Bill on his way "Overseas" and Dorothy responds

APO space 13135

c/o  postmaster

New York,  N.Y.

June 16, 1944

Dear Dorothy,

I thought I should give you another little piece of information seeing as how it could very easily be the last one.

I am here in New York ready to go overseas. I arrived the last night and according to the “Ouija “ board I should leave tomorrow. But I imagine I’ll be here about a week. I’ll be getting my first experience in the air because I am to fly across. However I get seven dollars a day while flying. ( I wouldn’t mind if they stayed up a couple months.)

I managed to get a few days delay en route so I went up to Minnesota to see the grandparents and to my surprise my “ Choata” brother was there. I only had two days but it was better than none.  John went around by Australia, Panama and landed in Boston he met Harrison, Pickett and Bell in the lobby of the Empire State while he was in N.Y.   I am going to see if I can’t bump into someone I know up there to.

"Chota (little) brother John with Bill on the visit to Byron, Minnesota.

I must admit this is really quite a big town at least slightly larger than Tilda.

I’m staying at what is called the Sutton Hotel in a private room. It is really quite nice. The man they moved out said that I should keep my eye on a certain window across the street at night and I would be able to feast my eyes on glamorous curves etc. etc. – – – now that’s being naughty. Of course I wouldn’t think of doing anything like that.

If by the time for the next class letter you have not received  “we regret to inform you etc.” put in a word that I have gone over okay?

If you don’t mind I would like to hear from you personally more often than twice a year. Please!!!

As ever,

Bill

The first letter Bill saved from Dorothy ....

June 19, 1944

Dear Bill,

You could have knocked me over with the proverbial feather when your letter came today.  I don’t know why I expected you to stay here but I had no idea you’d leave so soon.  I presume you don’t know very much if anything about where or when you are going but I’m terribly curious.  And what exactly are you in?  The last time you wrote you were making all sorts of pessimistic remarks about getting or not  getting into the Interpreter end of things.

I’m forced to address this to your A.P.O.  I hope it reaches you before you ship out.

That parting shot about my writing to you often hit in a more or less vulnerable spot.  Without treading on forbidden ground I might go so far as to say that I’ve like nothing better.  Though Wooster offers very little in the way of spectacular and exciting news.  I hope you’ll be able to stand the strain of how I worked in the rubber plant, worked in the rubber plant, worked in the rubber plant.

I’m glad you got some time to get up to see John.  That would have been too much – you leaving so soon as he arrived, etc.  It sounds as if he came by the same boat as Daddy did.  Was it the Mariposa by any chance?  From Daddy’s description of it they had a pretty good time in a crowded sort of way.

My job continues on apace.  I feel vaguely as though I were behind all the 700 invasion planes, etc.!  If you ever run across a rubber gas tank in the course of your trans-hemispheric perambulations look and see if it had W-50 on it.  That would be me.

A couple of rather fascinating things have happened to the class.  Vangie is now Mrs. K.M Linn.  Alter is engaged to a dentist.  It isn’t that gruesome, really.  He’s only a prospective dentist so far.  Wallis said to be pretty smooth but a bit subdued.  I guess you’d get that from John though.  We finally heard from Les who, if anything, has improved since he got here.  You know the subtle wit and all that.  His father’s death has sobered him down a little, I think.  It sure was an awful break.  That’s all I can think of a present though.

Do please write soon and fill in as much of the information as you can.  In the meantime, good luck and have a good trip.

As ever,

Dorothy