January 7, 1947

New Year's Day

Dear Doc,

A very happy New Year to you, Mr. Rounds.  I sincerely hope your every wish shall be granted.

Being New Year's Day, I honestly feel proud of myself, no headaches, no hangover, I find myself among the fortunate few or perhaps among the unfortunate.  Frankly, I would have preferred the later, However, no such luck.  A few of the nurses in our humble "Bark House" as it is so called, (no reference to the occupants) had a "gay" party.  Oh, we had a great time, however, I would hardly consider it a New Year's Eve up to the old Roberts standard.  Anyway, I have no hangover, so what?  Well, again, Happy New Year, may you live to see a thousand. However, continue flying as you have been and you may be seeing New Year's from a "different view".

Good God, man, don't you want to live?  The least you could do would be to wear your red woolies.  After all the hours I've spent lecturing to you on the many advantages of "snuggies", Oh, you should be ashamed.  Enough about that, remember though, whenever in need of a "very fine nurse" do feel free to call on one Anne Roberts, of course, just having experience with mental illnesses you can't expect too much, I've been told I do have "quite a bedside manner," but we'll let that pass.  Also if you can remember, I'm still the "good old nose dropper" I was when in San Antonio.  Yee, gods, am I responsible for this conversation?

Jo just told me to tell you to please be careful with that silly airplane of yours, you are not in San Antonio now, and anyway, she would like to see you again alive.  Et tu Brutus.

Thursday

Can't even remember what happened to my letter writing mind of last night but nevertheless I shall make a favorable attempt to finish this letter this evening.

I'm so glad you had such a fine Christmas.  Ours was quite pleasant after time progressed, having to work Christmas morning spoiled the day for the.  We caught a train from Wausaw Christmas afternoon and got home @ 7:00 p.m., which wasn't too bad, the train ride was fun - Next trip I take I shall reserve a chair in the Club Car - Anyway, we got home to a most wonderful Christmas dinner.  Everything from oyster cocktails (my favorite) to after dinner Brandy.  Being accustomed to the rarity of institutional cooking I found my taste buds gone but they soon began to bloom and all was well.  Thursday being our day off was spent eating, talking, drinking, and doing all the good things one does while at home.  It was good seeing my brother, who is still in the Army.  He and his wife were home for the holiday.

Listen my dear, Mr. Rounds you haven't seen anything until you really do see Insulin Shock Treatment.  The amount of insulin given to Diabetics is so very small compared to the treatment of mental illnesses.  Diabetics getting only 10 to 20 units before each meal.  However, with this type of shock treatments the amount varies from 120 to as high as 300 units.  The treatment usually lasts form 1:00 a.m. until noon, depending on the patients.  It's the damnedest thing I have ever seen (full shock).  The first time I saw it I was so frightened I wanted to go right home and pack my things and bid farewell to this type of work forever.  But now, I'm quite accustomed to the treatment and it  doesn't bother me too much.  What surprised me so greatly was the great number of young men and women who are here.  One starts to think, what the devil is this generation coming to?  A lot of the fellows are ones who have been in the Army, that's understandable - but the women - Speaking of the weaker sex, I'm convinced.  I shall defend them no longer.  Most of them are from the richest families, perhaps that's reason without thinking any further.  Perhaps if some of them went out and earned their "way" for awhile they wouldn't have time to be depressed and all theses idiotic things they've been thinking and doing.  I could rave on all night but I won't.

As far as "throwing invitations around" Why do you suppose one sends invitations?  Of course, to be accepted.  I would like to see you very much (Excuse me, one of the nurses just dashed in and wants us to go to the movie, so we shall - will write more later)

I hope you will be patient and I shall get on with this.  This is Saturday.  Please forgive me if you have a rather difficult time trying to decipher this so called writing.  Guess the movie was too much for me as 2 a.m. in bed as a result.  I managed to pick up a beautiful cold and feel miserable.  (the price one pays for living in the North)  Anyway, I'm supposed to be resting.  Which I shall do after I finish this letter to you.  I have been enjoying the luxuries of the Milwaukee Sanitorium.  Perfectly wonderful meals delivered right to my bedside.  I love it.  Guess I've let this cold linger.  On second thought, I guess I won't miss my work too much.

As I was saying.  It would be perfectly wonderful seeing you again.  May I also say, no explanations are in order - Tell me, what is there to explain?  Oh, all right, if you want to hear the story of my life again I shall gladly submit same.

January 6

I have found one thing try in my life.  Never plan anything. From today on I shall do just that thing.  Today is the day for the Ballet and here I am still in bed.  I had planned on going so ver much.  Gosh, that makes me so mad (angry, pardon me).  Oh, well, there will be more _ Everything happens for the best, no matter how cruel it seems at the time -

Heavens man, keep me in suspense no longer.  Tell me about Bill Ayers' wedding.  Frankly, I can't believe it.  Just can't picture Bill married.  Has he written you?  Did you receive an invitation?  Is the girl from Hamilton? Did they have a large wedding?  Tell all, Doc, I really am interested, as it is what I never expected, but then, one never knows.  I certainly hope for Bill's sake it is the "real thing' (if such exists).  He certainly would be a miserable object unhappily married.  Enough about that - I am anxiously awaiting all details - 

Forgive me if this letter is bad, I know it is.

Take it easy in that little flying machine - please -

As ever, 

Anne

 Do write soon, per unusual

June 26, 1944

Luke Field

Phoenix, Ariz

June 26, 1944

Dear Bill:

I was more than glad to hear from you yesterday (Sunday).  I hadn't given up hope but I thought maybe you had a lot on your mind.  Mother has promised you would write so I half expected to get that letter.

I thought I had written I am flying an AT6 which looks like a BT 13 but performs a lot different.  The BT you saw in "A Guy Named Joe" was either a BT 9 or 13, I don't know which.  They are both very similar.  The AT has retractable landing gear and a much smaller tail assembly making it much more maneuverable at high speed and easier to handle.  Of course it is the most sensitive plane I have been in yet.  Your rudders and stick control are easily coordinated so not much thinking is needed to fly it.

A Guy Named Joe - Trailer with Spencer Tracy

It will cruise at an indicated air speed of about 145 at 5000' but can be made to go straight and level  175 with everything fire walled and hellbent.  It also uses a gallon of gas a minute at such speed.  It carried about 110 gals and can stay in the air 6 hours if the mixture is leaned way out and the prop spent in full high RPM and manifold pressure about 23".  At that setting you get about 120 mph indicated at 9000'.  You can see that its range can be about 1 hour and 50 minutes long or apron 6 hours long.  Of course the difference in air speed makes some difference.

This ship can do most any kind of aerobatics maneuver thought of.  It has speed restrictions and other than inverted spins it has no other than the speed restrictions.  It is red lined at 240 but can withstand 300 easily.  It is very sturdy because today I dove it to 200 and hauled back on the stick and put 6 1/2 g's and the meters.  You are supposed to "Black out" at 4 g's but you won't if you know how to handle them.

I can't say much about the radio because I don't know much about it.  It is a command set and standard army equipment.  Of course it uses crystal tuning in connection with coils.  The receiver is quite easy to tune to any station but this transmitter is really a baby.  I doubt if I could tune the radio and keep it on st. and level.  When you want to transmit on anything but a preflight frequency you have a headache.

Some ships have two radios in them so that you can hear 2 stations at once.  So! we listen to "Max Perkins" "Kate Smith" et al while listening to the tower.  The purpose of the radio is to get a radio fix by the intersection of two radio beams.  I have never heard of it being done.

Well we have sweated out 5 weeks here and the upperclass graduates tomorrow.  Most of them are going to P39 school or instructor school.  We have 39 days to go and each one brings the day that much closer.  I now have 36 hours so I am half through now which is quite a feeling.  You know I will be through before I know it and then I may get home.  Its a swell feeling to know you will get home soon but the wings and bars don't mean as much as they did once.  I guess the reason is that just like anything when you can't have something it looks a lot better but when you have it in grasp it loses some of its luster.  I also don't feel old enough to take on the responsibility.  Maybe I will be a flight officer but I hope not.

I wish we had a plane when I got home so I could take everyone for a ride.  I like this low flying.  It sure is a lot of fun to see how close you can come to something and miss.  We haven't had any low flying yet but my instructor has flown up some of these washes out here.  Pretty soon we get a low cross country max alt 500' and the way some of the heat come up around here I guess I shall fly in the shade of the cactus most of the time; well maybe not that low.

We got a look at a lot of combat planes here.  we see 47's , 39's, 17's and 24's every day.  B25's come in for repair every so often and A24's and A25's come in frequently.  We often get visited by 3 Culva Cadets with tricycle landing gear.  They come in at about 110 mph and look just like 39's.  Those little buggers cruise at about 130 and are really a nice looking ship but much too small.  Civilian planes in general are not allowed on the field but these need a long smooth runway and we have the only one available.  For my money I will take a Luscombe.  Any Army plane will not be suitable for civilian flying because they are not safe for the general run of the mill of flyer.  They have to be flown out of a spin and do not come out by themselves.  Any C.A.A. plane comes out hands off in 1 1/2 turns.  The AT 6 falls like a brick.  You have a very high wing loading and therefore make recoveries difficult.

I got some more pictures the other day and the only comments were that I had a nice looking sister; they mean the young one I guess.  You don't seem to change but Mary seems to be growing up.  Maybe work and w -ing people changes everyone.

Well I guess I could shoot you an old line but my social life is rather restricted.  I haven't left the post in 5 weeks.  What I saw of Phoenix didn't impress my particularly.  Say!  Tell Mary to get her gang on the ball and paint those dials straight.  I could do as well myself on some of the ones I see.

Give my love to Dot?

Austin

May 1, 1944

War Eagle Field

Lancaster

May 1, 1944

Dear Pop (A.P.)

I forgot and wrote Pop before I realized what I had done; please excuse.

I haven't written to you in some time even though I get word from you every once in a while.  I guess you get all the news from the other letters.  I do write to quite a number of fellows I have met so all my letters do not go Stoneham way.

Today I got my 2nd cross country.  It was some trip.  I had a good plane and a good parachute.  Everything was swell.  I almost got lost but used a little common sense and found my way back on course.  The only trouble was that the more I studied my map the further off course I got so that I lost 10 minutes in route.  One fellow hasn't returned yet.  Another fellow ended up over near the Colorado river about 150 miles off course.  He had to come down and get gas before he could get back.  Those fellows just didn't use too good sense.  When I was a couple of minutes over E.T.A. (Estimated Time of Arrival) I started looking around.  I was over a railroad which I knew I should be over but which way I was to go was my problem.  I found out soon enough.

Of course there was a lot of cutting up along the course.  I didn't get into much but did to a little wing tip to wing tip flying part of the way.  They had a control plane that was trying to "shoot down" any one who was not looking around.  This plane would fly formation with you till you saw him.  You were then shot down.  He got a few fellows; not me.

We have put in our preferences for what we will eventually fly.  I put in in the following order. P51, B25, and B26 1st, 2nd and 3rd.  Of course that is only my choice and may not have anything to do with what we will finally fly.  A large percentage of the fellows put in for P51 and P38.  I didn't put in for 38's because they have plenty now and unless I am really hot I would be put on a B24 as co-pilot which is not my idea of flying.  My 2nd choice of B25's is a possible one because they will soon be using them in great numbers in low level work.  I might even get into A 20's which was my 1st choice at Santa Ana but they are now principally used for night fighting.  B26's are my 3rd choice because they are medium bombardment planes.  I don't want to get too high off the ground.  B24's, 17 and 29's will be flying too high for me.

P51 Mustang

B25

B-26

We have changed into sun-tan uniforms.  Today we were scheduled to put on the new uniform and by chance the weather took a change for the better.  I guess that's California for you.  The calendar says fair weather and what happens but the sun comes out.  We also went swimming in the swell pools we have.  They are just cold enough so that about 15 minutes of swimming is enough.  We don't have time for more anyway.  I get a kick out of it just the same.  I'll bet you don't feel like swimming.  I get a chance to see a few weather maps of the country and it don't seem any too warm back there.

Richard Bong - Pacific Theater Ace

Don Gentile - European Theater Ace

I guess you have heard about some of the present war aces; Bong and Gentile.  You have probably heard about how they canned Gentile after his crash.  As a matter of fact around here he is being used as an exception to all the rules of good flying.  The reason he is sent back is because they had got fed up with his flying.  He overshot his field and didn't go around for another landing as he should have.  That was a violation of flying discipline.  He has had about as many planes shot out from under him as he has shot down.  He was washed out of cadets from this field when they were training British cadets 4 times for dumb stunts that are never tolerated.  The British got fed up with him and were glad to see him transfer to the U.S. Army when we entered the war.  In all he is a very lucky man to be alive and can attribute his whole skin to the efforts of others.  As for his 23 planes I guess he had a little more luck than most fellows.  I guess they have saved his life for the last time when they bring him home.

I haven't got to L.A. for the last couple of weeks.  I go into Lancaster on the bus and get a big T Bone Steak see the movies and then go roller skating.  I get a lot more fun out of it than going into L.A. where there is a lot of nothing to do and expensive to do it.  I also get a lot more rest because I can sleep all day Sunday or do anything I want.  In any case I don't have to worry about getting back.  Much easier on the nerves.

I wrote to my Primary instructor the other day and much to my surprise he wrote right back to me.  The more I think of my training there the more I know how well he taught me what I know.  I only wish I had him all the way through my training.  He said that I did my part all right but I guess he knew what he was doing more than I did. 

Well I must close now.  I am again working on 10 words in code an my pass 10 before I leave.  We only get one period a week now.

With love

Austin