October 24, 1943

                                                            Oct 24
Dear Folks:
            Finished the ground school yesterday and now waiting for orders to return to Godman. This traveling under orders is quite renumerative. I got $91 to get to Godman Field and I figured it cost about $45 — baggage included. Then I got $53 for coming down here and it cost about $12.
            MacDill Field is quite old and well established — even have us saluting other 2nd Lts. here. Up at Godman we didn’t salute anything below a colonel. The beach of Tampa Bay is about 300 yds. from my barracks. There is a dock on the beach and a ferry boat that runs to the city of Tampa across the bay. Its free to service men. There is always a mob of sea gulls around the back and they like peanuts tossed in the air for them to catch on the wing. There is quite a ship yard at Tampa that builds cement boats. They look like ordinary freighters but made of cement.
            Jenson and I went to the chapel this morning. There is a nice officers club here but the food is plenty high. The weather was cool when we arrived but that was unusual, I guess, and so now we are back in kaki.
            Jenson and I rode the ferry to Tampa and back this afternoon. Nice salty smell to the air. They have a grey squirrel down here instead of the red ones up there. They have a dark silver-grey fur and are a little smaller than the red ones. On the campus of the college in town the squirrels and pigeons are regular pets. Tampa has some benches for the public on the streets and some open air theaters otherwise just like any other town. The cars in Florida have license plates only in back and upper half of headlight lens is painted black for dim-outs. Had 15 min. black out other nite.
            Had a slight cold last week but tablets stopped it
            Bought a short coat at Godman, sort of a mackinaw, olive drab, $30
            If you got the radio fixed you might mail it to Godman. Take the back loose and stuff some paper in for packing and try putting radio in a paste board box and pack it on all sides with excelsor and mail it or express it. Express office is just across the tracks from my barracks. Don’t insure it.
                                    Yours truly,
                                                John