Dear Folks,

Well we are still down here with the desert monsters, and I am not kidding when I say monsters. However, no one has been wounded as yet and with alittle more luck we’ll all make it OK. I imagine the animals of the Hughey household will seem pretty tame after this. But, if I do get afflicted with them I’ll insist upon one of those regular treatments. If it is OK with you the studio couch sounds plenty good to me. This is on one condition and that is that you won’t go to any trouble. Make it just like it was when I’d come down on Sat. nights about a year ago.

Say if I make it all the way to Chi. on that plane without getting put off how about meeting me at the airport at 4:00 AM? It is on the American Airlines so you could call up to check on the time definitely that will be on Tues. morning.

I have just 4 hrs. + 45 min. of flying time left to get in. It really doesn’t seem possible. Tomorrow I do my record firing on ground gunnery. You asked about what we fire on; both sleeves towed by another plane and on targets placed on the ground. The ground is more fun because you get to do alittle buzzing. The way it is done is you fly along at a 90° ∠ from the targets and turn on to your target and start your dive at the same time. Get it in your sights and cut loose, you would be surprised how accurate it is with just one machine gun. After firing you level off and make a steep turn away which is the critical point because you are usually about 75 ft. above the ground and there is a plane coming down right behind you who is just as liable to hit your fanny as he is the bullseye. We will probably return to Luke on the 12th.

Everyone is just taking it for granted that we are going to get a leave but I guess it is the truth. Keep your fingers crossed. Time for bed now. –

Love,

Tom