Postmarked August 31, 1943

Aug. 31, 1943

Dear Folks,

Got our letter and was glad to here from you. I went with a couple of fellows to a dance at the Eagle's Club in Milwaukee and had a pretty good time, I am getting to be a pretty good dancer, believe it or not!

As far as school goes, things are coming along fine. I don't know my exact grades, but I'm pretty sure I have about a 90% average. If I can keep it up, I ought to get something out of this school.

What kind of hunting are Dad and Ralph going to do and where? This is something new, isn't it? So they are lifting the gas restrictions of boats? Maybe I am lucky enough to get delayed orders I may get in a couple of days fishing. I sure hope so.

Well, it's almost time for the chow to start, so I will close now as I would like to get there in time to get a seat.

Love to all,

Paul

Postmarked August 28, 1943

Aug. 27, 1943

Dear Folks,

Got your letter this morning and was glad to hear from you. I also got a letter from Ralph. I see he is taking in ball games in a big way.

Well, we have only two more weekends altogether that we don't have liberty, for we have it every weekend the last four weeks. I got a letter from George today and he is doing O.K. He hasn't any picnic, tho, as they have to study pretty hard, but it is still a lot easier than here.

There isn't much to write about and it is almost time to fall out, so I will close with,

Love to all,

Paul

Postmarked August 25, 1943

Aug. 24, 1943

Dear Folks,

Got a letter from Henry yesterday, in Lincoln Neb. His arm is coming around O.K. but is will be several weeks before he is ready for duty.

I didn't hear from you this morning but there may be a letter this afternoon. This morning we saw "Stormy Weather" with Bill Robinson and it wasn't bad. Today we have more hot weather, its so sticky that the least move starts you sweating.

Next time you send jam, try to get a screw cap jar, as the one you sent me has a cap that presses on and it is not very secure, and it would make quite a mess if it came open in my bag.

There isn't much more to write, and its almost time to fall out so I will close with

Love to all,

Paul

Postmarked August 22, 1943

Aug. 21, 1943

Dear Folks,

Not much too write about except that everything is coming along O.K.

Got another letter from George yesterday, and he is getting along O.K. I wish we could get together some week-end, but it took him nearly 9 hrs to get there from the Lakes, and that was on the "Hiawatha" streamliner, so I'm afraid it's out of the question.

How is the food situation? I see in the paper that it is getting almost impossible to get meat. I hope your getting enough to eat.

As I said before, things here are pretty much the same. We finished our 8th week here today, we are half-way thru. We have four more weeks of shop, the last four being steam in classes in steam and physics.

That's about all, so I will close with,

Love to all,

Paul

Photo credit: http://www.yesteryeardepot.com/milwaur.htm

Postmarked August 20, 1943

August 19, 1943

Dear Folks,

This will have to be short as we fall out in a few minutes. There isn't anything much to write about, as thing are pretty much the same around the shop.

Last nite I turned up a hammer handle out of cold rolled [sp?], nothing precision, but it wanted to be a nice looking job with a good clean knurl and a nice Philadelphia finish.

The weather has turned pretty cool the last few days, and we have been using blackets at nite. I'm glad we're getting out of here in the fall before it gets cold, because this place is really an ice-box in the winter

That's about all, so I will close with,

Love to all,

Paul

Postmarked August 16, 1943

August 16, 1943

Dear Folks

Well, I just got back from another liberty in Milwaukee and as usual, had a good time. In another few weeks, well be getting liberty every weekend instead of every other weekend.

I stayed at the Milwaukee Athletic Club this weekend, which is not exactly a hotel but a sort of business man's club. It has a swimming pool and gym and other athletic facilities. We had a swim Sunday morning after we got up, and believe me, there's nothing like a swim before breakfast to give you an appetite.

I got a letter from George today. He's at the University of Minnesota at St. Paul, and they have it pretty nice. They live two men to a room and they have closets and lockers instead of seabags to keep there clothes in. He gets liberty every week-end too.

That's about all so I will close now.

Love to all,

Paul

Postmarked August 14, 1943

August 13, 1943

Dear Folks,

I got the package yesterday and here is the report. The tomatoes were not such a good idea. They arrived crushed to a pulp, but outside of that the package arrived in good condition.

The pictures aren't ready yet. It seems the photo shop has more work than they can handle and hence, the delay.

Well, I guess the kids will start thinking of going back to school. Time sure is going fast. Another month and we'll be wearing blues again. Out graduation date is Oct. 19, unless the course is shortened.

Last nite we had a tricky little lathe job, a body of an automatic center punch and had a square thread on one end and an inside V thread on the other, so you can see, it was a pretty tricky job.

Postmarked August 12, 1943

Aug, 13, 1943 [sic]

Got your letter this morning and I will be glad to get that package. George left this morning for Minneapolis, Minn., so he will be even further from home than I am. I had sort of hoped that we might be together for a while, but that's the way the Navy is.

Today it is really pouring cats and dogs, a good day to relax on the sofa with a couple of comic books.

By the way, if you need any rubbers for Dad or Ralph or if Ralph needs any gym shoes, let me know. I here they are pretty hard to get, and the ones we get are probably cheaper and better than any you could get.

That's about all, so I will close with

Love to all,

Paul

Postmarked August 10, 1943

Aug, 10, 1943

Sorry I didn't write sooner, but as you know by now, we are pretty busy. The pictures aren't ready yet, but I am sending a snap I had taken with two other fellows in our section. In case you can't recognize the handsomest man, I'm in the left hand corner. The fellow next to me is from Elmhurst, and the boy in back is from Kentucky a real live hillbilly.

I got your letter this morning and I gather that you are having some warm weather. It's pretty warm here to but you don't notice it so much. I guess its because are so near the lake.

Last nite I was talking to one of the instructors in the shop who had just finished a year of sub duty and it was pretty interesting. He told me not to worry too much about making a rate, because the mere fact that I have graduated from the school makes me eligible to strike for a rating as soon as I get aboard ship.

That's about all, so I will close with

Love to all,

Paul

Postmarked August 6, 1943

Aug. 5, 1943

Dear Folks,

Well, I saw George yesterday when he came in, and I am sure glad we are more or less together again, even if it may only be for a week or two. We don't know where or when he will be sent to school, but he will probably end up at G. L. U. (Great Lakes University). If so I hope he gets in an even numbered section so we can take liberty together.

Last night we milled an octagon on the micrex [sp?] head and the nite before we took a team turbine apart and put it back together again. The turbine came from a old four stack destroyer, where it was used to drive a 50 K.W. generator. The new turbines are made with much more precision than  this was but it was quite a job nevertheless. Each one of the blades is installed and fitted by hand, since there is not way to machine them.

That is about all, so I will close with,

Love to all,

Paul

Postmarked August 4, 1943

August 3, 1943

Dear Folks,

Got the package Friday and needless to say was glad to get the eats and especially the stamp. I've used it already and it works O.K. That packages presented somewhat of a problem the next day, because it was Saturday and inspection day. However, by scattering the contents in three or four fellow's sea bags, I got by O.K.

Well, George will be coming back tomorrow. I wrote him while he was home and told him to take the same train back as I did. I am going to meet him tomorrow when he comes in. We will be ale to see each other while he's in O.G.U., as that is just across the drill field from us. I hope he is luckier than I was and gets sent to school somewhere nearer home.

That's about all, so I will close with,

Love to all,

Paul