7-16-1943

Dear Don; (wool F)
So you’re two timing the skipper huh! That’s a hell of a thing when you go have a good week end and only spend $1 in Chicago, (a large city like that), and Coon and I go down into Poky, (the shittiest town in the world), and have a hell of a rotten time (without gals) for $4 each.
No kidding though those gals sound O.K. Whenever you can save a buck by going to their place to eat that’s good. Haha
The girls here in Poky are no good at all. There are a few good looking ones but the old chiefs get them & if we horn in they take it out on us in drill next day.
Like you say there is too much work in the Navy and not enough rest. Sixteen hours per day plus cleaning the heads & swabbing the passageways after tattoo is too damn much but I guess it has to be done.
If I were you I wouldn’t feel too damned curious to hit the flat because according to some of the old salt, here it is no good. But I guess I’m a little like you I want to get out there too.
Boy this is quite a deal here if you can pass all of the tests and keep up in your work but if you wash-out they send you right to a ship. (It might sound like scuttle-butt, but that’s what the skipper said yesterday.) There are a lot of fellows here that want to go over the hill but they are just dumb. I really think it’s the bet thing in the world for a guy even if it is tough.
I’m not very far along in my subjects yet but I am far enough along to see that they are good ones. I guess you are really getting some good stuff too. I sure hope I can get a leave together. We don’t get one leave the whole time we are here. The only thing we get is a 12 hour pass on Saturday & one on Sunday.
You say you can’t buy anything stronger than milk huh!!? Well that shouldn’t bother you should it? Haha We can get any of the stuff here but I’ll let someone else have mine. Well good luck Don & take it easy and study hard.
Shoving Off
Bill
P.S. When I saw the Sweetheart envelope I wondered who the Hell she was haha
Bill