Name/Title
Spalsbury: #12 Letters Home May 26, 1943Entry/Object ID
2021.2.256A-EScope and Content
Letter Home from US Army Pvt. Robert C. Spalsbury, 3rd Platoon-Battery C, 57th A.A. Trng. Bn., Camp Callan, California to his parents, Mr. & Mrs. George C. Spalsbury, 806 South Eleventh Street, St. Joseph, Missouri - Postmarked May 26, 1943, 10:30 AM San Diego, CALIF, 6 cent Air Mail stampContext
May 26, 1943
Dear Kids,
Well, it's 10:20 p.m. Tuesday evening and I'm in the little writing room at the Rec. Hall. I just had a coke (we have 2 coke machines here, which are practically always empty) a while ago, and I ate one of those bars of taffy you sent, Pop. I let another guy who's particularly fond of the stuff help me eat it. He likes it so well that he offered to buy a bar of it, but I wouldn't do it. I just told him I'd give him bites of the remaining bars.
We were all confined to our Battery Area after chow tonight, and then at eight o'clock the battery fell out, marched down to the filed about a block away where we have our guns, and till 9:15 we set up and took down the guns, mostly in the dark. I was on the crew of a 50-calibre machine gun, and some of the other guys were on the crew of the 40-millimeter antiaircraft gun. The guns are such big, heavy, clumsy things and one really has to know just what his job is, and be very careful with them. It's possible to break your back, skull, wrist, or foot if you're not careful with them. I hate 'em, and am glad I won't have to fool around with them anymore when I'm shipped out to the S.T.A.R unit, and then to college. They tell us A.S.T.P.'s not to worry about when we'll be shipped out, because we may even have to complete our 13-week cycle of Basic Training. The best thing in the Army, as we're told, is not to worry abut any thing it does. Just let the Army do your thinking for you, and you'll be all right. Some of us are terribly anxious to ship out. I'm not so anxious as some of them.
I didn't get a letter written to you folks last night like I said I might in the letter I wrote Sunday night. After chow last night I did some little odd jobs (such as making my bed, marking some clothing with indelible ink), an then lay down on my bed to wait for Hubert Speer, who was down at the Service Club. He and I were going to the hospital to see Jennings. But Hubert never returned in time, and since I was very fatigued, I quickly dropped off to sleep. I didn't awake until some time in the wee hours this morning, and was it ever pitch dark! The barracks was quiet as could be. It just took me a minute or two to take off my clothes and climb back into bed, and I was soon sound asleep again. I got more sleep last night than I have since I've been in the Army. I must've really been tired! You see, yesterday we hiked out to the railroad stop called Linda Vista, which is about 8 miles east of Camp, and we walked a mile to the south entrance to the Camp, so we really hiked 18 or 20 miles yesterday. We took our light packs (raincoat and mess kit is all we put in 'em) and our lunch was brought to us in the truck. We had 3 40-mm guns and 3 50-caliber m.g.'s which were pulled out on trucks. It was quite a bit of fun. I like it for one reason because we could do quite a bit of loafing, and you know how I love that! Besides, I was tired from the long walk out.
I'm enclosing the fifth article from the Range Finder about the A.S.T.P. Sounds very promising, doesn't it?
No, Mom, I haven't tied myself down to any one person, and don't intend to. I have many friends that I can depend upon to go around with. However, I have made a few closer friends that I like better than a lot of the boys. But it's not a very good idea to attach yourself to one person exclusively, because you can never tell when the Army's going to separate you. When I get permanently located in college there'll be plenty of time for close friends then.
It's been cloudy almost all day today, and was cloudy part time yesterday. I like these occasional cloudy days, even if they do make a person a bit chilly, because they're plenty refreshing, after the sunny, dusty days.
Kathleen's owed me a letter for some time now; Duane owes me now; and I thought surely I'd hear from you kids maybe today. But no mail in either mail call. It'll be 4 days tomorrow, and then I imagine I'll have one, at least from you.
Be sure to send the $20, and some of my hankies, if you haven't already done so. I just have one dollar to last me till pay day next Monday, so reckon I'll borrow some from Hubert Speer before the week's over.
Give my love to Pat.
In haste (I'm sitting in the latrine now, and the Taps just blew - it's 11:05 p.m.)
Love, BobCollection
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Category 08: Communication ObjectsArchive Items Details
Title
Letter Home from US Army Pvt. Robert C. Spalsbury, 3rd Platoon-Battery C, 57th A.A. Trng. Bn., Camp Callan, California to his parents, Mr. & Mrs. George C. Spalsbury, 806 South Eleventh Street, St. Joseph, Missouri - Postmarked May 26, 1943, 10:30 AM San Diego, CALIF, 6 cent 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, is at Camp Callen, California for Basic Training. The letter is two pages, front & back, written in ink pen on plain Air Mail stationery. The envelope specifies Via Air Mail. The envelope is smaller than the stationary so it is folded in thirds to fit.Condition
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Very GoodRelationships
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Person or Organization
Robert C. Spalsbury
