Letter # 18 May 1, 1943

May 1, 1943
Sat Aft. 3P.M.
Hi Darling;
Boy are we getting a break today. All through at noon and as far as I know nothing to do until Monday morning, pretty nice huh? You see this is the end of our fourth week of basic and we can now get passes to leave camp for 24 hours over the weekend. The army is taking a convoy to Lake Charles and asked everyone that wanted to go to sign for the trip on Wed. They furnish all transportation, food and lodging and the boys are pretty much on their own while there. The only catch is the long hot dusty ride in the back of an army truck down there and back and then the only thing you could do that we don't have in camp is go swimming. I was awful tempted to go for just that one reason but I shied away from the long ride in the truck. The weather is hotter than hell and it is just like an oven in those canvas covered trucks, so I decided to stay in camp and take it easy. Most of the boys will probably be gone and it will be easy to get in a show or the P.X. and I will have as good a weekend as I could have in town with much less effort. I'm not even going to go to any of these little towns this week and you can probably guess why from the description I wrote of them in my last letter. One of these weeks I will go in and try to get a picture of me to send to you.
They changed the uniform to cotton suntans today and it sure is a relief from those heavy woolen uniforms. They were made for up north and not down here. It is going to be hard to keep these in shape. They only issue us two shirts and two trousers and being light colored they will show dirt pretty easy. The laundry takes a week so one set will have to last a whole week and in this hot weather I don't see how they can. So, I may have to buy an extra set to even have any fit to wear.
Today was payday and did I get rich. I had $5.00 coming. They take out for two mo. insurance the first month and with the $5.00 they advanced us a couple weeks ago, and the laundry expense out I only had $5.00 coming. So I got rich don't you think. Don't worry about the money situation though. I still had $43.00 left of what I brought along so I am still nearly even.
Last night Blackstone the magician was here at the bowl and I went to see the show. It was very good, the old boy is sure slick with his hands and he had some very nice looking chorus girls too. First time I have seen a feminine leg above the knee since I left you, looked good too.
I was out until 11:30, imagine that, first time I've been out that late since I've been here. That is quit a record for me I think. I can still take it, up at 4:30 and not even sleepy so I guess that proves it.
You asked about the armored divisions all being in La. I don't know but the country is ideal for the type of training necessary for an armored division and there is plenty of wasteland, which it takes plenty of, to afford them enough room to move around in.
The original home of the 8th armored is at Fort Knox, Ky. and they were there until just shortly before I went into the army and then they moved down here. It would be kind of nice if I was at Fort Knox. I would be a hell of a lot closer to you and could probably slip home once in a while. This part of La. and east Texas is full of armored outfits, plenty of them, all in various stages of training.
I'm glad I happened to mention the W.A.A.C.S. first but as I said I haven't yet seen one that could even draw a second look from me. Knowing me and how I like to look, you can get a fairly good idea of how they look to me.
It looks like Mary Leidig and Letha Crofoot are a good average of the type of girl in that branch of the service. There is always a bunch of them hanging around the P.X.'s and service club here at night waiting for a pick up which they usually get. One of the boys that sleeps next to me, a young fellow, took one out and reported the next morning she was so easy to make it wasn't even fun and that she said she joined the service for that purpose, and was being well satisfied. So there is a report on one particular W.A.A.C. and from what I have seen it would cover most of them. Don't worry, I'll save mine until I come home and will I give you hell, just wait and see. I'll leave the professionals to the young bucks, and let them get the clap and etc. Sure is crap to put in a letter but I did it. Those girls make me so disgusted I had to say something.
Glad to hear spring is coming and things are beginning to come up. Maybe you will believe I planted your tulips and did a good job of it. You know you were very skeptical last fall. If it should get very dry don't forget to give our shrubbery around the house some water once in a while. Don't bother about watering any of the rest. Tell Marg thanks for uncovering the strawberries, it sure ought to be time to do it, but when they get in blossom, if it looks like a heavy frost, just rake a little straw over them for the night and take it off next day and you can save them. I also wish I could be there to see things come out but you will just have to tell me how things are coming. I am very much interested in that part of home also. You don't quite occupy all my thoughts of home but damn near all at that.
I guess most any place we were together would be home to me. You have become a very necessary part of me, you old devil, but you're sweet and I admit it.
That box with the coat hangers, cookies, candy, and magazines sure proves that point and I really do appreciate it. I don't know where you got the sugar to make it all and don't run yourself short just for me, but it sure does taste good. Leo also says it is very good and I guess I'll have to hide it to get as much as I want of it myself, selfish am I not.
Leo is also spending the afternoon writing to his girl, she is a teacher also. They had expected to be married this summer and still may be if he gets a furlough to go home. He asked my opinion of it and all I could say was I sure as hell wasn't sorry I was married, because I was very sure some other guy wasn't going to get you while I was gone. Selfish again, but I would sure hate to loose you while I was in the army. I know I won't in your case but I was talking of his case. If he and she think as much of each other as we do it would be tough to have one or the other get tired of waiting. I don't know if that is the proper advice or not but since I'm in the army and know how much it means to have a swell wife waiting for me to come back, I'm beginning to believe it is. I didn't believe it when I was home. This army life puts a different slant on things. While it is selfish of me and hard on you, having a very dear one to write to and to write to me and keep me in touch with home seems to furnish a tie that makes the hard tough life of the army easier and gives me a real reason to be here and do my best to help put the world back in shape again.
Most of the young fellows haven't that strong tie to help them over the tough spots and they do a lot of bitching and get blue because of the loss of personal liberty and hardship that goes with army life. All I have to do is look at your pictures and the pictures of home or read one of your letters and I feel like going ahead again and getting the job done. So you see you mean a lot more to me than just something to satisfy my sex appetite, which was what you sometimes used to think, and maybe it was to a large extent, but not anymore. You have now become an inspiration and source of strength even though you are 1500 miles away. I love you like hell and will always continue to even if I don't tell you so, but maybe the army will even change me a little and I may tell you more often than I used to.
As I read this over I wonder who the hell wrote it, it sure doesn't sound like me, but somehow I wrote it and believe every word of it. I guess the army has already changed me. How about it? don't you think so?
Leo and I have just decided to go to the Service Club and order our supper and have a couple of cold drinks of some kind. We are so rich we are going on a spree, a very small one, he is much like me, doesn't drink much, and tastes are very simple so we won't whoop it up very hard.
I am feeling fine and getting more interested in some of this work every day. If you weren't so far away this would nearly be fun but as you are it is an interesting job to which I object very little. If I haven't made it clear that I love you more and more and think of you a lot, I will say I sure as hell do. Keep your chin up and be a good little soldier and I will come home someday.
Your loving husband
Norm