February 19, 1943. Stanley writes to Dad. He thanks Dad for sending him some Air Corps pins for his uniform. He also notes “Well, four months have passed just now since I have been in the Army. It was four months on February 15, 1943. Boy they sure went by pretty fast and I have covered a lot of territory in that time. “
He offers the news that “My fourth week marks were pretty good for a change. On Exam No. 4 my mark was a 91%-B, on the graded problem for the week I had A-100%, and a closed book problem which we had during the earlier part of the week a B, I do not know what the exact mark was, just a B.” Of their current course he says, “We get problems which we would actually get in the field office and we have to read them figure them out and work them out and write them on paper, and should a form be made up.”
He reports, “In the evening after school we had a PETER PARADE. This time we did not have an army medical officer but a civilian and boy was he sort of strict. He was an old fellow and had a soldier hold a lamp about two feet away from you. He looked under your arms, the hairs, between your feet and the thing of course then between your toes for athlete feet.”
On a different topic he says, “I hope and I know you will have all the opportunities like I had. I think it will be easier for you in school than it was for me as you always did study and had good marks. Here is a few suggestions. Take in as much as you can when you are at school. …all the stuff you learned in a school previous will help you very much. The best thing to do is study and never give up. Pay close attention as it is those small things that count a lot.”
He also reports seeing the movie “Next of Kin” and says it was basically a training movie about how information innocently passed among friends and relatives can jeopardize missions. He also says that the army has provided a day room where soldiers can relax that is furnished with “small writing desks, lamps, sofa and chairs, a nickelodeon, magazines and funny books… It’s a nice little place. The USO furnishes letter writing paper and envelopes.” However when he was there he only saw “one dog and one soldier, not counting me.”
Poster art for the movie Next of Kin which conveyed the wartime message of being careful about what was communicated to family and friends back home. Image Credit: Wikipedia
In addition to all the letters from his sister Anna, Stanley also received a letter from Regina Rajczewski back home. In the letter Regina tells that it has been so cold in Albany (as low as 28 below) that for a couple of days the streets were frozen and covered with ice. Both her and her brother fell on the ice, her brother “cracked his wrist and has a cast” and she “hit her elbow could not move it for a whole day.”
He says that Anna wrote him and told about receiving the jellies from Miami Beach. Stanley also received a package from home with two rolls of film, some cookies and candy bars. That’s about all the new he has for this letter. He closes “God bless you and keep you safe everywhere.”