Name/Title
Spalsbury: #88 September 16,1944Entry/Object ID
2021.2.332A-CScope and Content
Letter Home from Pvt. R. C. Spalsbury, 17135556, Co A - 216th Armd Engr Bn, A.P.O. 412, Camp Chaffee, Arkansas to his father (only while his mother was visiting his grandmother in Oklahoma) Mr. George C. Spalsbury, 806 South 11th, St. Joseph (10), Missouri. Post marked SEP 16, 1944, 3 PM, Fort Smith, Ark., free postageContext
Friday Evening -
15 September 1944
Dear Pop....
I guess Mom has left for Tonkawa, or will have gone by the time this letter reaches home. I guess you'll have to become a cook, housekeeper, and everything in general until she gets back. I'll bet you really cook up some fancy dishes.....I'll bet. Ha! Ha!
I've learned quite a bit about this outfit since I last wrote. For one thing...It is preparing for overseas....in a hurry. The other day we turned in any changes in our clothing sizes, since we will all get entirely new equipment before long. We've been meeting all sorts of requirements lately....all sorts of battle courses - Close Combat, Combat-in-Cities, and firing with various weapons. I'm on the Table of Organization, since I'm physically qualified. All men not physically qualified and all non-coms for whom there is no job will be shipped out. I wish I was in that bunch. I believe this outfit is slated for the Army of Occupation. All these combat courses we've been going across are a requisite for any outfit going overseas. You see, I'm qualified for overseas duty, but not in a strictly combat outfit, i.e., not for combat duty. I believe that's why I was shipped out of anti-aircraft.
We fired our M-1 Rifles last Monday and Tuesday. Part was from 200 yds., part from 300 yds., and some from 500 yds. Believe it or not, I fired second highest in the Company, with a score of 190 out of a possible 210! The highest was 194. He won 1st prize of $5.00, offered by one of our 2nd Louies, and I won $3.00, 2nd prize. The guy who won 3rd prize, $2.00, scored 188. I was really surprised at myself. Record fire was on Tuesday. On Monday I'd fired 177, Sharpshooter, which was higher than I'd ever fired before. All my previous scores had been in the Marksman class, and ranged from 135 to 164. So it really surprised me when I got in the Expert class (180 to 210) with a score of 190.
I really dread next week. We're going out on a bivouac for 5 or 6 days, then again the following week. This will then complete the 5 weeks of Unit Training, which we're supposed to be going through now.
We took a preliminary Physical Proficiency Test this afternoon..... All day tomorrow we fire the carbine, a weapon smaller than the M-1.
I'm sending this "free," since I think it gets there almost as quickly. Let me know when it reaches you.
Love, BobCollection
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Category 08: Communication ObjectsArchive Items Details
Title
Letter Home from Pvt. R. C. Spalsbury, 17135556, Co A - 216th Armd Engr Bn, A.P.O. 412, Camp Chaffee, Arkansas to his father (only while his mother was visiting his grandmother in Oklahoma) Mr. George C. Spalsbury, 806 South 11th, St. Joseph (10), Missouri. Post marked SEP 16, 1944, 3 PM, Fort Smith, Ark., free postageDescription
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. Then Robert was stationed at Camp Haan in southern California, a U.S. Army training camp for Coast Artillery Anti Aircraft gunners. During his time at Camp Haan, Robert was transferred from Battery B to Battery A and began working as an office Clerk in Battery A.
At the time this letter was written, Robert is serving at Camp Chaffee at Fort Smith, Arkansas. He had been working as a Clerk-Typist in the HQ Company but has now been transferred to Line Company A, still working as an office clerk.
This letter is one page, front and back, written in blue ink on United States Army stationery which features a red and blue inked emblem centered on the page with an eagle in flight carrying a U.S. flag. The letter was sent in a plain envelope. The page is folded in half and then in thirds.
Robert decided to send this letter under free postage instead of airmail.Dimensions
Height
10-1/2 inWidth
7-1/4 inCondition
Overall Condition
Very GoodRelationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Robert C. Spalsbury
