September 26, 1943

Dear, Mom, Pop, Marie, Shirley and Avis,

Thanks a million for the star money Mom. You shouldn't do things like that, but I'll pay you all back when I start making my $250 a month. The trouble with the cadets is that we're supposed to live like officers but on cadet pay.

They have a new angle at this field. They take out another $2 for the shoe shines each month. They tell you that you can go into the barber shop anytime and get your shoes shined; when you can find the time the shine boy is never there, so we still go on polishing our own and paying for it. I started buying a uniform, that's another couple hundred dollars.

I'm sending a booklet home of Moore Field. It doesn't show too much but there's some good views of the ship we fly and the barracks we live in. This is about the prettiest field I've seen yet. Lots of green grass.

These AT-6's (AT stands for advance trainer) are really a sweet handling ship. Those old BT's were like driving a Mack Truck, but these are a little more on the limousine type. We have to have four hours of dual before we can solo. About Tuesday I should be doing it.

We get a lot of rat races here. You follow right on your instructor's tail and do what ever he does. You get a bunch of planes all strung out in a line and start doing slow rolls, loops, immelmanns etc...You really have some fun.

Lt. Baker was my instructor in Basic. Now I have Capt. Baker for my Advance instructor.

We went into town last night. It was funny, Tony and I spotted a "39" Buick with four new tires and a "C" gasoline sticker on the windshield and TWO good looking girls in the front seat. After a closer inspection of the tires and make to make sure that they weren't reproved, we asked them if they didn't want to take us for a ride. Much to our surprise, she said get in. We then proceeded to the Mexican border which was about nine miles away. Tony and I waited on this side of the rude while they drove across the border and filled the car up with gas. As long as you were born in the U.S. they ask no questions, you don't even have any papers. This is everybody but the soldiers. We have to get a special pass from our commanding officer.

After riding for a while, we went up to the hour of one of the girls. Boy oh boy what a ranch. It was the first real good looking place I've seen in Texas. The family was really nice to us. Maybe there is something to this southern hospitality ever of they do call me a "damn Yankee".

Did I tell you that if we get caught talks to a WAC we get 75 tours or 2 months of hard labor. No woman is worth that. Every time I see a girl in uniform I close my eyes and turn my head in the opposite direction, being confined to the field like we are most the time that's hard to do.

Okie wrote to us form twin engine and he said it's heaven up there. Telephones on all the barracks and all that sort of stuff, They get a lot more time off than we do.

Tony's wife is coming down in the near future. He'll be happy then.

We fly right next to the Rio Grande. If we cross over to Mexico and land it takes about two weeks to get you back. It's an act of Congress that finally gets you back to the U.S.

When we first started, a lot of boys got tired of flying, then they would pull a forced landing over there and rest up for a couple of weeks. The school clamped down on that in a hurry.

We're scheduled to graduate the 3rd of November.

Love and Kisses

Al