{"id":2345,"date":"2018-05-09T00:33:00","date_gmt":"2018-05-09T00:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/brooksidepress.org\/cartmell\/?page_id=2345"},"modified":"2018-11-29T15:53:07","modified_gmt":"2018-11-29T21:53:07","slug":"march-8-1943-fresno-california","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/brooksidepress.org\/cartmell\/letters\/pre-flight-training-1943\/march-8-1943-fresno-california\/","title":{"rendered":"March 8, 1943, Fresno, California"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\r\n Tom outlines the gear he has been issued and describes some of his daily activities in boot camp. Mail to him has started to be delivered, and he got a letter from Zoe<\/a>. The food is improving but he still dislikes washing his eating utensils before and after each meal. The shots and immunizations just keep on coming.\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\n

6:15 Mon. night.<\/p>\n

\"March<\/a>
March 8, 1943, Page 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dear Folks,<\/p>\n

We have a lecture at 7:00 so might have to finish this letter. The mail is starting to come in now which is really swell. I got one from Zoe<\/a> that was forever coming whereas your air mails come in about 3 days. Cleda, in regard to that place where the lights are on after taps – Taps are at 10:00 and I have come to the conclusion that anyone that isn’t in bed by 9:30 is a dmmmmmm fool. It is a long day from 5:15 till then and a hard one. Besides this it isn’t very comfortable in there anyway.<\/p>\n

It has still been raining here every day and we are now marching in about 3″ of mud. So far my feet haven’t bothered me (knock on wood) in fact these GI shoes feel pretty good but they are plenty heavy.<\/p>\n

We don’t get to leave the post for 14 days so I haven’t been able to get any pictures of me for you. There are no<\/span> cameras on the post. Our work uniforms are green coveralls with green hats. We have to wear legging with them. We also have our flight jackets which we can wear with these or our OD’s. The latter (O.D.) is just the regular army uniform which you see around home. We get 1 O.D. coat with 2 pr. wool pants, 3 pr. of summer tan pants + shirt + wool shirts. Two coveralls, 2 pr legging, gas mask, overcoat, tooth brush, shaving brush + razor. Also two pr. shoes, 9 pr. socks. The gas masks are really swell, the entire thing is made of rubber. You keep it with you just about all the time and at night it hangs at your head.<\/p>\n

\"March<\/a>
March 8, 1943, Fresno, California, Page 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This afternoon we had our 2nd shots and a lectured and practiced field stripping the sub-machine gun. If you ever saw a wicked looking instrument that is one. It will shoot 20 rounds in 2 sec. and would do better than that if the clip held more. We are suppose to go on the range with them this week sometime. It seems like they are using them more than the Gerand rifle[1]<\/sup><\/a>M1 Garand Rifle<\/span><\/span>