LETTER #43 - 24 OCT 1944

                                                                
My Little Notes:  Not much to really add.  He talks about hitchhiking to Miami and that even the officers hitchhike their way around.  He also mentions he received a letter from his Army buddy, Ray Kubick who is still at Truax Field in Madison, Wisconsin but soon will ship to Chanute Field.  He also talks about the trouble getting laundry done down in the South and how expensive like spending $4-5 a month to send them out to get clean!

"War bonds are nest eggs that hatch dreams like this [washing machine] -- WWII advertisement (USA), 1943."

 

 

The closest I could find to a laundry image! 

LETTER #42 - 20 OCT 1944

Boca Raton Army Air Field

My Little Notes:
Well another place for training!   According to a website, The Boca Raton Army Air Field (BRAAF) was the key site during WWII for Airborne Radar research, development, testing & training.  Between 1942 and 1947 over 100,000 troops were stationed at this extremely Top Secret Army Air Force Field in the then small town of Boca Raton, FL.  In 2005 a very interesting book was written about this place called "Small Town, Big Secrets" by Sally J. Ling.  Also, German Uboats were spotted around this area to sink our ships with supplies.  The Germans sank 24 ships in Florida waters during the war, eight of them off Palm Beach County between February and May of 1942.  Here is a link on this information:  the-enemy-presence-german-u-boats.  

Here is also an interesting link on the history on the Air Field:  us-military-in-boca-raton

One more link on the book Small Town, Big Secrets-inside-the-boca-raton-army-air-field-during-world-war by Sally J. Ling.  More photos and history on the website.



Also, Uncle Louie was not kidding when he said he just missed the hurricane!  This was an unnamed one in 1944, but nonetheless left its mark in weather history!

Link to the description of the hurricane, Oct. 18-20, 1944:
Unnamed Hurricane, October 1944

LETTER #41 - 17 OCT 1944

My Little Notes:
Well this is the last letter from Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul, Illinois.  He now leaves for Boca Raton, Florida Army Air Field for more technical training.  Stay tuned!

On a sad note, his Army buddy Alvin Lloyd received a telegram from his mother that his younger brother was wounded in France.  According to my research, this would be his younger brother, Robert Harold Lloyd.  I have no military data as of yet on Robert Harold, but I know he died at the age of 65 in 1990.  See his memorial below from Find-A-Grave:

Link to Memorial on Robert Harold Lloyd

1949 Poster for Armed Forces Day - The picture reminded me of brothers like the Lloyds.  There were 5 boys and I know for sure that 4 of them served our Country; 2 in WWII and 2 in Korea.

LETTER #40 - 13 OCT 1944

My Little Notes:
Sounds like Uncle Louie will be shipping out soon.  He mentions about passing the "sweat box".  I tried to do a little research on it and I am thinking it is training to get used to being confined in the glass dome area that they will be in as an aerial gunner.  Or possibly training for this type of torture treatment as it is more commonly known.  If anybody has a better description please let me know.  I found this picture (see below) from Wakeman General Hospital in Indiana.  It was a big Army hospital and training center during WWII.  Here is also a link for more information on the history of Wakeman General Hospital. 

WakemanHospital/HoosierTrainingGround/HoosierTrainingGround.htm

A "sweat box" from Wakeman Hospital ~ undated.

LETTER #39 - 4 OCT 1944

Sounds like Uncle Louie, Ward and Al had a fun time in Chicago, despite the fact they had no time to visit his family.  I am sure the family is not too angry over it.  And what a prank to pull on a kid with the pepper gum! 

Morrison Hotel (Chicago)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Morrison Hotel was a high rise hotel in downtown the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It was designed by the architectural firm of Marshall and Fox, and completed in 1925. The hotel was demolished in 1965 to make room for the First National Bank Building (now Chase Tower).
Standing 526 feet (160 m) high, the Morrison Hotel was the first building outside of New York City to have more than 40 floors. At the time of its razing, it was the tallest building to have ever been demolished anywhere in the world.

The movie that he saw with the Waves.  I think I may have seen this movie once.  Funny, how Katharine Hepburn can be Asian! 

Link to 1944 Dragonseed Movie info

LETTER #38 13 SEPT 1944

My Little Notes:
Well a short little letter.  Now Louie is in the same squadron with his Army buddy Al.  Seems pretty tired with doing detail and schooling.  Here is some military humor to lighten up!


Link to bio on Bill Mauldin ~ Pulitzer Prize winner editiorial cartoonist

Bill Mauldin was in the Army himself in 1940.  During his time in the war he created two war-weary “dogfaces” named Willie and Joe.  Here are some examples of his work:

LETTER #37 - 5 SEPT 1944

My Little Notes:
Not much to add but at least he is in the same shift with Alvin.  Hopefully soon he will  be in the same squadron.  Sounds like he is getting settled in and seems to like that region.  I don't think my Uncle and Al went back there.  I know my Uncle after he got married, settled in the Carpentersville and Geneva, Illinois areas.  Alvin Lloyd was originally from Tennessee and I know in his later life he moved to Florida. 

He mentions the Point System or also known as the Advanced Service Rating Score.  A soldier would receive points for each month of service, each month overseas, each award received, and points for each child under the age of 18.  The needed number to be discharged was 85.  Later it went down to 75 after Japan surrendered.  Here is a good link that explains and outlines the point system better:

Brief explanation of the Military Point System in WWII