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

October 13, 1944

Roswell Field

Oct. 13, 1944

Dear Mother:

I just received the first letter that has come directly from home and not come via Luke Field.  I am writing this letter at noon on the first day we have had any spare time since we have been here.  we are going to get 12 hour passes and feel swell about it.

The way it works is that you work 7 days and get a half day off on the 8th.  Aren't we lucky!  I don't know if they are rushing us through or this is a regular schedule.  All I do know is that 12 hour passes once a week are something new to me.

Here is what my address means if you think it can help you to remember it.  It is not very complicated as far as I can see.

Rank             Name                  Army Serial No

Student Officer Class 44 (year) - 4(semester I guess) I (class of grad.)

Roswell (town post office)  New Mexico.

As you see I am in I class which should graduate on the 18th of this month.  If I had gone from Luke upon graduation with no gunnery or anything I would have been in G class and graduating now from Roswell but as it is I am 2 months behind my class as is 60% of all the fellows here.  Very few have come directly from an advance school to this field.

Yes I feel lucky to be flying instead of riding as Ralph will have to do.  Even so look at the time I have had, and still will have to put into this before I will have full control of my operation. No one in my crew including the co-pilot will have put so much time into his training.  Bombardiers and Navigators put in about 4 months after pre-flight and we put in almost 8 mod.  In fact before I leave this school a successful airplane commander I must know how to take the place of any crew member and perform his job satisfactorily for flight operation. I must be a pilot - copilot - engineer - radio operator, navigator, bombardier and know how to operate all the guns.  That is quite a job for one guy to learn in 8 weeks or less.  After that I will have to be both mother and father to the crew.  This job looks almost too big for me to handle.  Well I guess the end of 8 weeks will tell if this school is any good or not.

Speaking about Radios etc. we are getting a swell radio course here.  If I ever fly over our home I am going to salvo all my radio equipment on the back yard for use after the war.  We have all kinds of radios and equipment.  We can send and receive on any frequency in the United States except he Standard Broadcast band.  William and maybe Dad would love to tinker with what I have to play with.  The only trouble is that I don't low half enough about it to work it right.  You know you can be up in the sky lost a hundred miles from here and turn on some swell music from Roswell and a little needle will tell you right where you are and you follow the needle while listening to Benny Goodman and in no time you are over the town of Roswell.  Or you can turn on some good music in Chicago and follow a little needle and be in Chicago in 4 hours.  Radio really is wonderful.  Radio is a lot of fun especially when you begin to wonder what happens when you do this or that.  I even think I could get interested in it my self.

You can tell Pop I am taking code again and just passed a 6 word check by the skin of my teeth.  I need practice but not the kind that comes in the mail.  -.--    ---  ..-     -.-    -.    ---   .--

Well I must get ready for P.T. and then I can have the afternoon off and do what I please.  I start to fly tomorrow so I am hoping for the best in the way of instructors and patience.

With love

the not so hot pilot        Austin

October 3, 1944

Roswell Field

Oct. 3, 1944

Dear Mother:

I guess it is about time I wrote again.  It has been about a week since I wrote last.  You see I got kind of disgusted with getting no letters except from Mary so I decided I wouldn't write until I got something from you.

Have you sent those pinks and greens yet?  I hope you have because I really need them now.  It gets awful cold here during the night and everyone is wearing their pinks and greens.  I really hope you have sent them but if not lets get on the ball in a hurry.

Yes the thing I was worrying about a week ago Sunday has happened and as you see I am now in N.M. at a B17 base.  What a lousy break.  the one thing I had hoped would never happen has come about and I am about to become a truck driver.

We are about to have the toughest schedule yet. For the next 8 days we get 7 hours of school a day, 1 hour of link and 1 hour of PT per day beside a few details.  What I want to know is when do we eat and sleep and live.  I guess if you don't get any letters you will have to wait.

We start flying these ships in about 12 days.  We get 105 hours of first pilot time and if we qualify we become first pilots.  That is a break at least.  When we do get a ship I will be in command of the darn thing.  It will be quite a responsible job.

This is going to be the toughest 10 weeks I have had.  I only wish that I could get through some short way and then get home.  I have just got to work hard on this course because wash outs become co-pilots and that is just plain hell in a big ship.

If I am successful I may be able to get B29's which is what I shall try for.  I can see no reason for not taking the biggest and long as I must take something with 4 engines.  I hate to think of it but I guess it is just the breaks.  There are going to be no more fighter pilots on the west coast and for anyone with the desire to go overseas this is a real break.  I don't have such a wanderlust so I don't know how I shall like it.  Things are not turning out so well now so I can't imagine what will happen now.  I am just disgusted with everything.  I have no love for the plane and don't give a darn what happens to it.  This flying is all work and no pleasure.  It also is one of the most boring sessions I will ever have to put up with.  We get 105 hours of procedures and instruments with one 1000 miles cross country.  You can't solo out until you have had 60 hours and all that time you are learning to fly on all to one engine.  It looked like 10 weeks of drudgery.

Well I have kissed Phoenix goodbye and hope to see it again but never Luke Field again.  I have had my fill of that place and all it has stood for.  Here I have sweat out the toughest advance school in the West only to be sent to a school where half the fellows or at least 1/3 could not have got through where I have.  These guys are a crummy bunch and probably not as good pilots as anyone of us.

I ran out of ink and almost out of lead.  You will have to excuse the pencil.  I hope Mary's gift has come through.  I wish I wasn't so far from home so I would know what was going on.  I feel like letting everything go.  Please send the clothes and gift from Esther and Mary.  Maybe it is all ready on the way.

With love

Austin