When the War

Sometimes I wish I was back in school sweating out my grades and hating to bring them home. Remember when we were going to Jr. college how we hated to bring those grade slips? The good old days.

Darling, I have probably changed but not in my love or affections towards you. When this mess is over I'll prove it to you.

I find this "good old days" comment touching. Ray is only 24 years old at this point, but I'm sure he and all of our boys had to grow up quickly under the circumstances.

Easter 1944

What are you going to do for Easter? We were supposed to get an extra day off, but they have taken that away from us & are making us come back at 12:00 Sunday. They are having some kind of Easter services here on the post for us in the afternoon.

We don't have to parade, so I guess that is OK then.

I guess air-mail prices had gone up.

Air Mail

My Dearest,

Hello honey, how's my one & only? I have been kept so busy that I haven't had time to write or anything else much. After we come in nights they always find something for us to do. I had guard duty Wednesday night and am sweating out K.P. too this week.

...

I have the da--est luck trying to write letters. I just heard the call to fall out. bye!

This letter started on a Friday night, in August 1942, and restarted on Sunday.

Free

This is the first in a short series (four) of World War Two correspondence. My grandfather, Ray Green, was a young airplane mechanic in the Army Air Corps (precursor to the Air Force) and he wrote often during those days to his girl, my grandmother, Jane Mae Cottrell. They eventually married in 1945. I'll be including a bit of each letter that this postage delivered.

Some of the letters are touching, many hint at the sheer boredom of military life (he was a trainee, then mechanic), and all of them (47 letters have survived the years) are dear to me.

We just put up a picture of the 514th squadron taken when we had the review week before last and I am in it. Can you feature that?