March 28, 1943

Dear Mother:

Well, I finally got here after standing and sitting on suitcases all the way from St. Louis to here. We were packed like sardines in a can. The C & E I was 50 min late at St. Louis, but the other train was waiting.

In central Illinois, it was a common sight to see 20-30 horse drawn coaches lined up in the farmer towns instead of cars. They all are the same kind and like a buggy except that there is a square body on, fully enclosed. They have all the horses all fixed up with bobbed tail and all. A lot of the horses were trotters and really would go.

This is the stationary that I got from Dorothy. She’s a swell girl and I don’t mean maybe.

I got into Tyler at 2:30 P.M. today and I spent 2 hours in Longoiun before that visiting Audrey and her mother who is a very nice lady. A pretty classy home, too.

I’ve got about 15 letters to answer but they will have to wait until I get a permanent address.

It is plenty warm down here and that sun is really beating down. The sandwiches and everything were O.K.

The town is the same as ever, but quite a few new soldiers are here. The school will be discontinued in June I believe. In a couple of months to new army camps open near here and when they do this town won’t be worth a [explicit]. Heb is due here Tuesday as far as I know. A few of the others have also shown up already.

That’s all the dirt I know now. Don’t write any letters until I let you know.

Your son,

Mel

P.S.- This is swell stationary, isn’t it?