The following are from the “Treasure Trove” found in Peggy Fox’s attic, which her family has generously given to the Historical Society, the Gazette will be publishing much more in future issues.
Lawrence Mason: Larry was in Italy when the post office in which he was working was bombed. Had he been at his desk, he would have been killed.
Donald Hoffman: Is now studying to be a crew chief. He works on the ground days and flies evenings.
George Merrell: Who has been stationed in Kansas is now in Texas, where he is taking an advanced pilot’s course.
Richard Fitzgerald: Word has been received that he has been transferred from a camp “deep in the heart of Texas” to one farther south.
Frederick Surridge: His wife and sister Helen have returned after 10 days with him at Camp Campbell, Ky. They report a fine time and that Frederick is looking for a furlough before too long.
Gardiner Lewis: Gardener had expected to get home for a few days but his hope vanished under a new ruling for officers at the base: “No leaves except in an emergency”.
Charlie Barrett: The last week in April he won expert marksmanship with a carbine rifle and received a three-day pass to a nearby city as a reward. He is in chemical warfare in the 90th Division at Fort Bragg
Werner Koennicke: Left for Camp Devens March 28. After 13 days he was shipped to Camp Plance, New Orleans, at the army air base, where he is training.
Merriam Davis: Has been back in the U. S. since the middle of January after serving as paymaster, supply officer and commissary officer of the 16th Construction Battalion of the Seabees in the South and Central Pacific area.
George Colburn: Has moved to the Mohave Desert where he works as a mechanic on P-39’s. He is kept busy on 12-hour shifts, 7 days a week, with a little K. P. thrown in for good measure.
Dorothy Howell: A WAVE graduated and, luck being with her, was sent to a camp in R. I. where she is stationed now. She is an airplane mechanic.
Austin Emmons: Writes from New Guinea wild tales – which he claims are gospel truth! He relates an incidence on a stormy night, with poor visibility, when he went on guard duty after reading a ghost story. Returning from duty, he spied a huge, bulky object looming out of the rain and cracked it with his billy club. It turned out to be a raincoat on a hanger. Irrepressible as ever, Austin offers the moron’s definition of a drizzle: a drip going steady.
And in Their Own Words…
Kurt Koennicke: Well, I’m still getting training here in England. I think I’ve had enough of it, but these other people (I don’t know who) don’t seem to think so. I enjoyed the trip over here a lot. Most of the fellows were sick, but I wasn’t. The more it rocked, the more I liked it. But the food was terrible! It looks nice here in England, but that’s where it stops. Most everything is rationed here, including cigarettes and razor blades.
Charlie Halbach: This is a ticklish job. These Sgts. see a young squirt of a gun mechanic coming in to take care of their guns and they feel they know enough to take care of them by themselves. We mechanics have to soften these birds up to a point where we can tell them what is really wrong with the gun and make them have confidence in us. The other day we were checking carbines for stoppages. A fellow rushed up to the Lt. pointing the gun at him and said, I have a stoppage, sir. You can imagine what the Lt. told him!
Malcolm Burdick: I can imagine what people at home would say, if the church were as cold as this one was this morning. I guess people here are tough. The people were very friendly and greeted us cordially. I have talked with English people on many occasions and they seem extremely friendly.
Stella Arendarczyk: Here’s our daily set-up: we’re up for reveille at 5:45; twice a week we have drill, one hour each day. I have a platoon of about 50 girls. Twice a week we have physical training. We march the troops in formation to breakfast at 7 o’clock. From then on until 5 p.m. the girls go to their various jobs. In the evening they are free. Lights are out at 9:30; they have bed checks at 11 during the weeks and 12 on Sundays. Saturday nights, no bed checks. So it’s not such a bad set-up at all. We have the service club on the post and various recreational facilities. Dayton is just 10 miles from the post. Bob Hope and his cast were here yesterday to entertain the whole squadron.
Steven Neborsky: Yesterday P.M. I got paid. That is the best day in the army. I received 18 lbs, 14 shillings and 3 pence, which would be $74.85 in American money. Boy that’s the most money I’ve received since I’ve been in the army – all at one time. I finally bought the bicycle I was planning to buy. I paid 7 lbs. for it, which would be $28. That’s probably too much money, but, boy, I can tell you it is much better than walking to the nearby town or city. The other night the Sgt. and I went to the movies in town and saw a good cowboy picture. In the newsreel they said something about New London, Conn, and boy, I nearly fell through the seat! I really was surprised to hear something about 1 of the cities near home all the way over here. Boy, oh boy!
Arthur Pearl: Hope you are fine. I am so far. Went swimming this morning and was the water good and warm in Italy! I go to a show now and then. I’ll have plenty to tell when I get home, which I hope won’t be too long. Boy, will it be good to get back home again!
-from the “Treasure Trove” found in Peggy Fox’s attic, which her family has generously given to the Historical Society