Training in the USA

U.S. Army
[Friday]
11/26/43

Dear Mom & Lou,

Your letter reached me today - when it got here the outfit was away on bivouac and the letter forwarded there. And I was here. We didn’t get any passes for Thanksgiving so a few of us went out on Wednesday [11/24/43] night and celebrated slightly in Baltimore - we did have a good dinner yesterday. [11/25/43]

Enjoying the attention of a beautiful woman,

probably a USO performer

Things have changed quite a bit around here. First the new Company Commander [Lt. Raynor] - Erickson is Tech. Sergeant again - Brewer has left for the Air Corps. - Gronwall went AWOL, got in a jam and is being dishonorably discharged - Lt. Bierly is being transferred overseas - Lt. Shaw (the one I hate) is in B company.

No, I haven’t heard a word from Mary [VanDuyne] - she is not much at writing, evidently. I wonder if she will have a furlough around Christmas - mine will be just before Xmas sometime -and there is a chance that I may get home Xmas week-end if I’m lucky. Perhaps not until Xmas noon, but even that would be swell. If so, could I bring someone who won’t be able to get home, if there is someone - Dave Porter for instance?

Right now I’m on CQ which is not too bad when you consider that it means I won’t stand inspection tomorrow. And on Monday [11/29/43] I get Sgt. of the Guard.

As to mail - don’t worry when you don’t hear from me for awhile -you’ll know about it when the time arrives for us to leave. And after that, goodness knows I won’t be able to write nearly as often.

The 603rd are fast becoming legendary fellows. The Battalion was at Camp Ritchie, the Intelligence Post, this week and were everywhere spoken of as a “crack” outfit - and we were told that the Colonel got a fine reception on his first visit to XIII [13] Corps Headquarters, partly due to the fact that the 5 of us as a group were way ahead of the field in the school. I hear he was well pleased. Add to that our legendary might when it comes to drinking and “killing” the girls. The boys at the school never did know what to make of us - to top it all off this other 603rd boy & I were in a little coffee restaurant in Baltimore Wednesday [11/24/43] night when in walked 3 boys from the school who had missed the train to their Post. They told us they were looking all over for girls and hadn’t found a one they could meet. There were two quite cute girls sitting at a nearby table so I told the fellows to watch us in about 10 minutes. In just 10 minutes the other 603 boy & I walked past the boys from the school with the girls on our arms.

Monday [11/29/43] I go back to duty with the Company which will feel pretty strange - I think we are going to the gas chamber -

Love
Harold

P.S. Lt. Mason is now a 1st Lieutenant.