October 2, 1942
Leesville, LA

Dear Mom

I guess I owe you a couple of letters but I just haven’t had time to write. I won’t write much this time as I didn’t get any sleep last night and I’m pretty tired.

I rolled my truck over this morning at 6 AM. It isn’t the truck it used to be by a longshot. The fellows with me and myself escaped injury, not even a scratch. It ripped off the pan, tore the hangers off of the frame and the body off the frame and never broke a window, hoop, or door knob. Sergeant Hager estimated $450 damage.

I didn’t have any brakes, they had gone bad about 20 miles back. We were driving blackout and met a car with lights on and it blinded me and I went over a bank on the right side of the road. I was in second gear and only going about 15 mph and it went over just like rolling over in bed.

I turned off the switch when I felt it go, the first thing I thought of was keeping it from catching on fire.

No one saw it happen and four or five of the other fellows went by before I got out and into the road and flagged one of them and sent word to the front.

We had a heckuva time unhooking the water trailer and getting the load out of the way. We put a rolling hitch on it and set it on its wheels, then hooked up to the front of it and pulled it back up into the road. I left them to catch up with the company and get some breakfast and Bob Rumsey went for the wrecker. Where it is now I don’t know or care. I made out my report and that’s all there should be to it.

I hope you can read this as I am used to rule paper and I am writing pretty fast. I thought I’d better write and let you know about the accident, or you might hear from someone else and think I might be hurt.

I feel lost now and probably will get another truck.

Well, I’ll write more later when I get rested up some. I won’t have nearly as much to do for a while now.

Love to all,

Wayne.