4-21-1945

Dearest All;
Well, how are you doing by now? I hope you are all O.K. and that you aren’t mad at me for not writing very often—I know I should but I am so tired when I get finished every day that I just forget about it—it seems. However we will have a little less work from here on out so I will catch up with my writing.
We were out in the boats all day yesterday but it was cloudy and quite choppy so it wasn’t such a good day. We practiced coming alongside large ships which is sort of hard in a heavy sea.
I am glad you received a letter from Don—even though it was a short one.
I finally got my check cashed so I will enclose $400. I will send some tithing next week, but right now I want $400 in the bank all in one piece.
So Collins is in the Army Air Forces as an “air corps st.” The reason I accentuate the air corps is that there is a distinction between an army officer and a air corps officer. You see, here at A.T.B. we work with real Army officers from Infantry school at Fort Benning and West Point. WE work with them and they are real officers. Not like those adolescents in the air corps. Perhaps I’m not an old man but I handle my crews as well as any of these guys.
I also went to our little meeting here at the base—there were 6 of us there but we still have a good little meeting.
I was going to L.A. again this week-end but the weather is working against me. It looks cold & cloudy now so I will go to Tijuana, Mexico instead.
La Mont is back from a training cruise aboard an ATA (attack transport) and we went to a show at the Del Coronado Hotel last night. There, in person, we say Admiral Wilkinson & many other big Navy men. They all hang out at that Hotel—it is really a beauty.
Well, I don’t know how much longer we will be here but it will be a while anyway—
Hope you are all very well, as I am. I am getting fat—
Love, Bill