May 1 44
I'll bet you are wondering why your dear little son hasn't written. Well I have been so busy I haven't really had time. I have written you a couple of letters but always misplaced them. We went out to Indian [Springs] flying & they sure kept us going all the time. From 4 o'clock in the morning till around 8 straight. We more or less eat if & when we get time. I flew 3 days in a row last week & I don't think there is any thing more tiring than it. I guess it's just a strain on your nerves. I don't care if you just go up & read you still come down tired.
We were sleeping in tents out there & one night we got a good rain. You talk about catching it in buckets well you wouldn't have enough buckets to catch all of it. It was just like standing above some one & throwing the water down by the bucket full. I was lucky I had a lower bunk so the poor sap above me caught it all
It also was quite a bit colder out there than here but it's almost twice as high. All in all I guess it wasn't so bad out there though. We had better chow there than we have here.
Well it looks like we don't get any delay enrout. We have heard rumors that we go to Lincoln also to Walla Walla - Wash. If I go to Lincoln I am going to see if Margaret won't come down. I'll have to wait & see what the score is though.
If you haven't forgotten, we will graduate in a week even sooner in fact. We will get our wings Sat. I guess it's a pretty sure thing me getting my wings now. I pass that big test I wrote you about with a 83. I thought I should have done better but after all it was based on the class and. & we have a lot of ex cadets. Personally I think I have done pretty good all in all on all these tests. I have around a 87-90 avg so I guessI can't kick too much.
About all we do this week is fly & mess around picking up on what we left out or missed. I guess we won't have any test to speak this week.
Well I have to fall out now so will write again soon also try to find those other letters.
Jack
Note: He meant Indian Springs there, so I corrected it. During WWII the Indian Springs Army Airfield was located near what is now Creech Air Force Base. The Army Air Corps used Indian Springs to train gunners for work on B-17s and trained pilots in the T-6 Texan training aircraft, according to Wikipedia. After the war, Jack would return to this area to visit the Nevada Nuclear Test Site as part of his work at Los Alamos National Lab.
And a letter to Bo on the same day:
May 1st
Dear Bo
I'll drop you a little note to let you know I am still alive, how much I don't know. We have a easy life here we don't have to get up until 4 AM & we get to go to bed around 8:30 to 9:30. We were out on the desert for the last week, flying. We lived in tents & such but I guess we will live through it though it rained one night & the tent leaked like a sive.
I personally don't care much about flying, but it's better than walking. It's very tiring & when a guy comes down you are so tired you are ready to sink & go to bed. I rode the tail of the ship for about 2 hours & had a lot of fun. We flew over Bolder Dam, Vegas & a few other places. That was the best trip I have had yet. The officers are pretty nice fellows & the instructors are busy who have come back from over seas.
2nd
Well I ought to finish this & get it mailed before I run out time. We went up again yesterday and flew for about 2 hours. It was very boring but I lived the ordeal.
You ask about wanting to get me a bracelet, well if you think I just gotta have one, you can send me the money & I'll get it in the P.X. I can get them cheaper than you can, but I still don't care about one. Also please don't start sending any birth day presents because about the time you get this I'll be shipping. We will probable ship to Lincoln & stay there for a week or 2 & then ship out of there again. From there know one knows where we will go but I got a hunch I will to go Texas.
You talk about the wind blowing just a few minutes ago the wind was blowing so hard, and so much sand in the air you couldn't see the sun.
Your school ought to be out by the time you get this won't it. Gosh it doesn't seem like Nene should be graduating this year does it. It seems like those 2 kids should be in about the 7 or 8 grade. I guess I have been away from home too long & don't realize they have grown up.
We are suppose to get those wings Sat. and ship Sunday, also we are supposed to fly every day this week. You can see we will be on the move all the time. Fellows who have been to cadets say this is worse than cadets. Those guys grades aren't too hot either -- I have kept up pretty well with any & all of them. I have about a 85 or 87 avg. I think that's pretty good for a dumb Eutsler. One other thing against me is I don't care too much about flying & most of the fellows really like it. To me it's just another job.
We I have to get ready to fall out so will close now.
Jack
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