I have only lost one O.D. hat with the insignia on it.  I always thought that you would lost more than that but it seems that I am in with a picked outfit and they don't swipe so much as the regular "run of the mill".

I seem to be just rambling along here and not answering any of those questions you are always asking. Cousin Emma asked me if I ever got questions from home and if I ever answered them.  She said that her boy Robert hardly ever answered her questions and I guess I must seem that way to you too.  I gave her the only answer I know and that is that whenever you write you never have the old letters available to get questions from.  Right now I am C.Q. and don't have letters available.  I guess if you have anything you want answered you will have to write it on something special that I can carry around for reference.  By the way, the Independents are coming through very well and I have received the last 3 or 4 issues.  They are really swell; I must write something some day to put in.  You wrote that old Seward got his commission.  Well if I don't become a pilot I will look like him when I get home.

With love

Austin.

December 27, 1943

Dec. 27, 1943

Dear Mother:

I have finally gotten around to writing again and you can bet I tried to write before but didn't get time.  I have been working all my spare time studying or on details.  I fact no one has received letters from me except for an occasional one or two sent East.  I guess Pop A.P. and Esther got the only letters.

Christmas was very exciting out here for me because it was the first one away from home and I again went to Hollywood.  Robert Johnson was home again from some camp here in Calif. and he has many friends that are connected to the movie business here.  I guess he was a play producer before the war and is putting on 6 plays he came in contact with many of the popular stars of the stage and screen.  we went out to see some of his friends.  I met one movie stars that went to school with Robert but who is now in the Sea Bees. {?}

His name is Rick Vallin, his real name is nothing like that because he is of Russian birth.  He is really a handsome fellow and the movies lost something when they lost him.  He was a swell fellow and not a bit snooty as you might expect a movie star to be. {There is a 3 year gap from motion pictures after 1943, but no real clues to what he was doing during that time.}

See here for a more interesting bio than Wikipedia can give you.

  At the same place was a girl move star who had just completed a picture.  Although she was not the star and I really still don't know what or how important a part she played, she was very likable.

Of course I opened my Christmas presents as soon as possible and was rather surprised at all you got into that small box.  Everything is so useful.  The first and most important item seemed to be the slippers.  I have no other pair and I was beginning to hate walking around bare footed all the time.  The polishing equipment is the small metal box is the best outfit I have seen.  One of my main troubles with polishing buckles and buttons is that I never can find the cloth when I want it and I have had to keep the cloth in a bag and it is not so neat looking as a a metal box.  Foot lockers are hard enough to keep clean but things in metal boxes are much easier to keep.  The polish works very well on my belt buckle and makes it shine better than a polishing cloth.

The handkerchiefs are very handy and can always be used.  I have a cold now in spite of the sulphadyazine tablets we have had.  My next letter will be written on the new paper as this is the last piece of this.  The little game is rather handy but I guess the only chance I will be able to use it will be when traveling or on rainy days.  Whose ideas was the shoe strings?  It just so happened that I needed them but I am not usually caught short. (I haven't got space to write about all the rest but you know I really appreciate them).

I have got so much more to write about the Johnson's but I am very tired after that weekend.  He is a teacher of Science (math, chem, physics,) and Spanish.  She is about 60 years old and is a dear lady.  She is really a real mother to me.  The first thing she did when I came in was give me a big kiss.  "That's for your mother," she said.  I will write again tomorrow if possible.  As usual I am in as good health as can be expected and Cousin Emma says I look like a real Californian.

With love,

Austin.

December 23, 1943

Dec. 23, 1943

Dear A.P.

I got your air mail letter today in the second mail call at 1700.  It was post marked the 20th and you can see that it came right along.  It really did save time as in normal times it takes 6 days and lately mail has been coming through is 8 and 9 days.  Your last letter of the 16th came in 8 days.  It must be due to the strain on the Railroad caused by the Christmas rush.

THe watch situation is rather tough everywhere.  The clipping I am sending shows that recently they hooked a lot of red tape on to getting a watch here.  Don't get a Swiss watch for $50 because I can get one (if I am lucky) for $30.00 or less.  The watches are available for a short time each month and the supply does not last long.

Well our classes are coming to an end soon, in fact most of the finals come tomorrow.  That is the reason I have not been able to write for the last 2 weeks.  We have had 5 classes a day with a test every other day in each one of them.  That takes a lot of studying and cramming as you can not prepare for a test and do all homework and get enough sleep in the time we have.  After Christmas we will have a little more time off and I expect to write again more often.

I imagine Mary will be quite changed when I get home.  Everything will be changed when I get home. I wish I could be home for Christmas but the Air Corp has no furloughs over Christmas or any holiday although they do give out 72 hour passes for Christmas and New Years.  You speak of ski boots and I think of snow of course and how I wish I could get a hold of a snowball.  We see snow on the mts. about 35 miles away but it never gets cold enough here to make it worth while to hear heavy clothes.

I rather like the idea of a community club but to me it seems that it is coming too late.  I know that I could have enjoyed it much more before the war.  But as for the future uses I am sure they are all for the idea.  I am sure if it is well supervised that it will be a great benefit to everyone in town who will participate in it.

I too have been studying code and have passed an 8 word check which has given me a a passing mark for the course.  However I can take 10 and 12 and 14 early in the morning when I am feeling alert.  I could easily pass 12 words if it were not for a few letters that come over and make me think and at that speed you can't think and get the letters.  While you think you miss a few and 3 misses are all you are allowed.  Code is something you have to study every day and do intensive study if you want to get anywhere.  Out here they give you 1 hour a day of study with extra periods if you can work them in.  Some of the fellows can take 14 words with no trouble at all and some can take 20 which is the ceiling around here.  At that speed it is almost impossible to print the letters.  I think I shall send you a code sheet we used here.  It is primarily a practice sheet and the letters and send in series of 5.  You can not receive messages too well with it but receiving the unrelated letters is better practice than receiving messages where you can guess half that is sent over.

I must close now.

With love

Austin

December 11, 1943 to Mother

Dear Mother:

This will have to take the place of a letter for a while.  I am so busy that my spare time is very limited.

Now that it is the Christmas Season I am getting very homesick and wish that I could be home for a short time.  Christmas time was one that really meant the most to us and I know this year can not be the same.

With love