Training in the USA

U.S. Army
Ft. Geo. G. Meade, Md.
[Monday]
6/21/43

Dear Mom & Lou,
​
No doubt you already have received my letter explaining why it took several days for a letter to reach you.

Tracy Slack

The pie arrived in excellent condition on Friday [6/18/43] and was enjoyed to the utmost by Joe Taney, Tracy Slack, Charlie Munder “Mac” MacChesney, S. Q. Porter, Hovel & me.  It tasted swell & everyone wanted me to tell you it was delicious, which it surely was.

One of our boys, Sgt. Freddie Rath is leaving tomorrow [6/22/43] for Georgetown U. to go to college “on the Army”, a lucky break the younger fellows get.  I see from the order covering it that Whistle is to go in the same class.  Altogether we lose 3 men tomorrow [6/22/43].  I told Rath to look up Whistle.

We met some of the guys from the first camouflage outfit today - the 84th which was at Ft. Belvoir.  These fellows, 6 of them, are the sole survivors of Co. C which was all but wiped out in New Guinea.  They are a part of the 159th & 160th Combat Engineers, now on Post here.  From the way it looks they may be going to fight in the winter campaign in Burma - and we may possibly go along.

I’m looking forward to one thing - Capt. Stack said today that we were soon to have our own AA 50 caliber machine guns, so I’ll be able to fire them & perhaps get another bar for my medal.

Enclosed are some clippings from the Ft. Meade Post relating to our outfit & places we have been. It is getting to be a pretty interesting paper.

This morning we learned how to swim across a river by making a boat out of a shelter half & carry our equipment.  Pretty good system.  Also saw some good training movies & learned a lot about bridges.

Norman [Dahl] wrote me about Gladys[Dahl] being in the hospital.  I’ll try to get a letter off to her tomorrow.

The crow is on my shoulder now, probably reading this letter -

Love
Harold