7-12-44
Hello,
It has really been sometime since I sent a letter to 828, but I know you have been keeping posted and the letters I send to Dad are also for you folks.
First of all before I forget it, tell Dad not to send that check or whatever it is because I think we’ll be leaving here in about a week.
We haven’t been so awfully busy here, in fact I have been getting pretty well caught up on my sleep. Mon. as I told you in my last letter we processed and had our shots and physicals, yesterday morning we had a lecture by the Col. and it was the best talk I have ever heard by an army man. I slept all afternoon and got up just long enough to eat and went back to bed.
Today we had 4 hrs. of lecture on oxygen equipment and got our personal issue of OP2 mask and helmet. We were pretty lucky some of the latest equipment out. Got a new British type helmet mask out of chamois skin with fastening for the O2 mask to fit directly on to the helmet. Tomorrow morning we go up in the pressure chamber, stay at 18,000′ for 10 min. without O2, then go up to 38,000′ with O2 for about 2 hrs. This is our last pressure chamber check, it is considered our combat check because we get a free fall from 38,000′ which means taking a couple deep breaths of O2 and taking off your mask, hold your nose and blow hard. They let you down to about 6,000′ as fast as possible and from what I hear you feel like your ears are going to blow up. Everyone was afraid to eat anything tonight and I think everyone will be glad when it is over. It isn’t too pleasant a sensation and it leaves you feeling pretty run down for a couple of day afterwards. We watched them operate the chamber today and several of the fellows got the bends and had to be brought down. I have never had them but the way they double a fellow up they must be awful painful.
The war seems to be coming along pretty good with the Russians about into Germany and our being able to give the Japs a few raids, and something to worry about.
I received Dad’s letter today and he said that Karen was cuter than ever and that Tommy slept all the time and you could just watch him grow. From this report I would gather that things are coming along fine and I am certainly glad. Let me know how everything went with Cleda’s visit.
Enough for now. Goodnight
With love,
Tom
