Hello Schwenk,
I sure was glad to hear from you, heck I thought the army had caught you up long ago, and thought you were in Italy or New Guinea, ha ha. Don’t worry about getting in this mess, heck by the time they get you trained, this war will be over, the way things are going now it’s can’t last long any more. As for advice in this game, well pappy there isn’t a hell of a lot I cant give you, but I can tell you you will have to put with a hell of a lot of crap, make the best of it however, and follow the orders you are given, even if they do seem crazy as hell at times, and learn all you can in anything you are to study or learn, you can’t learn too much in this game, (I’m an Instructor, I should know that, ha ha.) I don’t know if you will have any choice in branches of service, but the Air Corps is not bad compared to the ground forces, in fact it’s almost a snap in some ways.
I’m O.K. as usual and still at the same old teaching game, since I came from the Pacific northwest I have had to make so darn many lectures on my trip, that I’m practically a “soap box” orator, ha ha. Things are pretty rough here lately, the officers are playing hell with court-martials, and I’m so damn busy trying to keep ahead of them I don’t have time to think right, my pet headache is running a barracks full of men along with my regular teaching job.
I’ve done quite a bit of pheasant hunting so far, I haven’t done too good though, the gun I used didn’t fit me, and I missed them to beat hell, ha ha. Gee I’ve come up on flocks of more than a hundred birds at a time, there are so many they are pests out here, the season runs from September to the end of February. I was out last evening but only got one, there is too much snow and they are wild as hell so we hunt them from a car, buta as soon as the car stops they fly.
We had a damn big blizzard the other day, and it sure tied up the whole northwest states, the temperature here went down to eighteen degrees below zero, and in North Dakota it hit forty two below zero, and as usual I didn’t have sense enough to realize it was so cold, and I froze my left ear again. It’s O.K. though I was lucky enough to catch it in time, ha ha after all I’m “virtually indestructible” anyway, ha ha.
I expect to be home on furlough from March the fourth to the tenth if things go O.K. so I think I’ll get to see you before you have to leave, anyway I hope so. Hartman and brother Frankare also called and expected to leave soon too, heck the old gang will soon all be in, what do you say?
Say boy, maybe you didn’t get much game, but you sure made up for it with muskrats and the coon, that was a damn nice haul, and the prices were pretty nice too, doggone it’s too bad I couldn’t have been along with you, I sure like trapping and outdoor sports.
Well, pappy I must close for now, I have a hell of a lot to do yet, and it’s way late, doggone I have to get up at five thirty in the morning, soI’ll say so long for now, and I hope to get to see you before you leave. I’ll write more when I get a chance, see you soon.
Very best wishes,
Red