Name/Title
Spalsbury: #23 Letters Home July 17, 1943Entry/Object ID
2021.2.267A-DScope and Content
Letter Home from US Army Pvt. Robert C. Spalsbury, 3rd Platoon-Battery C, 57th A.A. Trng. Bn., Camp Callan, San Diego 14 California to his parents, Mr. & Mrs. George C. Spalsbury, 806 South Eleventh Street, St. Joseph, Missouri - Postmarked July 17, 1943, 8 PM SAN DIEGO, CALIF, 6 cent Air Mail stamp
NOTE: This is Robert's final letter from basic training at Camp CallenContext
Saturday - July 17, 1943
Dear Kids,
It's a cool, cloudy Saturday morning and two other fellows and I are sitting out in our tent between the first and second platoon barracks. There are six men to a tent, and we have quite a few tents in our Battery altogether. All of us holdovers were moved yesterday. The third and fourth platoons were cleaned out, and everybody moved into the first and second platoons, or into the tents. It's sorta nice in the tents - there are no non-coms around, and you don't have to sweep 'em and mop 'em like you do the barracks every morning.
I've got some news for you. Yesterday evening after retreat thirty one names were read off, to sign the pay roll in the Battery Office right after chow. I was one of them. This morning we were called out again, and Sgt. Steffens informed us that we're all shipping out of Callan on Tuesday, July 20th, for the STAR Unit at Pasadena. We're all ASTP men. Boy, are we happy about it! So we're not doing anything this morning except partly pack our two barracks bags, as the Sgt. said to do.
Hubert Speer shipped out yesterday morning with about fifty others for Camp Hahn, where they'll receive further training in a line outfit before being shipped overseas. I think he was sorta unhappy about it, and he still thinks he's not in the right thing. But maybe he'll get settled sooner or later. Speer and I went down to the Post Office right after chow Thursday evening, where I cashed your five-dollar money order, and paid three dollars I still owed Speer from the five dollars I borrowed from him a week ago. So I don't have any debts now. I have a dollar and a half left now. I certainly hope we get paid some before we leave Tuesday, or I may have to borrow some. When I signed the pay roll, I saw that I'm due for $23.00 for the month of July. I guess I'll have that pretty long, because I've got about everything I wanted - fountain pen, wrist watch, writing kit, traveling bag, etc.
I guess I'll be able to look up the Wenz's in Santa Monica, see Hollywood and Vine Street in Hollywood, Beverly Hills, L.A., and a lot of other sights I'm looking forward to. If we're permitted to go out on a pass tomorrow, I intend to go up to Santa Ana to look up my brother Duane. Have you heard from him yet?
Yesterday five other boys and I were put on a detail. The cadremen and officers of our Battery fired the English 40-mm gun yesterday afternoon, and we had to help load the junk on the truck - the power plant, director, cables, tool boxes, ammunition, etc. About all we did was sit around and watch
'em fire the gun in the afternoon. I even "buggered off" and went over to P.X. 12, where I had a lemon malt, choc. soda, bought a package of gum, candy bar, life saver, and some Planter's Peanuts, and two bars jersey cream soap at 5 cents a bar. I also paid out a penny and weighed myself - I weighed 157 lbs.
Bob Raidt and Paul Leibowitz came over last night, and we talked to 'em for awhile. I guess they haven't received their orders to ship out yet. I talked to David Spencer this morning. He's up in a tent in Battery D, and is going to be a cadreman this cycle in D. He said he didn't want to go ASTP, but he probably couldn't make it. But then, maybe he'd rather stay here. --I haven't seen Buzard lately, but Spencer said he saw him up at the P.X. last night.
God, I had a huge wash last night - 15 handkerchiefs, 8 pair socks, 6 undershirts and shorts, 2 wash cloths and 5 or 6 towels. I paid Updike 10 cents, and he furnished the soap to wash 2 pair of my fatigues, together with some of his. You see, that saves money and time. Each platoon has it's own washing machine now.
It's 11:25 a.m., so I'd better go to mail call and clean up for chow and mail this.
I may go down to the open-air-theatre tonight to see Blackstone, the famous magician, and Burns and Allen (they're 2nd billing to the magician). They gave a performance last night, too.
Love, BobLexicon
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Title
Letter Home from US Army Pvt. Robert C. Spalsbury, 3rd Platoon-Battery C, 57th A.A. Trng. Bn., Camp Callan, San Diego 14 California to his parents, Mr. & Mrs. George C. Spalsbury, 806 South Eleventh Street, St. Joseph, Missouri - Postmarked July 17, 1943, 8 PM 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, one front & back, and one just front written in blue ink pen on air mail stationery. The letter was mailed in an regular envelope The stationary is larger than the envelope so folded in half then folded in half again. Includes a 6 cent Air Mail stampCondition
Overall Condition
Very GoodRelationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Robert C. Spalsbury
