July 14, 1943

                                                            July 14
Dear Folks:
            Had a hard rain this morning and of course our mattresses were out again. Went on our cross country last nite to Abilene, Harpersville, and back. The towns are much easier to see after dark although not so easily identified. Camp Barkley near Abilene really shown. Abilene and Harpersville are on a civil airway so between the two towns there were rotating beacons every 10 miles. On each beacon is a code light telling how far it is from the town. Saw several oil derricks and they have them covered with lights. The air is so smooth after dark that the plane stayed on the compass course with hands and feet off.
            Finished code to-day. We had to receive and send 8 words (5 letters per word) per minute on the buzzer and receive 4 words per min. on the light which flashed on in time intervals corresponding to “dots” and “dashes”. For example, one short flash and two long ones is W. Over the earphones a W would be heard as one short “buzz” and two long ones.
            I see that farm machinery is going to be taken off the ration list. I notice the livestock aren’t bothered with flies down here. The plane on July 19 “Life” is one like we use. Sweetwater is about 70 mi from here and we used the airport there on one of our cross countries. The plane on page 73 is one like we used in primary. That article is a good description of what we do here. The only trouble is that all the women are at Avenger Field and all the men at Goodfellow. Speaking of women Maxwell, from Chicago, has a girl writing to him from every place he has been stationed and he has been in the Cavalry for 2 years. He has to write about 12 letters a week.
            Sunday. Went to the Baptist Church again this morning. The night flying is over for us at this base. Will be here at least 2 more weeks. The radio went dead again. Am sending some pictures taken at Ft Stockton. The window [cleaning] scene was taken one Friday nite while getting ready for the Sat. inspection. The man looking over his shoulder and on the donkey is Griffee from Hutch. Got the Dispatches. Got exempted from the final in meteorology.
                                    Yours truly,
                                                John