April 25, 1943

                                                            April 25
Dear Folks:
            Now have an under class. They came from Group IX so we know a large percent of them. I think about one-half of Barracks 1700 is here now. About 1/3 of the upper class is gone.
            Have had nice weather all week. We had the afternoon shift last week. Also flew Saturday afternoon because were getting a little behind the schedule. All 7 of us in our bay passed our 20 hour checks. Most of us have around 27 hours.
            Sunday afternoon. There was a nice service in church this morning. Its really hot to-day. Each barracks has an air condition unit in it and it helps out. The mess hall has one also and is really cool. I got 2 roll of film so don’t bother about trying to get it there.
            Thanks for the cookies. They arrived in good shape and everybody eats them — as long as they last.
            Suppose you have your other bunch of chicks. Saw the biggest whirlwind I’ve ever seen last week. Was about 30 ft. across and 400 ft high. Have lots of them in the afternoons. If you fly into the top of one it gives you a real jolt. Were issued a “flying suit” last week. It is really a glorified pair of unionalls made of heavy material and equipped with zippers. No pockets except one that slants at 45° across the right breast and one below the knee on the right leg. Everything falls out of the upper pocket when you stoop over and flys out of the lower one when running. Got a letter from Glen and he said he bought the place across the road. Supposed he meant the Wilson place. Got a box of candy from Marvel Lee.
                                    Yours truly,
                                                John