November 20, 1943

Dear Folks:                                                            Nov. 20
            Thanks for the cookies. They got here in good shape on Thursday. Your letters get here in 2 days. The letters I mail must take a while to get to the regular post office.
            Most of the old timers in this squadron are away on a demonstration tour and took the ships with them so we co-pilots have been going to school last week. Among other things, I’ve been working with the bombadier in my crew on a bomb trainer. It is the equivalent of the link trainer for pilots and a pilot & bombadier work to-gether on the same machine.
            We have been assigned to crews for the present, at least. My pilot is a 1st Lt. and graduate of West Point. My room mate, 2nd Lt. Lee, got his orders to report to classification center for air crew training. He is an armament officer here. He’s married and lives in town so I haven’t seen much of him. He just has a bed in my room for records sake. Thats the way they handle all married officers and it gives them a place to keep equipment.
            Our income tax is deferred until after the war. No I haven’t seen any nuts. Got a letter from Jo. Aunt Alma’s letters “shows to go you” that you have to be careful what you read in the mail.
            Have had nice weather all last week. Had the day off to-day and went to chapel. Our chaplain is being transferred. He has a real personality. Wears G. I. shoes and field jacket and comes around on the line to see what we do. He rode the bomb trainer with Braverman (my bombadier) and I the other day. He even wears a sloppy hat (like the one I wore at home without the wire band in it) which is quite a concession for ground officers.
            Speaking of planes in a dog and cat race, thats what we call a “rat race”. I don’t have any address for the ring but made no down payment so its their worry.
                                    Yours truly,
                                                John