July 15, 16, and 17, 1945. Stanley writes a few letters to Dad from Albany. Anna is still in the hospital after delivering her second child. She is expected to be home “sometime the end of the week or so.” In the meantime, although there has been no date set for the baby’s baptism Stanley shares the news that the baby will be called “Judith Ann — Judy for short.”
Stanley details a trip that he took with Eddie to Lake George where Eddie’s boss, Mr. Martin, has a camp where he keeps a boat that Stanley describes as “a yacht”. He goes on to detail that they took the boat out twice during the day and it was “pretty smooth and is pretty long.” Eddie had to “install a radio and clock” in the boat. While Eddie was working on the boat, Stanley tried his hand at some fishing to no avail. “The fish did not even nibble on the hooks, in fact we did not even see any fish at all.” However, they did not starve as they had “big pieces of steak which was very delicious and tender and cooked just right” for dinner. He goes on to write, “It was much better than we had at Camp Kilmer when we got off the ship.”
On the 16th he writes that they went to the hospital to visit Anna and that “she will be allowed to sit up at suppertime and in about another four to five days she will be able to come home. I hope she comes home faster. It will be much better to go visit her downstairs.”
Stanley also updates Dad on some of their friends who are also in the service:
- “Ed Falkowski is somewhere in North Carolina or Virginia.”
- Joe’s [Miller] carrier was damaged in the hurricane or typhoon which hit early last month or last part of the month. It is again in commission and they are over near Japan somewhere.”
On the 17th Stanley writes, “…half of my vacation is over now and I have enjoyed it… It could have been a better one if Anne wasn’t in the hospital but you have to face things as they come.” He went to see Anna again and she “is doing very good now and so is the new born babe. …she was sitting up already today…and hopes to be home sometime at the end of this week…”
Although he is on a 30 day R&R, he is still unable to totally depart with describing things as they might have been described in the 401st Bomb Group. “Last night, boy did I have a time with one mosquito who pestered me half of the night. I’d lay quietly and then hear something peeling off and coming in for a strafing job so I ducked underneath cover. Then it was quiet so I came up from under the bomb shelter and just about get some fresh air when I hear something coming from the other direction. He must have come with the wind as he was coming down pretty fast in the dive, probably about 350 miles per hour or more. So I ducked again. Well it kept going that way for a while until he must have run out of 100 octane so he made a forced landing on my arm. Then seeing that I was in danger of getting shot by the enemy I opened up with my flak barrage from my palm of my hand and made the kill.”
As a P.S on the letter he writes, “You by any chance did not move to Okinawa with that big bunch? I sent you a clipping regarding the above.”
Albany Times Union Clipping from July 13, 1945 that Stanley sent to Dad