Jan 3-5, 1945

Jan 3 1944 [he means 1945]

Dear Ma

I'll drop you a short line to night but as usual I don't know what I'll beat my brains out about.

I didn't write last night because I was rather tired, tonight I just don't have any thing to write about. 

I checked out a armor today – because I had to to get Staff. It will raise my spec. no. one point. It doesn't mean any thing though just another one of those things. 

Oh yes I got ate out by a 1st Lt. to day for riding a bike on a run way. I don't know what the out come will be I may get busted for it. It seems they have a habit of busting people for such things. I'll just take so much and from then on I'll tell them to jam the whole works up and give me permant K.P. I sure am not going to lose any sleep over it. 

It started to rain to day and did a pretty good job of it for a change. It is the first time it has rained in some time. I sure hope it doesn't keep it up. I would rather have it a little cold than have it wet. 

I guess I'll wait till after my next pay day to send you the money. You see one of the fellows got a 7 day and needed some cash.

I didn't get any letters again today but there was some mail come for a change. Say why don't you drop me a Vmail once in a while they seem to come in a little better than the other. I don't mean by that to send nothing but Vmail though.

Well I am run down for tonight so will close

Jack. 

Jan 3 1945

Dear Margaret

Well here it is a new year and me in the same old grind. I still haven't been able to figure out what happened to last year, it slipped in and out on me rather fast. 

I didn't do any thing to celebrate the New Year but sleep. Some of the boys made up for all I didn't do though. I was so tired the 31st I could hardly make the bed & then at 12 they came and wake me up. buddy. Maybe next year I'll be able to throw a good one. 

I got sort of ate out today from a 1st Lt for ridding on a runway today. He didn't seem to like the idea of me getting out and risking my neck on a runway. Of course nothing has been said about me risking it flying combat. I guess he hasn't been informed of the fact that they shoot flak at us. Oh well they can't (or won't) do any more than bust me and if they do I am liable to make a good K.P. 

Things have been running, more or less, as usual. Theres not a whole lot happened of late. 

Oh did I tell you I have passed the 1/2 way mark now. Infact I am a little over so I have done all right so far. I just hope I can keep it up. 

I haven't recived any mail from you or any one else of late. How bout it your arm isn't broke is it? If it is I'll let it go but if not try any way. 

Well I'll close for now and get some sleep because I'll probably be needing it.

Love Bill

P.S. I just addressed the envelope & there was a big explosion - you should have heard it and seen the guys jump. 

Jan 4 1945

Dear Margaret.

Here I go again trying to write. You see I recived a letter from you today so I won't let it be said I didn't answer a letter. Some times it takes some time but that doesn't count. 

So you got Beat out of your trip to El Paso. You should have gone any way if not just for a vacation, I know if I had my bags packed and planed on going some place I would go. (except over the hill).

Things went pretty good today all I had to do was attend a movie. I slept until darn near time to eat dinner and then decided to get up. I know it's hard on me to sleep so late but o how I like it. 

II

It turned off rather nice this afternoon but it turned off miseable tonight. I started to snow and thats no good. I don't suppose it will snow much but just enough to mess up things

You ask about the dog we had, some one must have made off with it. I haven't seen it for some time. It didn't make me mad though. We do have another cute one around the mess hall. It goes around in the mess hall begging until it's so full it can hardly walk. 

I am getting rather fed up with this place, nothing has come out about me getting Staff. I thought I would get it befor this but it hasn't come through. I guess they have forgotten about me. 

I still haven't heard anything about the incident that happend yesterday on the run way so maybe nothing will be said (I hope.)

III

I blew my top again today – I was eating some hard candy and cracked a tooth. It broke down to the filling so now I guess I'll have to go up and have the old filling drilled out and a new one put in. I sure love to think about it, it takes the top of my head off evey time. 

I got a bunch of letter to day from almost evey one. The ones from Ma had some color neg I took while in Ardmore and have. I haven't got a projector to see them but they look pretty good. 

Well I better close now so write soon

Love Bill 

He's undoubedly using the lunch meaning of the word "dinner" here. Even then, I still can't believe this is the same Jack who had a habit of getting up at 4am (or earlier!) as long as I knew him. 

Jan 5 1945

Dear Ma

Well seeing how I recived a big bunch of mail I'll try to answer it. Of course I recived a few letters from you in the bunch, a couple from Bo, one from Nene and one from Glady and one from Maggie. 

I guess I have recived all the neg by now that is all you have sent. I though they are as a whole pretty good. I think they are darn good figuring who took them and all that stuff. 

So you will give Jim the message for me. I don't know why you can't find it because its big enough. Try looking over in the eastern part of the room. It should be on the center shelf. 

The weather turned off rather nice today – the sun was even out. I didn't spend a whole lot of time out side though too cold for me. Maybe next summer it will warm up some, but I hope I am not here to enjoy it. 

Say I think I'll send a box of stuff home one of these days. It probably won't be for a couple of weeks though. It will be cloths and such that I don't want now but will when I get home. I'll let you know if and when I do. 

II 

That Bo she must have quite the time teaching. I really think she make a game of it. As long as she likes it thats all that counts. I wish I could find something that I liked that well. 

So Neva sort of lost interest in her Navy flier. Oh well maybe she will listen to what I have always said about the Navy. Now you take "Little Jim," he's not in the navy and see how evey one likes him. 

Well it seems like they are doing o.k. on the western front now. They haven't got them licked but they do have them stopped. I hope they start forward again soon. 

You can tell that Neva that No her bro hasn't gotten any more medals and can't get any more. (Not any I want any way) And you can write and tell Uncle Wayne if he wants the medals I'll gladly trade him places and he can have mine. At least they don't shoot at him and such as that. 

I was eating some hard candy this AM and chipped a tooth. It was one I had filled in Ardmore. It chipped it down to the filling so now I suppose I'll have to go up and have it ground out and refilled. I sure hate to think of it because they are liable to ground me and the would make me behind the rest of the crew. 

I haven't heard any thing of the incident that happened yesterday so maybe I won't. I hope. 

Well I am about run down so maybe I should close for now. 

Jack.

Sorry, folks. No apparent answer from Margaret. Remember that the mail seems to be taking about two weeks each way. He mailed his proposal on December 10, less than a month ago. We just have to wait a little longer!

The War:

The Battle of the Bulge continues, the battle is about halfway done. 

Since the new year, Jack has flown three missions. 

Mission 253 on January 2, 1945 targeted the railroad junction south of Cologne, Germany. Secondary targets were marshaling yards in the same area. They encountered "meager to moderate, scattered, and inaccurate" flak.  No aircraft were lost, though one aircraft landed safely in Belgium after engine failure. It was an early run, with call to breakfast for the enlisted men at 0330; take off at 0745.

The men had breakfast at 0400 on January 3 for Mission 254, which targeted the Koblenz area again. No loss of aircraft; again meager and inaccurate flak. Notes on the mission included this: "A/C J-978: F/O [Flight Officer] Eaton flew practice mission last night - landed at 10:30 P.M. and then had to fly mission today.  -F/O Eaton." As you recall, F/O Eaton is Jack's crew's navigator. 

This was also in the notes:

A/C# 43-38070   DS-G  Pilot: Lt. Murray  A/C's 42nd Mission   Pilot's 1st Mission

Circumstances:

Aircraft 43-38070 was reported missing after the mission of 5 Jan. 1945. The aircraft was last seen shortly after bombs away with one engine feathered and slowly losing altitude. The Operations Narrative reports that "its crew has since been reported as safe on the continent; further details are lacking." The crew returned to Polebrook and flew another mission on 14 Jan. 1945. The plane, after engine repairs, was returned to Polebrook and flew on mission 288, March 8, 1945.

Goodness! The pilot's first mission, and he experienced this!  He went on to fly 31 more missions. 

Mission 255 on January 5, 1945: The bombers bombed the secondary target, a road bridge at Bonn, Germany. Targets continue to be here in this corridor, between Cologne and Koblenz along the Rhine River. They encountered no enemy opposition, though they did possibly see two V2 contrails. Everybody returned to the airfield safe.