Name/Title
Spalsbury: #70 Letters Home January 26, 1944Entry/Object ID
2021.2.314A-IScope and Content
Letter Home from Pvt. R. C. Spalsbury, 17135556, Btry B - 778th AAA Bn, Camp Haan, Calif. to his parents Mr. and Mrs. George C. Spalsbury, 806 South 11th, St. Joseph (10), Missouri. Post Marked JAN 25, 1944, 1 PM, Camp Haan, Calif., 6 cents Air Mail stampContext
Monday Evening -
24 January 1944
Dear Folks -
Gee, here it is Monday and I don't believe I've written you since a week ago yesterday. I guess you've been getting the string of souvenir folders that I've been sending, though, so you know I'm still alive - ha! I don't know whether you enjoy 'em or not, but I thought they were sorta interesting, and someday when I'm home again it'll probably be fun to look 'em over, and reminisce.
Pop, that delicious box of Mrs. Stover's Candies arrived about two weeks ago, and we all really enjoyed it. Don't worry about all the other fellas eating 'em all up, though, because I had my share. Of course they didn't last too long, but we really liked 'em while they lasted. Also, last Sunday's paper came last Friday. Thanks a million. -
Here we are at Irwin now. We (the entire battalion) left the area at 8:30 this morning, and we didn't arrive here 'till 4:30 this afternoon. You see, we ride out on our halftracks as a convoy, which means we can't go over 35 m.p.h., and we also have a lot of stops along the way. We were up at about 5,000 feet coming out, and it was pretty chilly driving out through the mountains. But we were all bundled up good. - The driver and squad leader ride up in the front, and the five other members of the squad ride in the "bucket" - the armored turret in the rear of the track. We had a good time. Thought it was going to rain, so spread over tent-halves over our barracks bags and equipment. When we were about ready to freeze, we pulled our blankets from our barracks bags, and put 'em around us. Irwin isn't as inconvenient as Roberts, so I won't mind it too much. We had a darn good chow this evening - with large ripe olives, so I was perfectly happy - ha! -We'll be here at Irwin two weeks, and then will spend a week on the way back - camping at various spots over the countryside - just like the Boy Scouts!!! - Only a little more so. -
The mail will be brought out to us from Haan every day, which is nice. Send it to exactly the same address, folks, and it'll reach me as usual. And by all means, Mom, don't refrain from sending those cookies (unless you're busy now) just because we're at Irwin. And when you do send 'em, please stick in that pair of brown leather gloves of Duane's that I wore while on furlough. Might as well use them these chilly weekends whenever I go out on pass. Also, Mom, if you have a partly used bottle of colorless or natural nail polish around, stick it in, too. I want to coat my glasses, because the metal irritates the back of my ears. (I'm wearing my G.I. specs now - getting used to 'em -). Also want to coat my dog tags, so they won't make my skin green. The 1st Sgt. said he polished his with a Blitz cloth - then coated 'em with polish, so they wouldn't irritate him.
Thank goodness we get paid next Monday. I've run sorta low. I s'pose they'll give me my ration currency then, too. -It's about time. -Duane's check still hasn't arrived. I guess he's waiting to be paid, too.
Yeah, the money order arrived - thanks! I mailed the pen in a Stover's Candy Box filled with old letters and cards and insured it for $10.00. You've probably rec'd it by now. Also, tomorrow I'm mailing a little roll of souvenir booklets and pampets, etc. Thought you might find 'em interesting.
Cpl. Kurtz met Hubert on the Haan bus from Riverside when Hubert was returning from furlough. He didn't think much of Hubert; I agreed with him, and told him about the only thing we had in common was that we both came from St. Joe. Told him I never ran around with Hubert there. Hubert never has been very popular in the Army.
Do you really think the gals are improving Hubert? Or the Army? -I'm inclined to think the latter. I certainly don't contemplate cultivating the friendship of these cheap USO whores out here. I prefer intelligent gals, and believe me, they're quite rare - quite. Besides, I'm sick of gals - I had enough of 'em in St. Joe. I'm perfectly happy here in B-778, like most of the fellows a lot, and am inclined to believe they like me O.K. So why in heaven's name, Mom, should I go girl-chasing at insipid USO dances? - Just to please you, and make you think I'm developing sweet little social graces? I always had fairly good manners, Mom, so I fail to understand you. Why should I waste my time when I'm not interested? Enough of this-
When I'm paid, I'll send 3 or 4 bucks to you to apply on Duane's Sigma Chi ring. There's nothing much around here in the P.X.'s that I don't suppose he has. So - thanks for suggesting it.
Yes, your last letter came Saturday - reached me before we left for Irwin, as you had hoped.
Phone Marguerite Brock, who lives at approximately 2211 Penn, and find out June Daisy's address. Marguerite and June are good friends, and I'm sure Margie will know. Thanks. -
Tell Mrs Hoppe "hello." She's a nice, respectable common matron.
Had a dandy letter from Bob Cox the other day. He says he's taken up cussing and smoking, but not drinking. He's still a good kid, though. I could tell by the tone of his letter. He's still a buck private, and is afraid he may be sent "across" soon, as the advanced meteorology schools are closed.
Yes, I remember "Tubby" Tanner - nice kid. - Jim Ashcroft's code is pretty clever. - Kathleen (also Barbara) tells me Ann Ashcroft is going into Nurses' Training at Barnes Hospital, like Barb Mann. Ann's sick and tired of J.C., they say. I admire that little gal - she's cute, besides being bright.
I saw Haglund yesterday. He has a private room in a ward with a "Contagious" sign on the door. I had to go outside and talk to him outside his window. He said he entered the hospital Jan. 7th with a cold, and said he's had all sorts of things since then - high fevers, pains and aches all over his body, etc. It might have been from the "shots" they gave his outfit, and then it might be purely imaginary. He said he didn't have any "disease," when I expressed a fear of catching whatever he had. -He gets out tomorrow, and I s'pose will join his outfit at Needles, Calif.
Love, Bob
[Note: written on the top of page one] P.S. - I sent a separate envelope the other day, with a souvenir MENU in it, and also some snaps I took. Keep 'em; I"ve got other prints of 'em.Collection
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Category 08: Communication ObjectsArchive Items Details
Title
Letter Home from Pvt. R. C. Spalsbury, 17135556, Btry B - 778th AAA Bn, Camp Haan, Calif. to his parents Mr. and Mrs. George C. Spalsbury, 806 South 11th, St. Joseph (10), Missouri. Post Marked JAN 25, 1944, 1 PM, Camp Haan, 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 three 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 inCondition
Overall Condition
Very GoodRelationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Robert C. Spalsbury
