November 19, 1945

Brooks Field

Nov. 19, 1945

Dear Mother:

What do you think of green ink?  I ran out today and have no more blue so I have to use some that Bill left behind.  

I got your letter today and noticed right away the two Air Mail stamps.  I had been wanting an Air Mail stamp for a letter going to Mary.  I owe her a letter and when the mail goes by Air the lapse time seems less.  So I will send one of them off to Mary.

I have just gotten over a bad case of tonsils.  I had a sore throat when I got back and last Wed my tonsils became inflamed and swelled up so I could hardly swallow.  It was about twice as bad as a sore throat.  I went on sick call and the "Doc" gave me some pills which did no good.  Well now I can write because I am all over my trouble and you won't worry.  I don't know just what cured my trouble but it is really gone now.  I feel like having my tonsils out and will if I have any more trouble.

I guess the women do take a lot of my time and perhaps money but I don't know what to do about it.  Maybe it's me but it doesn't seem to be something you can take or leave.  If I don't see Anne I miss her and when I realize that soon I will be gone for good I feel that I will miss her very much.  I probably could live very well without the female influence but they do make life more interesting.  So what can I do about my case?

Do you remember that pink shirt I said I was going to give to Anne?  Well she has it now and what a perfect fit.  She put it on for me last night when I went home with her and I have never seen a better shrink job in my life.  It looks like it was made special for her and fitted to her.  I was so happy when I saw it.  She says it will be a good golf shirt.

You should have seen me this weekend.  I went to one of those much publicized "Dude" Ranches up in Bandera Texas about 50 miles from San Antonio.  I wore a beautiful red, black and yellow plaid shirt, a pair of blue jeans and a pair of cowboy boots.  I hadn't intended to tell you about the boots because I am sure you will think I am crazy but I have had them some time now and they fit well and I don't feel so foolish about them.

Well to go on with the story, those clothes were all I wore up there.  I really felt like a civilian again.  We got up there at 8:00 PM and I changed my clothes in a cabin and off to town we went.  We all had on plaid shirts and blue jeans so we bummed a ride.  They have dances going on all over the place so we picked out one and danced almost all night.  They have hill-billy music in the "Juke Box" so we danced "Put Your Little Foot", "Shoittish" and "Cotton Eyed Joe" most of the time.  We had a grand time doing all those funny new dance steps.

No one sleeps in Bandera, not if anyone else knows about it.  We all had two cabins which were connected by a bathroom and all night after we got back they were throwing water, wet towels, wet sheets and finally wet pillows at each other through the bathroom.  Finally things quieted down a little and then someone filled a bunch of "coke" bottles full of water and then went around soaking beds.  That was the last straw as far as any good sleep was concerned.  So at 0600 AM everyone was asleep but up at a 0800 AM for breakfast.

After breakfast we went riding and I as usual looking like a great horseman was given a high strung horse.  I had to hold him for all of the 3 hours and all he did was prance around stiff legged.  Boy!  do I have a sore rear end.  I wore the skin off in places and can hardly sit down.  Anyway I pick nice big soft chairs now if they are available.

These photos are probably not from this trip, but from an earlier one in either Phoenix or Roswell,
as evidenced by the uniform and lack of plaid or cowboy boots.

After a wonderful dinner they all couldn't stop to sleep for a few minutes but had to go play softball and then go dance again.  Anne and I finally got the party back so I could change clothes and back to town we came last night at about 9:00 PM.  It had really been a memorable weekend, one I shall never forget.

Today I am sleeping in between formations.  I have one more to go and then I must get some shoes in town.  What I really need is rest and more rest and it feels like it will take a week to get it all.  I think the trip was all worth while, because I have some clothes like I have never had before and a lot of pleasant memories.

I guess I am running out of paper so will have to close for now.

With love

Austin

PS Just call me "Tex"

April 2, 1945

April 2, 1945

Dear Mother:

This is going to be just a short note because I have got to get some sleep before flying the first mission.  It is now 1900 and I can get 8 hours sleep if I go to bed now so every minute I write is one minutes sleep lost.

We had a rather uneventful week end.  We were supposed to fly but the weather got rather bad and no one got off.  Of course it was Easter Sunday and I had to go to church but decided to go at night rather than waste all that sleep getting up early.  As it was I got 12 hours of sleep and to church in the same day.  I went to the Baptist Church because I know some of the people there and don't know any in the other church.  I guess it doesn't matter a great deal where I go.  As it turns out we usually go to the largest church in town because they have more doing at night and the minister and services are always better, you know just shop around for the best in the Air Corp.

Anyway they had a wonderful musical service and I enjoyed it a great deal. After church is Fellowship where you meet all the young people of the church, and those about my age, mostly girls, some deal.  We go to some house and have a bang up time playing cards, dominoes, or what have you.  They have refreshments and all good things to eat.  I rather look forward to these Sundays because they are a lot of fun and relaxation.

I suppose you wonder what we do all day long, well things are rather rushed and the schedule has few loop holes.  We do get an hour out for dinner in between 8 hours of scheduled classes besides 1 hour of orientation.  It gets to be a long day but most everything is interesting.  I fell to sleep in one class and almost fell out of the chair and then couldn't go to sleep again.  It was a "ditching" class so I hope we don't ditch in the ocean some day.  We had 3 hours of Aircraft Engines and Engineering and also a test in Airforce Air Regulations and some other classes but they weren't very interesting and I don't remember what they were.  We had an hour of P.T. which is rather rough.  We may get soft sitting in chairs all day but the last thing they do is toughen you up for another day.

Please send the clothes as soon as possible if not sooner.  I hope they have gone by the time you get this and if not please make a special effort because I will very soon need them.  What do you think of the idea of getting my summer blouse made into a battle jacket?

I guess I will get some letters about N.Y. in the next day or two.

I hope you can read this letter.

With love

Austin.

Musical selections from program

Prelude   "Easter Evening" - Faulkes

Hymn      "All Hail The Power"

Offeratory "Supplication" - Asper

Choir       "Rejoice the Lord is Risen"

                "Hosannah in the Highest"

                "O, Jerusalem"

                "Then They Took Jesus"

                "There is a Green Hill Far Away"  Organ Solo

                "Behold the Angel of the Lord"

                "Lift Up Your Voices"

                "Resurrection Bells"

                "An Easter Prayer"

                "Christ Is Risen"

                "Lo, I Am With You"

                "Lift Up Your Heads"

                "Thanks Be to God"

Postlude   "Alleluia"  - Mallory 

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