July 18, 1943

Dear Ruth and Emie,

You certainly are a couple of good hearted people. TEN whole dollars, Eeeeow! Thanks a million for all that money. I'm going to by a good pair of shoes with it. They say this is a mechanized war, but since I got into the "gadgets" you can't prove it by the shoe leather I use up.

Gee-o-golly I with I was going over to the lake with you people. Have a good time and tell me all about it.

Our day ends here about 8:30 at night. Then we're supposed to study for tow hours. The thing that gets me is the length of time between meals. We have breakfast at 7:00 AM, dinner at 3:00 PM and supper at 8:30 PM and we don't have time to run to the PX for a sandwich in between times either.

I guess you heard I can't land this dang old plane. My instructor sent me up for a ride with my flight commander. He told me I could fly the plane, so he gave me some duel instructions on landing and a new instructor. My new instructor taught me in two days how it should be done. In four days I shot some sixty odd landings. I spent so much tine on landings that I'm kind of behind the rest of my flying. I may get the bounce yet, but there's two out, nobody on base and I'm up at bat. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

They call this BT-13 a flying cement box. It certainly is a hefty looking piece of equipment. It flies like a Mack truck. If I make this course I'll have an over developed right arm from hailing that joy stick around in the cockpit.

Five fellows have already got the axe in the neck. The kid that sleeps next to me got it yesterday. They told him he could fly the airplane but that he let the ship fly him every now and then.

These instructors certainly can curse a blue streak. In flying, there's no such thing as a perfect flyer so no matter what we do it's wrong and there's always room for improvement.

Tony's instructor told him that he didn't think that Tony could pedal a GD kiddy cart and that he was a hot pilot in Primary.

Naturally the more they beef at you the more rattled we get and the worse our flying becomes.

As ever Love

Al