Name/Title
Spalsbury: #71 Letters Home February 4, 1944Entry/Object ID
2021.2.315A-EScope and Content
Letter Home from Pvt. R. C. Spalsbury, 17135556, Btry B - 778th AAA A.W. Bn (S.P.), Camp Haan, Calif. to his parents Mr. and Mrs. G. C. Spalsbury, 806 South 11th, St. Joseph (10), Missouri. Post Marked FEB 4, 1944, 1 PM, Camp Irwin, Calif., 6 cents Air Mail stampContext
Thursday Evening -
3 February 1944
Dear Mama and Papa -
I wrote you night before last, but thought I'd write again since I waited so long to write the last time. T/5 Russell and I are sitting in the Mess Hall now writing letters, me to my folks and he to his gal in Brooklyn, from whom he received a nice photo today. T/5 Russell is a young fella who is also new in this outfit. He got his T/5 rating because the Army sent him to school for specialized training, first to the Coyne Electrical School in Chicago, then to Camp Davis, N.C., for instruction on the Director, a highly technical piece of very expensive mechanism used to "direct" the firing of the 40-mm A.A. Gun. So you see, he's really out of place in the halftrack outfit, and logically should be in a "40"- outfit. But the Army doesn't always do things "logically." There's another young fellow - T/5 Lankford who came into Baker Battery while I was on furlough. He was sent to the large radio school at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, and is classified as a Radio Mechanic. He has recently been "broken" from T/5 to Pfc., since it seems he never was a T/5 rightly in the first place, although he's been getting T/5 pay ($66.00 per month). These little things are sorta interesting to me, so I thought I'd tell ya about 'em. You're probably not much interested, though.
Recently I have hopes of getting into what we'd call a "better deal." Cpl. Bement, our Battery Personnel Clerk, knows I'm interested in getting into a clerical job. So he informed me yesterday that there's a chance of an opening for a clerk-typist in the Battalion. So, busy as a lil bee, I hied myself down to the Personnel Office last night, where I talked to the 778th's Personnel Officer, Mr. Flynn. He's a Warrant Officer (almost same as 2nd Lt.) and is really very nice. I told him I could type 50 words per minute and had done much clerical work - Library work all through high school and work in the Public Library while going to Jr. College. These things, together with some of the information on my "Form 20" (Soldier's Qualification Card) I think might stand me in good stead for the job. Mr. Flynn asked me what my job was in the Battery now. I told him I was an acting cannoneer, but that I was being used for almost any detail that had to be done around the Battery. He took my name and said he would talk to my Battery Commander, Capt. Kauffmann, about it. He seemed a very sympathetic fellow, and very sincere, so I really believe something might come of it. He told me of course that he couldn't guarantee I'd be kept in Baker Battery, or that I'd get any "stripes." But heck, I don't care. I'm not in love with Baker Battery, by a long shot, and am not merely seeking "stripes" for my arm. These clerical jobs are considered "good deals." For one thing you seldom, if at all, pull K.P., table-waiting, Guard, or Latrine Orderly, and are usually assured of a weekend pass. So all in all, it sounds quite good. Let's hope something comes of it, although I'm not counting on it too much. I've seen so many other fellows who were placed in something where they didn't exactly fit, regardless of their qualifications. So, don't be surprised if nothing comes of it.
Andrew Svilich and John Hanson left the outfit last Sunday morning for the Cadre Pool at Haan. This is a reclassification group. Svilich is a married man 32 years old who flunked out of the Language Division of the A.S.T.P. up at Oregon State College, and Hanson is a 19-yr. old who flunked out of Basic Engineering at L.A. City College. Now I don't know for sure whether they're getting "better deals" or not. There's a chance they might be sent overseas - they were given stimulating tetanus shots at the Dispensary before they left. I had a card from Hanson today - he said they'd be leaving the Cadre Pool before the end of the week for Camp Carson, Colorado, where he said he believed there was a reclassification outfit. "Things happen fast when they do happen, that's all I can say," John wrote. He said he'd keep me posted.
Mom, I mailed a little package for your birthday at the Camp Irwin post office today. It's a little something I bought at the P.X. here. Hope you like it - I did.
Love and xxxs, Bobbie
[Note-written along the side of the back of page one: P.S. - The enclosed clipping was in the News-Press you sent, Pop. I'm sure the gal is Gretchen Chase - wondered if you folks noticed it. That was a nice picture of Mary Meierhoffer -. I guess a lot of the younger smart set will be marrying now, just because Mary is.] [Note: No clipping was still enclosed.]
[Note-written along the side of the back of page two: P.S. Got 3 letters at Mail Call tonight - one from Katie acknowledging the little gift I sent her for her 20th birthday; one from Lilbern Roberts enclosing ??? mailed me last July but which never ????; and one from Duane. He thanked me for the dates, + said he'd send my Xmas check when he gets some dough.] [Note: question marks in the above P.S. indicate unclear writing due in part to deterioration of the paper in several spots]Collection
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Title
Letter Home from Pvt. R. C. Spalsbury, 17135556, Btry B - 778th AAA A.W. Bn (S.P.), Camp Haan, Calif. to his parents Mr. and Mrs. G. C. Spalsbury, 806 South 11th, St. Joseph (10), Missouri. Post Marked FEB 4, 1944, 1 PM, Camp Irwin, Calif., 6 cents Air Mail stampDescription
Handwritten letter home to parents back in St. Joseph after being called up to serve in the US Army during WWII. Pvt. Spalsbury, at the time of this letter, has completed Basic Training at Camp Callan, California, was stationed for a short time with a STAR Unit for ASTP (Army Specialized Training Program) soldiers in Pasadena, CA then moved to engineering training at Loyola University in Los Angeles, CA. After flunking out of the ASTP program, Robert was briefly stationed at Camp Roberts, located in central California assigned to the Infantry Replacement Training Center. At the time of this letter, Robert is stationed at Camp Haan in southern California, a U.S. Army training camp for Coast Artillery Anti Aircraft gunners.
This letter is two pages, front and back, written in blue ink on very thin plain stationery (likely Air Mail stock). The matching envelope is equally thin and shows signs of deterioration along the edges. The pages are folded in thirds.Dimensions
Height
10-1/2 inWidth
7-1/4 inRelationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Robert C. Spalsbury
