224.- at 20th. Ferrying Group, Air Transport Command, Municipal Airport, Nashville, Tennessee - had just got there after a 3-day pass to home.


234.- had been to Berry Field


240.- May 16, 1944 - left Nashville and enroute thru Kansas City


241.- North Platte, Nebraska


243.- Evanston, Wyoming - Ogden, Utah


244.- May 21, 1944 - At Reno Army Air Base - Advanced Radio Training Unit


245.- (delayed)May 20, 1944 - Great Salt Lake


248.- Saturday Afternoon - 27 May 1944 - Hello Folks, - My morale is pretty high right now. I got my first direct letter from home, so I feel like rambling on about anything. First I'll tell you what has happened since I last wrote which I agree was too long ago. - Yesterday morning we cleaned up the barracks, packed our junk and moved over here to the 566th. to wait to start school. We could start on Monday or it could be three or four weeks. However I think it will be more like three or four weeks since they are pretty crowded now. In the afternoon we were told what the deal was and then we drew our bedding and footlockers and set up housekeeping. After eating supper, we GI'd our floor and then I got cleaned up to go to the dance at the gym. I stopped at the PX first and bought a pineapple sundae. Yes, I can get pints of ice cream here. Ha! Well, I went to the dance but didn't dance once. It is too discouraging to dance three steps and then have another GI cut in. So Red Lindsey (just another guy, Mom) and I just listened to the good music all night. - This morning, after eating a French toast, orange, Shredded Ralston and milk breakfast, we fixed up (the barracks for the S.M.I. (Saturday Morning Inspection) and then went to Clothing Issue to get measured for flying clothes. All you do is try on the sizes they have and whichever one fits best you mark its size down on a slip of paper. Quite the system. Ha! We should get winter fleece-lined coat, gloves and boots. In the summer gaberdeen (?) line, we get coveralls and a cap and then a leather jacket. Other equipment we have issued are the oxygen mask, parachute carrying bag and a neat traveling bag for our flight clothes. I'm just hoping that we get all our winter issue as it is mighty cold at 15,000. - We finished this processing approximately at chow time so we hopped right over to our fried chicken lunch which was riding the menu with mashed potatoes and gravy, asparagus, lettuce, bread and butter, an orange drink and banana cream pie. And you worry about my food. Ha! We eat preserved butter here. Did you ever hear of it before? It comes in big tin cans. It doesn't taste bad, in fact it hardly tastes at all. Ha! Sorta sticks to the roof of your mouth. - My hives are declining and now only come out on my feet when they get warm. I don't pay much attention to them as I am concentrating on my dryed [sic] up lower lip. This dry air is rough on lips. I think you get used to it after a while so why worry. Ha! - No, I didn't try to phone at Nashville because I didn't even think of it. I remember you asked me to in a letter but I forgot all about it. Anyway, what good does it do? If it will make you feel any better, I can say that there is a small chance (don't raise your hopes) that I'll get home for a week after I'm done here. The last two classes to leave here got delays. Don't bank on it though. The three places that we usually go to after here are Romulus, Mich., Memphis, Tenn, and Wilmington, Del. so that's a good deal. - Well, I have to take my shoes over to get inspected and then get ready for retreat parade. I may go to town tonight so I'll send this message on its way. - So glad you saw Grandma and had a good time in town. I wouldn't send a box way out here as we get plenty good food. Thanks just the same, though. And remember, distance means nothing to me. I can love you all just as much here as in Braddock. - Your boy, Bob - New Address: Pvt. R.A. Stumpf, 566th. A.A.F. Base Unit, (3rd. OTU) R.A.A.B., Reno, Nevada - P.S.-Thanks for the good picture of family. It's in may wallet now.


249.- 29 May 1944 - Monday PM - Dear Folks, - It just seems I can't get around to writing every day. I don't know how I'll write at all when I get to flying all hours of the day. Maybe I'll have stuff to write about then. Let's wait and see. - After I finished your last letter on Saturday afternoon I went to the retreat parade which is held weekly. There wasn't much to it except the new WACs which got here a week before I did. There are only about 25 of them fresh out of basic training. There should be a hundred more come soon. After the parade we ate and then decided to go to town but changed our minds and went to the show on the post. Yesterday, Lindsey and I went to 11 o'clock service which was quite nice. The chaplain is from West Texas and talks about "out yonder" and "way over thar" in his sermons. Ha! Very interesting. - I wrote three letters to some of the boys in the PM and then Baker, Lindsey and I decided to go in and see what Reno looked like on a peaceful Sunday night. Am I kidding? We went thru all the gambling houses with their roulette wheels and poker and all kinds of games. It is really something to see. Silver dollars were stacked by the hundreds on the tables. All kinds of people gamble. Nice looking folks and old bums play together. There is a stream [Truckee River] tracing through the town, so we walked along its banks for a few blocks. A couple soldiers and kids were fishing and they said there were trout and salmon in the stream. We hunted up and I mean hunted the USO. It was found only when we note GIs coming out of a narrow passage between a theatre and another building. We had coffee and cake in there. Later we found the XX Century Club which seems to have a dance every night for servicemen so I'll be in there this week sometime. Ha! It was a pretty nice modern place. It must be sponsored by the USO. Well, we ate and then came back to camp. - The main thing this morning was a horseback ride which was OK. They gave me a gentile [sic] horse called "Amos" and all I had to do was keep him behind the other horses. You see, if another horse gets behind him, he likes to kick his hind legs. We had to bridle and saddle the critter, curry and comb him, clean out his shoes, and water him. I learned. Ha! He bounced me around a good bit, but as yet the posterior has not ached. - I took about 10 minutes of code this afternoon and also some blinkers. - There are a lot of civilians walking around here this afternoon as it is open house at the R.A.A.B. We will have a retreat parade tonight in commemoration of the 2nd. anniversary of the A.T.C. Haba haba! - Would you rather have a lousy letter each day or a lousy one (like this) every other day? How about sending cards in between? -Will be thinking of you at Wolfe's tomorrow. Hope the weather will be OK. - Love, Bob


251.- 1 June 1944 - Dear Folks, - To continue where I left off. I went through the decompression chamber yesterday at 1:00 o'clock. We went up to 35,000 ft. instead of 38,000 as I did last year. I took the anoxia (lack of oxygen) test up there. You start writing your name and serial number over and over and then they disconnect your oxygen hose. I was writing along and in a half minute my skin began to tingle and I felt very lazy. I kept writing my name a few more times and then I stopped on the second "3" in my serial number. I know what I wanted to put down but I just couldn't. I started laughing at myself and just before I passed out altogether, they shot the oxygen back to me and I woke up and kept on writing. It was a good experience and a lot of fun. I'll send the paper showing where I stopped. - I went to town with Lindsey last night. We got in pretty early so we started walking up the stream to see where it went. We skipped a few stones just to keep in practice. One time we disturbed a mother duck and her babies so she took them into the water and they stayed in her downstream side to stay out of the current. She took them to an island in the center. Pretty slick. - After we walked for a few blocks we crossed a bridge and followed arrows marked "Idlewild Park." It was like a game preserve with lots of ducks, geese and pigeons. There were also monkeys, horses and deer. I saw my first buffalo, about 5 of them. They were shedding their heavy coats for light summer ones. - Yesterday was payday but none of us got paid. However MacDow paid me five he owed me so I'm well set till the 10th. He had gone on a flight just as a passenger and they stayed overnight up in Oregon so he got his $7.00 per diem. Good deal, eh? - The backs of my legs still hurt from the horseback ride. Ha! I guess they'll stay that way if I keep walking as much as I did last night. - We had a brass band play for us at lunch this noon. They weren't bad, but just played marches which "ain't" luncheon music. Ha! - Friday - 2 - I went into town again last night. This is the first time in over a year in the army that I could get in every night so I'm taking advantage of it. Ha! I'll stay out here tonight though, because there is a dance. - Well, I want to sew a patch on my shirt so I'll take off. - Love, Bob - [Paper insert showing: Bob A. Stumpf. 33670028 four times, then Bob A. Stumpf, 33* (I stopped at that mark. The wok up and kept on writing.) 670028, Bob A. Stumpf.]


252.- 4 June 1944 - Dear Folks, - I just got done eating another good chicken dinner. It's worth a dollar but the civilians who work on the base can eat in our mess hall for a quarter a meal. I went to church as usual this morning. We had a solo by a woman from town which was all right. The chaplain had a very good sermon about the six cities of refuge. - I went to the GI dance here on Friday night. Danced a few with a Wac named Murphy. She took Baker, Lindsey and I [sic] to the line shack after the dance and treated us to hamburgers and coffee. Good kid. - Lindsey and I are going to town this afternoon and take some pictures out at Idlewild Park. I still have 6 pics left in my camera. - I finally heard from Ray & Peg and really enjoyed hearing from them. Had a card from Audrey, Syl Stommel's wife, and she says he will go across as a gunner pretty soon. They are in Salt Lake City. - Haven't heard from you in two days so don't know what's cooking at your end. - Must get going now and get you some pictures - Love, Bob


256.- Saturday June 10, 1944 - Did you miss me? Ha! Yeah, I know I haven't written for three days and you must have wondered if I took off somewhere. I started school on Thursday which is the main cause for delay. We have 8 hours of classes each day. We arise at 6:30 AM, go to school at 8:00 and have four hours till 1 noon. We start again at 1:00 and go till 5:00 so we don't have any time off during the day. The classes are very boring since it is all the same stuff we had at Scott. I have learned a very few things but oh! the hours of boredom in waiting for each tiny scrap of new info. However I guess it won't hurt to have this stuff rammed into your mind again. - Thursday evening we had a "show-down" inspection. An inspection of this type is quite thorough. You dump all your equipment on the bed and the officer looks for unauthorized clothing, etc. And so I didn't write Thursday night, as I went to see "The Story of Dr.Wassell" acted by Gary Cooper. It was quite a good show in technicolor. - Last night Payne and I went to see our boy MacDow in the hospital. He had disappeared from the barracks for two days and we thought he must have gone on a flight and had to stay over with engine trouble. But after the second day of waiting, we inquired at the orderly room and found out he was in the hospital. There doesn't seem to be much wrong with him except he gets dizzy when he walks. He's from near Boston and is engaged to a girl in N. Caro. - Baker and I went to the dance after I saw him. I only danced about 10 steps and a guy cut in so I just give up. I don't see any sense in moving in spurts so I just be content with watching and listening. Ha! I forgot to tell you about the free dance in town on Tuesday nights. I went this week and danced most of the night with a Peggy, who had a sister named Katie, so I felt half at home. Ha! She went to the U. of Nevada and her sister just graduated from H.S. - Well we had the usual Sat. PM retreat parade and after that Baker and I had a steak dinner at the PX. Mine was a little tough but why gripe. When we got done with that, we went up and saw Mac. He says they still don't know what ails hm. Ha! I think he doesn't mind goofin' off. - I'm writing this at our service club with Baker on the other side of the table. Also have a bottle of orange to inspire me. - I was pleased to get the cookies today and will put due emphasis on them tonight. Thanks a lot. I had to laugh at your thoughts of me raiding the gambling clubs. It's not at all in secret like back east. Out here, they are on the main street with neon signs and are legal. All the games are on the up and up. I cannot keep the boys from gambling but am quite strong-willed enough to save my own money. In this way, I am able to pay their fare back to camp if they lose all their dough. Ha! In this way I do my bit for the susceptable [sic] humanity. So forget about me and worry about the weak ones, huh? - I'll try to send your film tomorrow on the double so you'll have it in time. - I may go on a GI tour tomorrow to Carson City, Virginia City and swimming. It is free and the ones who went last week said it was OK. - Two more pictures enclosed. The ones of me are on the film that I haven't finished yet. - May I write more often. - Love, Bob


260.- Mon. June 19, 1944 - Dear Mom, Dad, Cath & Nix, - Yeah, I know. But again I am always doing something besides writing. At least I'm not needy for diversion. - Well, Friday night I did my laundry and it was no small amount. (The sun just dropped behind the mountain top, which I can see out the window.) I had about 15 underwear tops, 10 shorts, 3 towels, 6 handkerchiefs and a dozen pairs of socks. - Saturday we had three tests at school which I passed OK. I went in Sat. night to get some more pictures at the drug store. Baker stayed in over night. I met him at the AWVS Snack Bar at 10 AM yesterday and after ham and waffle breakfast we went to church. We flipped to see whether we would go to the Luth. or Baptist so he won and I was a Baptist for a day. Ha! I enjoyed the service very much. -We got out at noon and decided to hitch to Lake Tahoe. We were lucky to have the open backpart of a little Ford pickup truck. We headed up the mountain range which lay between us and the lake. I had my camera and film so I took pictures from the truck. They should be good. We finally got to the summit, freezing in our summer khakis, and found ourselves at 8,933 ft. high. It was a dry cold so we didn't notice it too much. Howsomever, there were patches of snow hanging around. They just didn't know that winter was over. We took pictures of each other holding a snowball and leaning against a snowbank. The 18th. of June! - We continued down the other side and there was the most beautiful lake. It is 26 miles long and 13 miles wide. Find it on a map. The water was crystal clear blue and you could see the rocks on the bottom. Lovely. We then went to Carson City for lunch at 2 PM and went through the Nevada State Museum. Hopped back to Reno by 5 and rode the different bus routes around town. Anything to kill time. Ha! - Glad you got the film at Klaben's. Let me know if mine ever gets to you. - Let me know of the wedding. I wrote Doc and Edna [Cline] tonight. Say hello to Johnny M. [Milligan] for me. In fact, slap him on the back. - Love, Bob


261.- Still June 19, 1944 - Dear Folks, - Just some bedtime notes that I always forget to put in regular letters. - I turned in my steel helmet the other day so you can see how much combat we are supposed to get. However, I will probably go overseas before it's over. - I passed 25 wpm here the other day. - They were going to wash a guy out here until they found out he is to get the silver star for missions over the hump as radioman. - Had a pint of ice cream tonight. I ripped my pants yesterday during my travels. It is right into my back pocket so I'll have to rig up a little patch from a shirt tail. - I bet you are mighty glad to have a "new" kitchen. Sweep it out every day and it will last longer. Take it from a lowly 14-monther. Ha! - 10 PM and time to "hit the sack." Lights out! - Next morning I just finished a big breakfast and then swept and mopped my floor. It's raining out now and the air is quite cool. It was 50� last night. - Hey, Kate, how 'bout sending me the words to "You Rhyme with Everything T.B." - I
remember the night we first heard of the invasion. After lights out, I heard different fellows say that they wished they were over helping out. I don't know whether they meant it or not but somehow I think they did. - School time. I wish they'd let us sleep in class. Ha! - Well, it's noon now and I got a letter from you, including pictures. Keep sending them, Mom. and I'll keep them going to you. Ha! I still have a good many left that you don't have yet. - I may go to a dance tonight, if there is one or I might take in a show. What I should do is stay in and write letters. - I would enjoy some of Common's candy if she isn't too busy with sleeping. Ha! Don't rob yourselves of sugar though. This PX doesn't have any good candy. - Enclose some more pictures. All, or almost all, those buildings in Virginia City are locked up. - Gotta go to more school. - Love, Bob


262.- June 21, 1944 - Dear Folks, - How do you like that classy letterhead? I don't either. I made the stamp out of a rubber stopper from a wrecked C-47. - I went into the dance in town at Tony's El Patio Ballroom. Quite a name, eh? Everything is free and there were $5-$10 prizes. I had a feeling I would win one for some reason. Well, I was holding my ticket and the ticket of the girl I was dancing with. Somehow, my luck got mixed up, and her number won. She offered me half of it, but I didn't want it. We might fix up a double date soon and spend the ten spot. - If you can find a Westinghouse pencil around somewhere, will you send it in the next package. They are the best kind for code takin'. - Think I'll take in a show tonight so I won't be tempted to go to town. - This is the coldest summer they've had out here since 1920. It's still too cold to swim. - More school. More pictures for you. Adios! - With love, Bob


278.- Sunday July 16, 1944 - Greetings and salutations, - I shall start with Friday's flight. I have now added Oregon to my list of states. It was a cross-country to Medford, Ore. which is a little lumber district town. On the way up we passed Mt. Shasta which is really big and tremendous looking. At Medford we had pie, milk and ice cream at the Wing In. - On Saturday I went up in the school ship for 3 hours. We landed at Oakland, Calif. and again had pie and milk. - Last night Payne and I went to the show but didn't see all of it. We enjoyed the Popular Science and Bugs Bunny shorts and just at the beginning of the main feature, "Storm Over Lisbon", there was a request for volunteer fire-fighters over the public address. Well, we didn't go right away, continued looking at the movie but as the movie progressed for about 5 minutes, we decided we would much rather fight fire than sweat out the rest of that show. So, against army tradition, we volunteered. - Equipped with our fatigues, flight jacket, leggings, gloves and canteen, we boarded the GI truck (packed in like bulk ice cream) and drove into Reno to the corner of 4th. and Virginia. We waited there 45 minutes until a Grazing Service truck took half of our men and led the way..We took off like a scalded cat out of Reno, through Sparks where we found headquarters. HQ consisted of a little pick-up truck with a small two-way radio setup. Shovels and ration boxes were setting on the ground. - All this fire-fighting (brush fires) are controlled by the Grazing Service which is merely a Forest Ranger Service for cattle and sheep grazing country where no trees are growing. There were 23 of us soldiers under a captain. To get these men to the fire seven or eight miles up in the hills was a problem as only one pick-up truck was available. This type of vehicle was the only thing that could go up that road and I found out later why. Anyway, nine guys and the GI driver got in the Ford and headed for the fire. It was two hours before the truck got back. During this time, the remainder of us (Capt. included) loafed around talking and resting up for the job ahead. Payne and I were in the second wave which climbed the indispensible jallopy[sic]. The Capt. and seven stayed behind to wait for a small delivery truck due in from Sparks. Well, our Ford headed up the road (?), cow trail, goat path, ditch or whatever you wish to call it. At the beginning of our journey we almost tipped over on a 45�, or was it 60�, bank. However, we had no more trouble in that respect for the rest of the trip, because a lookout would call "Lean to the left" or "lean to the right" and we acted as human ballast, correcting for the road angle. Again everything went smoothly, until the driver took a road that wasn't a road. You can't see a road so easily in sage country, especially at night. The plucky vehicle bounced up a gulch as if it was on the right road and we couldn't tell that it wasn't the "road", since that word is used loosely in this part of the country. We went until we couldn't "went" anymore. A soon as we realized we had erred, the starter took a sit down strike. No hand crank was to be had. We dug around the truck, rocked it, pushed it backward for at least 6 ft. to catch it in reverse (6 ft. was a great straightaway distance in this winding gulch) and it just refused to start. - Three miles from HQ, five miles from the fire and a dead truck. There was a radio on the truck so the boys started rigging it up to call HQ. They didn't finish as just then we saw the lights of the other truck with the Capt. and the boys. They had followed our tracks right up the gulch and had gotten stuck 75 yards behind us. We gave up our truck as a lost cause and transferred our rations and tools to the Capt.'s truck. After a half-hour's pushing and digging, etc. we got the delivery truck turned around and followed it out of the "Lost Ford Gulch." We found the right road to the fire and five guys hopped the truck and headed for the fire. The remainder of us were to hike as far as we could until the truck returned to take us to the fire. We hiked (Capt. included) for 10 or 15 minutes until we came upon our remaining vehicle rendered helpless with ____a flat tire. I shall skip over this "incident" lightly although much hard work was necessary to get that rotten tire off and the new job on. Of course the jack didn't work so we lifted the back end up and slipped a big stone under the axle. I think it was 3:45 when the truck left 6 of us (Capt. included) on the "lone prairie" to wait for its return and the final leg of our pilgrimage would be complete. - Smoldering spots of fire still dotted the surrounding burnt out mountains but they were no match for the heavenly stars over us. A meteor was seen to fall with its flaming tail of sparkle trailing above it. Numerous falling stars flashed for brief instants into nothingness. - The air was cold in the pre-dawn hours. All were tired. I layed down on the road, the Capt. layed down slap up against me on the left and Payne agin' me on the right and I kept fairly warm this way. Here's how the six of us looked at 4:30 this morning. Ha! [Drawing showing six soldiers huddled together like sardines across the road trying to get some sleep.] - The truck finally came down from the fire and took us up to the front. It was morning when we came to the end of the "Burma road." The fire was not in sight and neither were the 10 fellows who had been in the 1st. wave. About this time we opened up a full frontal attack on our U.S. Forest Service rations which consisted of canned cheese, corned beef, bread, beans and pineapple juice. Also included was instant coffee and sugar and chocolate. The 10 fellows finally joined us after fighting fire all night and we had a lovely breakfast together out in the wide open sage country. [Drawing of 6 men relaxing around a fire, panel delivery truck with back doors open and shovels on ground and stuck in ground.] - After eating, the truck took two loads down to HQ. Then a Grazing Service man came up in a pick-up and took the remainder of us down. We all loaded on our GI truck and went to Reno where we had breakfast on the Government. - When Payne and I got to the base, we had the Capt. make us out an excuse from flying this afternoon. I used this time to sleep. - And so, another chapter is written in the life of R.A. Stumpf, champion of the sage. - Monday July 17 - I had a hamburger and a quart of milk for a snack before I hit the sack last night. - Had my chute inspected and drew $3.50 per diem for that night in Frisco. - Must eat chow now so I'll ay "Adios" till later. Good luck to Gret in her new job. - Love, Blue Yonder Bob 


283. Bakersfield-Sacramento


289. Long Beach, Calif.


296. Aug.14, 1944 - Save a seat for me in the choir Sunday