Leonard's Story: April 7, 1943

[April 7, 1943, page 1]

(A.A.)

CAMP DAVIS

NORTH CAROLINA

                                             4-7-43

Dear Arnold,

     Thanks for your unusual and

interesting letter of the 29th. I

wish something unusual, exciting

and different would happen to

me.

     Well, I think I am beginning

to wear into the groove a little. Now

I just don't five a damn what happens.

I just play along - I don't even

bother about the date or how many

weeks left - I just go thru a

specified series of motions every day.

     However, I had to change my

schedule the other day - temporarily

I hope - It happened this way:

One by one the toilets went out

of order until only two were still in

working condition - naturally a

shit crisis developed - so I had

to changed my schedule. Otherwise

[page 2]

things are just about the same here

as ever. I could fill pages of beefing

such as shaving with cold water, the damn

furnace broke down, etc., But perhaps

I should write about something good -

- damned if I can think of anything

good at the moment - we measure from

the xy axis down here, consequently every-

thing is just a relative degree of badness

Example         |

                    __|__ good [arrow up] +   note: The equation of the curve

                        |   bad  [arrow down] -            of OCS does not extend

                        |                                              above the x axis

     Everybody here believes in the philosophy

of the dog (forgive me for my coarseness, but this is

the army). Philosophy of the dog: If you can't

eat it or fuck it, then piss on it.

     Well I am writing this in the

baggage room after 10:30 which is illegal,

and its almost 11:00 so I guess I'd

better get in bed before bed check.

                             Your brother

                             Leonard

P.S. If you were in the army you would

hike 100 miles where you could ride 16.

N.B. Flavell would enjoy the dog philosophy

as it is his type of humor - so tell him

for me.

GO TO NEXT LETTER

GO TO PREVIOUS LETTER

Leonard's Story: March 27 1943

[envelope]

AIRMAIL

                                   Arnold Nevis

                                   Calif. Inst. of Tech.

                                   Dabney House

                                   Pasadena, Calif.

[postmarked]

              CAMP DAVIS

              MAR 28

              1943

              N.C.

[March 27, 1943]

                                                  [something cut off at top]

                                                  271935EWT

                                                 [arrow ==>]  military 27 - 27th of month

                                                  1943 - 7:35 PM + EWT - zone

                                                  time

Dear Arnold,

How are you bud? What a life - we only

have to work seventeen hours a day for fifty dollars

a month and room and board. I have a cozy little

room that I share with twenty eight other guys.

I am on the second floor of a nice white two-roomed

bungalow - oh! pardon me we have a latrine and

trunk room - that makes four rooms for about sixty

men. We have eight wash basins, four showers,

five toilets and one wash tub. We can crowd

eight men in the showers, sixteen can shave at one

time and three can use the wash tub together, but

as yet we haven't figured out a way for more than five

men to sit on the five toilets at one time. The

room service is rather poor here, so we have to

do some of the work ourselves, - this afternoon,

which is marked free time on the schedule, we scrubbed

the barracks inside, and then we even scrubbed the

outsides - I'm not kidding. Tomorrow so we

were informed - we will scrub them again -

only this time we are to get them clean, immaculate,

spotless, super perfect.

(over)

[March 27, 1943, page 2]

The weather here at Camp Davis Country Club is

one of the outstanding attractions. The other day the

sun was shining, it was snowing, and it blowing

sand - in fact they claim that this is the only place

in the world - you can be up to your ass in mud and have

sand blowing in your face. We had nice weather last

week for our physical recreation - calisthenics - tumbling -

obstacle course - cross country hikes.

Well anyway I am learning or should I

say "broadening" my education - for one thing I found that

I can wear my leather slippers to reveille and never be

noticed (the’re quicker to put on than G.I. shoes) because

it is so dark here at 6:00 AM. Although I sometimes

have to struggle to get into formation in time - I

am always in plenty of time for mess. Also I

am learning the names and methods of shoe shining to

the utmost technical degree. Tell Flavell to write -

I will write him soon. My address:

Candidate L. J. Nevis,

AA school

30th Battery 1st Platoon

Camp Davis, N.C.    [<== arrow] 30th battery, 1st Platoon

                                                      Camp Davis, N.C.

out of ink

                              Love

                              Leonard

you may show

Flavell this letter

write soon

GO TO NEXT LETTER

Arnold's Story: July 12, 1944

This discharge certificate shows Arnold discharged as an Aviation Cadet of the 3510th Army Air Force Base Unit, Section E (Yale University). The next day he enters officer training as a second lieutenant at Harvard.

next post  July 24, 1944

previous post  July 9, 1944

first post in Arnold's Story  July 1943

first post in blog  Leonard's Story: May 29, 1943 

Arnold's Story: April 2, 1944 Cummings

Private Clifford I. Cummings, a classmate from the California Institute of Technology, writes from Camp Crowder, Missouri (now Fort Crowder). Apparently both Cliff and Arnie were extremely keen to see action overseas in the war. ETG probably references the Electronics Training Group at Caltech.

next post  April 2, 1944 V-mail

previous post  March 26, 1944

first post in Arnold's Story  July 1943

first post in blog  Leonard's Story: May 29, 1943

Leonard's Story: November 29, 1944

I could not figure out what WAH means.  And U.S. Philippines Invasion Money might be the counterfeit money the U.S. had printed up in Australia to trigger inflation and undermine confidence in the Japanese Invasion money. 
______________________________________________

                                                                 Philippines

                                                                 29th Nov

Dear Arnold,

     Just received your letter of the 14th.  So old Chezzer

got himself almost hooked!  Well, well the wolf gets caught

in a trap.  Tell him that what he gets for sticking his paws

in unknown places.  Tell him to write me all about it, I have'nt

heard from him in some time, but I guess he has been busy with

his wooing.  Things are going along as per usual here, not many

changes.  I just returned form Corps Hdqs, and although it is

only about ten miles away it is an all day trip, because of the

mud and rivers.  Mud, mud, mud what a place for a alot of pigs

to wallow in.  Are we pigs?  Well we are wallowing in it anyway.

I am glad to hear that you will have five more months in the

states after December 1st.  Are you nuts?  What in the hell

do you want to rush out here for anyway.  There is nothing out

here to induce a good clean living american boy to come out here. [in margin:] here, here

                                                                 Same Place

                                                                 30th Nov

     Well I was interrupted last night, I forgot why, but I

was so tired that I did'nt bother to finish your letter.

Lets see, what is new?  Not a damn thing, as far as I can see.

For us back here at Div Hqs, this is something like a field

problem or manuevers, except it ain't, its WAH.  I wish I

could get a chance to get my clothes washed (Filipinos wash

them), I am beginning to smell a bit strong.

     Well by the time this reaches you it will be winter.  I

can remember that delightful morning of the 1st of Jan, when I stepped

off the train into the cold, crisp air of Maryland.  I wish I

could do that again this January.  But here I am in the land of

eternal summer, sun tans?, and fatigues.  At night I dream of

the states.  This reminds me of OCS, when I use to dream I was

somewhere else, but when I woke up in the morning I was still

in OCS, but finally one sweet day came when I woke up out of

OCS, and then I began to dream I was back in OCS, viciouscircle

circle?  Well I have to wire some sockets up in our new G-2

tent, so I will close for now.  Enclosed you will find some

Jap invasion money (taken off some dead Japs) and some US

[page 2, reverse of letter]

Philippines Invasion Money. [handwritten] + a Dutch Guiller from dutch

New Guinea.

                                               love,

                                  [signed] Leonard

GO TO NEXT LETTER

Leonard's Story: September 8, 1944

"Looey" is probably lieutenant here. Uncle Leonard still recounted the regularity of the rain on Bougainville some fifty years later when talking about his experiences to me in the early 1990s. He said you could set your watch to it as it came daily at 3:00 pm, then in a week or two would shift to 3:30pm, and after a while shift another half hour later.

[typed, page 1]

                                                                                  Sept 8, 1944

Dear Arnold,

     How is the new second looey, enjoying same, it least you give

that impression in yourtwo letters of the 28th.  By the way the

V-mail arrived neck and neck with the airmail.  The longest five

months I have ever spent were in OCS.  I know just about how you

feel, for it isn't only getting a commission, but its getting out

of that damn candifate or cadet training. At first I felt slightly

uncomfortable and conspicous, especially when I was by myself, but

that soon wears off, and things settle down to a grind again, however

a slightly higher standard of grind.  I am glad you got in such a

nice setup, keep it up.  I don't know why I was in such a hurry

to get overseas, but take it from me this is not the way to see

the world.  The only glamour and heros are at home, there ain't

any such creatures out here.  It is all sweat, scare, mud, blood,

and work.  There is nothing like the states, stay there as long

as you can, because if you rush out here you will find your mighty

convictions have all been in vain, and it is too late to go back.

So work hard and stick to your job, you will be sent out here soon

enough.  However don't work too hard, try to get a little fun in

now and then to store up some good memories, they come in handy

out here.

     The sense of humor of the men out here give you an idea of

their attitude.  If  movie soldier says, "I want to go over there

and get those yellow monkeys, give them hell, or anyother cinema

patriotic remark he is hooted and laughed off the screen. They

walked out of Danny Kaye's UP IN ARMS.  They only crack a smile

at some of the best jokes of the radio comedians, then again some

little insignificant thing will knock them out.  However they still

have a sense of humor as shown in some of their signs.  The one over

the dispensary reads, " Montgomery's Clinic Specialist in the skin

and its contents.  Our mess hall, semi-tent structure, is titled

               Tearoom.  The other day I saw a truck named Lack-a-

nookie, and so it goes.

     We had an earthquake here the other night, however it was not

very severe.  Since there is an active volcano near at hand I suppose

it had something to do with it.  Earthquakes are not rare occurences

here.  The rain is even more frequent, in fact it is daily, and

generally comes in on a time schedule.  This afternoon we really

caught a deluge, but then it cools things off.  The biggest bother

here are the many insects.  I always seem to be able to pick up

at least several new bites every day, spiders, mosquitos, ants,

and a few unidentified things inflict a more or less constant

and equal proporation of bites.

[page 2]

     I have'nt run into anybody I knew at home, although there

is probably someone near at hand, however I don't get around much

anymore.  Send me Stadt's and Kennedy's APO and if they are on the

island which I doubt, I will look them up.  Well lieutenant keep

on the ball, and write soon again and don't omit any of the

luxuries, I can dream can't I.

                                            love,

                               [signed] Leonard

GO TO NEXT LETTER