October 23, 1942
On maneuvers

Dear Dad,
It’s been quite a while since I wrote a letter to you, so decided that this one should at least have your name on it.

I don’t know whether your eldest son is a brave man or a damn fool, don’t answer that, but he has signed up in the parachute troops and is taking the physical examination for it. It will probably be 3 to 4 weeks before the transfer goes through.

Rumsey and I got the idea, and Dewey and a couple of the fellows, Baker and Seitz, decided that we had to have company so the five of us applied, took the exam and all passed. We hope to stick together if it is possible, as we are all good friends and have a lot of fun together.

It will probably be pretty tough on us and we’ll have to work a lot harder, but other fellows have made it, so there’s no reason why we can’t. As far as danger is concerned, when your time comes, you’ll go, no matter where you are. For that matter, this outfit would be a regular suicide squad in combat.

We will all be broke back to privates (one sergeant, two corporals and myself). Dewey didn’t have a rating, but the base pay is around $100 a month, so none of us lose any money.

We will have to take six weeks of physical training and six weeks of technical training, making three months in all. We would all like to get into ordinance, but will probably end up in the infantry section.

We all got fed up with this laying around doing nothing outfit and wanted something with a little snap. Maybe we’ll regret it, but you never can tell until you try, almost anything would be better than this.

We had to sign papers that we would jump from an airplane and land via parachute. I made the remark that we would jump and land sure enough, but via parachute was what we were worried about. You have to jump at least once a month after you qualify, and you get paid extra for it.

The fellow I drive with, Drapcho, and I had a little excitement yesterday. We were located a little way from the Saline river on the LA side and the enemy was on the Texas side.

Some of the enemy that thought they’d pull a fast one, so they tried to swim across with all their clothing and equipment on, including steel helmets, side, arms, gas masks, rifles, etc.

The swim is about 75 to 100 yards wide in a canyon with water ranging from 8 to 30 foot deep and some bad crosscurrents and they didn’t send anyone in ahead to test it.

Eight of them started and five of them got across by dropping their rifles and helmets, but the other three went under, two of them got rid of their equipment and came back up and we saved them, but the third was down for good.

We looked for him for about two hours, but the water was so muddy that we couldn’t see more than a couple of feet, and so deep where he went down that we couldn’t stay down but a few seconds at a time, so we finally gave up. They haven’t found him yet.

That makes 10 men drowned so far, besides all that have been killed in accidents, which is plenty.

This problem is supposed to be over this afternoon. We have two more to go, unless they make up their minds to lengthen the maneuvers, which will make them end about November 10.

This transfer business will probably nail our furlough hours, so that it will be next spring before we get one, if we do then.

Well, I’ve rambled on for long enough so will close.

You’re loving son,

Wayne

PS. I got mom‘s cookie this morning, that is we got them. Drapcho said they didn’t have enough coconut in them, but it didn’t seem to hold him back any. I thought they were good as they were. Tell her thanks a lot. Wayne.