October 16, 1944

Dear Family,

I got a lead on Charlie but he's a good distance from me. On my next pass I'm going to try and take my ship up to see him. It's like pulling teeth to get a ship over here unless it's for a combat mission. We have to slow time all our new ships so maybe I'll get to see him that way.

Someone asked me what I called my ship. Well the only thing I call my ship in the air when it acts up on me, or quits running on the belly tank an never does want to start going after I switch tanks, or gives me a high speed stall is "Baby". I just say "Oh Baby be good to me" and so far, we've always come through everything O.K. She sure has beautiful lines. What a body! What and undercarriage! Every now and then she smokes when I push her too hard. She gives me plenty of warning and I ease up on her for a while until she cools off.

People tell me I'm never going to get anywhere because I'm too east to get along with and too east going, but the older boys who get their promotions the same time I did can't see how I did it. They beefed for so long to get theirs and I never said a word. The old boys can't see how I got into the operations office and how I got to lead flights so soon. I even beat some of the old boys as far as leading flights go.

Sgt. Swicky, he's really a good guy and a smart kid and he has been in operations for a long, long time and he says he'll make a good operations officer out of me if it kills him. We have another Lt. in the office from West Point and Swicky says between the two of us we'll make all West Pointers look sick.

Swicky makes me keep my feet off the desk and keeps a close check on me to see that I don't screw things up a but he lets the West Pointers get himself in dutch all the time.

The thing that gets me down is getting up at 6:30 every morning. I usually roll over and they have to call me at least twice. Even these old GI sacks are warn and comfortable on these chilly morning.

Sticky also pinned my Lt. bar on when I got my promotion. He comes from Pittsburg, PA.

Lots of Love and Kisses To One and All As Ever

Al