12/5/39
Randolph Field, Texas
Hi Honey:
Slips on the typing. Gee, was I glad to hear from you today! I’d about given you up for lost. I’m behind on my notebook work so this will be short, and I hope, sweet.
OK on the papers. I shall try to get at it sometime soon. It will probably have to go through official channels now. Hope the MG stuff goes down with the ship. I wouldn’t care to have that popping up later in life, although there was nothing in there that couldn’t be disproved.
I put $40 in Postal today and sent $40 to Doc Sheaf. I shall probably need about 10 from the postal for running expenses. As we shall only have a few days, I won’t be home Xmas unless I flunk out, which is still a possibility. One of the upperclass did it today on final check—after doing ok up ‘til now.
Gloves for Chuck and Picture for Sis. Think we’d better hit the slip for Mom and the ties for Pop, as they need them and we shall have to be a little practical. Plant for the Scovels definitely. We owe them a lot for their help. I guess we’d better not send cards together this year for people would think you were here at Randolph (Please send cost estimate). I shall try to think of everyone. Got letter from Aiken today. Nice one.
The pictures had better be good! OK and fine business on bargain purchases. They sound good, and we probably won’t be able to do such things in the Army. Parachute license yet under consideration, but heaven knows when I’ll get a chance to do anything. I can’t do it here. Half of Texas has gone nuts about Burt—nice gals too! Oh, me.
Speaking of gals, Tom was elected our class rep to the social committee, and as such had to have a date for the dance coming up the 16th. Neither of us wanted one, so what we are doing solves a lot of problems. We’re taking a date between us. While he is “committeeing”, I amuse date. It works nicely, as anything that goes on after dance will be very involved with both of us checking each other.
These guys are driving me nuts arguing about whether “private A” excited a mutiny or not in a military law problem. I’m going to incite a riot pretty soon if it doesn’t stop.
I think that about answers your letter, except for the closing “How’s that!” Frankly, I think that was swell, and I got all weak inside when I saw the familiar crimson. You’re an angel, Martha.
Now for the daily bedtime story, which happened this morning. Strange as it may sound, this is absolutely no exaggeration, even if I am telling it.
One of our class stalled this morning at 5000 feet and fell off into a spin. As he was spinning to the right, he applied full left rudder and then full forward stick. This will always break a spin, but it didn’t. He put his controls back into the spinning position, full right rudder and stick back, and tried again. Still no reaction. Then he saw the ground coming up at a tremendous rate and instinctively pulled back on the stick. This is all wet, for it puts the ship in a flat spin, which is really dangerous. He got scared and decided to abandon ship, so he unfastened his safety belt and opened the canopy. Seeing that he had 3000 feet under him, he decided to take one more crack at recovering from the spin. He pushed the stick forward. The ship nosed over and threw him right out of the cockpit. He came down safely in his chute. Now the funny part is this. The ship landed itself in a damn good field and if the engine had cut out in time, it wouldn’t have been damaged at all. As it was, the damages were only minor!
All the love I have to my darling girl. Cy.
Enclosure (for “the women” or something). [This probably refers to money enclosed for Christmas presents for Nena and his mother]