August 28, 1945

Aug 28 1945

Dear Mother:

Saturday I got your letter from Maine post marked the 14th.  It had taken 10 days to find me.  That doesn't say much for postal service.  I don't know if any more letters will come that way or not but I will look for them.

When you wrote about that camping trip I just wished I could have been there.  Boy I would have had more fun getting wet and then dry again.  I would have been just one more male to run you ragged but I would have had a lot of fun.  When you go camping you have to run into a little rain or something or else it takes all the fun out of getting soaked.  But I guess my point of view is not quite like mine on such matters.  I wish you would write some more about the trip because I got quite a kick out of picturing the thing and I am getting a vivid imagination.  Anyway Pop must have enjoyed relaxing for a day or two.

I suppose you are all wondering just when I get out of the army and all.  Well to tell you the truth no one around here knows very much about us and information is rather hard to find.  They have three lists of men to be discharged in the next 6 weeks but they are from groups A and B which the army has set up.  I am in Group H which will be the last bunch to get a choice.  Last Friday we signed a statement as to our preference and I indicated that the earlier the better but that may be many moths away.  We don't fly B29s anymore but get our time in the AT6's which makes me very happy.  We get 4 hours of ground school now on the B29 and cruise control of the B29 but it is just to keep us busy and have no great value to me.  They are continuing training principally for the fellows who have indicated their wish to stay in the post-war Air Corp and there seems to have been quite a few who wish to stay in.  Financially $240 a mos is a lot more than any of us will be making of a good many years.  However the longer you stay in the longer it will take to get started over again.

Mary writes once or twice a week and to me it seems that everything is all peaches and cream.  I guess she has been taken into a society much to her liking.  I am really so glad that she is happy away from home for a while.  Maybe you feel that you have lost a daughter now but never fear because home always looks good.  Even I after 2 yrs look at Stoneham as the place for me and as soon as I am free again I will make tracks for 15 Wilson Rd.  It is too bad William and Esther can't drag themselves away for awhile and see how the rest of the world lives.  Maybe you don't like the idea but remember you were away from home for a year when you went to school.

We have had the most wonderful weather down here for the past few days.  Starting last week it got really cool, enough so that we slept under blankets or sheets.  It rained a couple of times and then we began to get warnings of the tropical storm headed this way.  The storm never got this far but we were in the area of strong winds and it has just been swell.  We have had a cool breeze all day and the nights have been wonderful.  It is too bad you and Mary could not have been here to see what Texas can be like when it tries.  In fact I am a little surprised myself.  I had no idea it could be so nice and cool.  I hope it stays this way for awhile.

Yesterday I looked at a chart that gave distances from one place to the next and noticed that I am aprox 2010 miles from Boston.  That is a lot farther than I had thought.  But when I get travel pay home it will amount to about $160 plus meals etc.  Not a bad price just to see some more country.

This is an early morning letter.  I got up special so I wouldn't have to write last night.

With love

Austin

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

June 2, 1945

Austin Texas

Juen 2, 1945

Dear Mother:

I guess you know by now that "there have been some changes made."  We are in Austin the state capital for a weekend but are stationed at San Marcus, another hole in the ground.  

Well I just can see everyone and hera everyone asking questions but there is really a lot of information.  We left Ardmore last Tuesday on a troop train and had layovers in Forth Worth and a little town called Milana. The trip itself would never take more than 12 hours but the way we went it took 30 but we don't kick because we had a lot of fun at each stop.  Sampert knows people all over this state and we went to see a girl who never knew him.  As it turned out she was married and gone away a year ago.  We went galavanting all over the country between stops and almost missed the train because we had trouble getting a ride.  But we got to San Marcos all right in good order and in fine spirits.

I am now minus a crew.  We are now all split up and everyone has gone to the 4 corners of the South. They have sent us here to a pool because they have nothing better for us to do.  We are destined to get our flying time in AT.7s which is a ship they fly student navigators in.  We will be co-pilots no less until we get time enough or until we go through AT-7 transition.  We are all ready for the airfares and now back in the training command, what a lousy life.

We are enjoying the weekend here in the beautiful capital of Texas.  We took off from the base and will not show up till Monday, we left Friday morning at 10:00 and are making a big weekend of it.  This is all the home of Texas State University and Sam and I are trying to get involved in something.  As luck has it we are not making too much headway except in wearing out our shoes and spending nickels and beating on doors and stuff like that there.  Anyway we are having fun and seeing what there is to see in the town.

Now my new address in San Marcos is 

St. __ L.__ 0-784076

Officers Section                              > It's Easy.

S.M.A.A.F.

San Marcos Texas

Please tell the Independent and everyone what sends mail from town.  Even though I have all the time in the world I may forget someone.  I have too much time on my hands to tell everyone.

This state sure is hot.  I have been all wet as long as I have been here.  Clouds blow over all the time but the sun shines enough to make me wish I were in N.E. where you have rain to cool things off.

I am writing from the Hotel Stephen F. Austin which is of course one of the very best in the city.  It is air conditioned and very cool.  It almost feels comfortable in here.  Our room is on the top floor (16th) and we can see the whole city.  It is rather expensive but we are having the first real vacation in a long time at least it seems that way.  It will probably be one big vacation for awhile now.

The only trouble is that we are back in the Training Command and they are rather strict about regulations.  We all need a little brushing up I guess but it's rather hard to take.  We don't have a colored orderly anymore to clean up so things are really rough.

I suppose everything is rather hum drum with Mary working again and the house empty.  I wish I could come home but there doesn't seem to be much chance of such a thing now. I think I will wait anyway and see what happens.  Maybe I can get a good leave rather than a couple of days.

With love

Austin

May 3, 1945

May 3, 1945

Dear Mother:

I don't know when was the last time I wrote.  It must have been last week some time when I sent the money orders.

I haven't heard about the money orders yet so I have no idea if they got home all right or not.  I have been waiting for a letter for the last 3 or 4 days and I am a little worried about them.  I know they can't get lost or anything but I was just wondering what has happened to them.  Please write and tell me what you intend to do with the money or what you have done.  If you are waiting for a suggestion, you can just put it in the bank until I find something better.

We made a 1000 mile cross country yesterday and came out relatively well even though we didn't get credit for the mission.  We didn't have the navigator shoot enough sun lines to get credit for the mission.  We flew to Marfa Texas, which is about 100 miles from El Paso.  We ran into a couple of storms but our course happened to lead between them, so we had no trouble.  One of the fellows thought he could fly through a hail storm and ended up with a wrecked ship.  It was torn up so bad by the hail that he had to make an emergency landing at a small advance school down there in Texas.  They said that the hail did so much damage that the ship may not be repairable.  Well some fellows are a little bit foolish when it comes to flying and it might have happened to me if I had come near the storm.  Some things always look so harmless but turn out to be the most dangerous after you have been through them.

Another fellow had to feather an engine because he says it was running rough.  Undoubtedly it was not running properly but anyone who would feather an engine when all his instruments read properly and then land at a place called Pyote, Texas should have his head examined.  That field is a hole in the ground and a hundred miles from anyplace.  Even so he had no reason to land when he had 3 good engines.  This old plane will run on 2 engines to say nothing of 3.  This airplane commander is noted for the foolish questions and dumb stunts he pulls.  He is also somewhat of a blowhard and generally full of wind so that stunt is about like what he usually pulls.

I wish you had told me William needed shorts and shirts before because I had some brand new white ones he could have had but I have worn them now.  I can get shirts that are white ribbed and the shorts are another story.  I can get khaki colored ones some silk ones that look better but I have never worn them so I know nothing about their wearing qualities.  They have elastic tops and might be just what he wants.  Just tell me what he wants and I think I can get them or send some of mine, even they don't have holes yet.

Grandpa wrote to me the other day.  I sent him a letter on his birthday and I guess he wrote right back.  I guess he was rather glad to hear from his wandering grandson.  I told him about all these beautiful Texas girls and he seemed all for the idea.  He said to land a nice pretty one and bring her up to Maine and see him.  He seems to be all for another marriage in the family and doesn't seem to have to much cooperation from the Rounds family.  Anyway we are all still looking even though some members don't seem to be looking too hard.  Well things are not too good lately for such things.

I have been writing from the club here because I am holding down a good seat for a show they are going to have here.  It is a stag party but as usual everyone had brought their girls so it won't be very enough.  It is just a novelty show more or less anyway.

Well the way things look now N.E. won't be our P.O.E. so tell Pop to stop worrying.  Europe seems to be a closed issue now.  It might be a training ground but nothing less or more.

Well I have some other business to attend to so I will have to close for now.

With love

Austin.

March 6, 1945

Mar. 6, 1945

Dear Mother:

I should have written again before this because we have been in the ground for the last few days because of bad weather.  As it is I just don't get around to it and this finishes everything.  Finally I get in the mood and I write several letters.

I got the big picture about 5 days ago and thought it was rather good but was a little disappointed.  However I suppose you can't expect the photographers to take a picture of something you can't take and put in front of them.  Anyway if I haven't mentioned it before I think they did a good job, in fact so good I shan't want it to be stuck up around my room here.

The snapshots from El Paso came in Sunday and I really got a kick out of them.  They all came out swell.  I was very surprised at all the snow you had.  I kind of wish I had a chance to shovel a little of it and I suppose you wish I had had a chance to shovel some of it too.  With your busy family I guess you had trouble getting rid of it.  It really did come down and pile up in the flat spots.  I wish I could have seen some of it but the pictures you took came out so well I almost feel that I was at home.  I will send the negatives so you can have some printed and see what you got.

Now I must explain what I am doing by not sending the same kind of paper.  You see I have a lot of this other stuff and must get rid of it some way.  It is about the same as the other and almost the same size so I hope it won't be too noticeable.

I went to church on the post this week for the first time in more than a year.  In fact I can't remember attending a post service since J.B. which was a long time ago, at least it's beginning to seem like a long time.  The service was nothing to talk about.  The chaplain was a bad wanderer or I was because I can't remember what he talked about.  He is really supposed to be very good because I have had to listen to several lectures on morals since I have been here and the last half of the time is devoted to a few statements by the chaplain.  He gave two very good talks and I was somewhat impressed but Sunday's sermon kind of put a pin in my little balloon.  Maybe he just had an off day.

I have been checked out now so I can take the ship and the crew up alone now.  They tell you that they are not checking up on you as a safe pilot but as one who knows what to do if the time comes.  I guess I know what to do all right but I am afraid the crew will feel a few hard landings before I get too good here.  Now I am supposed to start their training and see that they do what they are supposed to up in the air.  Ground school is all taken care of so air training is my speciality.

Sat. we went up on a camera mission.  We had a 3 ship formation each ship having gun cameras.  One of those new P63s made passes on the formation the object being to let the gunners track him with the gun cameras.  Most of the fellows did very well and got a lot of good pictures.  We are trying to get them enlarged so we can send home some good pictures of those 63s.  You know some of the pictures were actual close ups of the plane.  He came so close to the ball turret at times he said he could have spit on him.  It was a lot of fun watching all of it going on.  He would come in and make a pass on our nose and look like we would hit and at the last moment, it seemed to me he would pull away 50 or 60 ft. away.  I got some awful good looks at him if you consider 1/10 of a second a good look because he went under us that fast.

P-63 flight demonstration

I seem to be writing uphill today.  Maybe it means something but I guess it just is that I have my paper lopsided.  I will try harder.

The tail gunner's folks were in town this weekend and we all went in to dinner with them.  They are from El Paso and typical of the hospitable Texans.  They have a farm 1 1/4 miles square and just a little thing they say.  I don't know what they have on it except cotton and wheat but there must be something else.  Anyway they are really wonderful people.  They also have a beautiful 18 year old daughter!

I must go eat now so here's whats C.C.T.S stands for Combat Crew Training Station.  Now don't you know a lot.  Now see if anyone can guess what M.A.C. means.  We use it every day in flying.

With love
Austin


{Ed. note - Austin had special stationery printed with his name and the US Army Air Forces emblem on it, as seen at the top of this letter.  When he first got the stationery, he used it for each page of his letter.  Now he uses it for only the first page of the letter and plain paper for the rest of the pages.}

December 10, 1944

Dec 12

Dear Mother:

As you can see by my beautiful stationary that we are down in El Paso Tex.  I guess you are wondering just what is coming off and I will tell you.  We got so tired of Roswell we decided to come and see the bright lights again.

We came down yesterday on a 7PM bus and had quite a lot of fun looking around the town.  A gentleman packed us up in his Buick and took us around to see the sights.  Actually there are not many things to see but we had a lot of from just riding around.  We are going back tonight on a 9PM bus and sleep most of the way.

Hotel Cortez

Modern day office building

Maybe you wonder who my companion is.  Well he is William J Sampert of Dallas Tex.  We do a lot of traveling together and we both get a big kick out of it.  By the way he has invited me to his home on my way next leave and I have accepted him.  I plan to spend about 2 or 3 days there before coming home.

You know Sat we had nothing to do and decided to go somewhere.  We went to the bus station and took the first bus out and here is where we ended up.  Some fun.  It really is fun to just take off and go somewhere and have and leave no responsibilities behind.  Guess I have an itchy foot too.

With love

Austin.

Not to brag or anything