Letters To Home - May 1, 1951

Fort Benning, Georgia
May 1, 1951

Hottest weather of the spring so far. Not a cloud in the sky, not much of a breeze. Very little training since all our equipment is packed for the move. Have been playing lots of soft ball.

Out of sheer boredom, we talked the non-coms into a little close order drill. Some of the non-coms, who were in World War II, know about some of the fancy drills that the colored troops used, so we tried them out. We had fun, too, until the Colonel happened to spot us and put a stop to it. Captain Galloway came out, passed the word, then decided to drill the whole battery. Disaster, since the group was too large, and we couldn't hear his commands.

Supposed to leave May 20. I'm going to try for the job of guarding heavy equipment on the railroad trip north. Would ride in the caboose, see lots of the country.

I now have the rank of PFC, but, for some reason, the pay hasn't caught up with the orders. Maybe double pay next month.