| The C-54 Skymaster 4-engine transport |
 Dependable all-purpose transport plane, many phased in for for the latter stages of Hump duty. |
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1/2 Feb 45 - No. 7- � to Kunming-10:00-Pilot Weisbruch-Note: R.O.N. (remained overnight) 3 Feb 45 - Pick up Chinese money. Electricity goes out, resort to kerosene lamp borrowed from Weezie. 4/5 Feb 45 -No. 8-� to Hsinching-15:40-Pilot Weisbruch 6 Feb 45 - You asked what kind of country this is. Well, as far as physical aspects go, it's sorta hard to compare it with any land you 'limited' travelers have seen. Hmm. It's sort of flat rolling land like near Erie (PA) and it has a lot of trees and vegetation. Rice paddies, pasture land with cattle and muddy water holes comprise the country. The cities are crowded and filthy. Three or four kids follow you around while you're trying to shop. They yell "Baksheesh, sahib" meaning roughly "Give me a nickel for a cup of coffee, Joe. Times are tough." Things are tough in this country but you don't pass out any dough or you'd get mobbed. I was to my bearer's house Sunday before last and there were little boys standing around staring at us. They looked to be about three so I asked Das how old they were and he said seven or eight. Kids don't grow very big on rice and water. In some ways India is rich. She has gems which are beautiful. There are also wonderful hunting areas and the other day I saw natives come past with a catch of fish so I may head for the river. Dreamed about DeNardo's jewelry store while I was in China the other night. Don't ask me why. 7/8 Feb 45 - No. 9- � - Lost. Landed at Kan, Burma-11:35-Pilot Weisbruch-Note: A British fighter strip---Spitfires-Hurricanes---traded drums of gas for gas from truck---Jap sniper positions still in trees. 9 Feb 45 - I just finished putting in 15 hours of sack time and believe me, this time I needed it. I just wish I could tell you where I've been. Mom would probably have fits and Dad and brother Ray would probably say they wished they could have been there. Lots of fun in a way. [ Time lost in Burma due to .....what? Odd electrical storm?]---Weisbruch has a new (rebuilt) British motorcycle--PX selling facsimile of root beer. |
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February 9, 1945 - Letter from Dad Dear "Bob" :- I must be getting old. I wrote half of a letter to you last evening and put it in a drawer till I could finish it today and now I can't find it. So I'll begin with the weather which has been terrible all winter. Today a thaw set in and the ice is melting fast. Maybe if it continues warm I will take mother to Verona for her first trip there since John (Wolfe) died. I see by the "Hump Express" that you have had some tough weather over the hump since you arrived. From what I am able to read I gather that the weather over the hump is about the world's worst. I wish you could write more about the hump, how long your trip takes you, emergency landing fields, weather, etc., but I guess those are military secrets that only the Japs may know. Byers writes that he eats powdered eggs in India and fresh eggs in China. Also that he does not stay very long in China because of scarcities. Do you still get flight pay of 75 per month or do you get a travelling allowance? In sending a package, if you would send hose by first class mail would that count as a package; or for that matter any other light thing that you could get into an envelope? Also I suggest that you send the full weight allowance each time you wish to send things to your friends, send them to us and we will send them to your friends from here. In that way you could make a better job of it. That is only a suggestion. You ought to hear Edna say, 'Johnny in Alaska and Bob in India'. It certainly is a tongue twister for her but you understand what she is saying. Nix is in her second childhood. She runs after sticks and fights you for a bone. That sore on her chest has not developed very much as yet so I am leaving well enough alone. Howard Berthold is home from dome battles in the Pacific. He took part in the battles for the Philippines. He has some great stories to tell. As he and other bys tell it, what we read in the papers and what really happens, do not add up correctly. Here are some things that are happening here: We are treating all of our war prisoners like guests and in some cases better than our own soldiers. Politics are so rotten they stink. Always trying to take away more of the civilian rights in the name of war. Our factories are laying off men and closing whole departments and yet they claim a manpower shortage, Dick is only getting five days a week and this week he had a lay-off of one day. Most factories have a surplus of manpower and yet they cry for more men. I suppose you heard that one of the Roosevelt boys sent a dog by plane from England and when it reached America three service men were grounded to make room for the damn dog in a plane. Then last week the brother held up a train in Chicago for one hour and seven minutes so that he and his wife could get to Sunny California for a rest. Oh the Army is a great game if you have the pull. Some darn good fellows who work hard and have been in the army for two or three years are still privates while others get ratings in boot camp or training camps. So it goes on and on. You now have 235 dollars in your savings account. Keep it up if you can and then when you get home you can complete your education or get into some business and take your real place in the world. I am glad you are taking a little work now even though I know it is hard to do so. I am surprised that you have not met any of the local boys yet, however I know that India is a large place and your time is not your own. I noticed in your paper that you have a new rotation system for furloughs. It seems that it takes about two years to get a stateside paper. However maybe you fellows go by "hours" or "trips". At any rate the war is going rather good for us just now and things may change a lot in a year or even less. I do not mean that the war will be over but the theater of operations will change and that will likely give you a change. Marion just called and said that Alice was coming home tomorrow for a leave. Of course we will go over to see her as soon as we can. Jack and his bride are living in Tarentum. Well Son, this will be the letter for this time. It is now Sat. noon and I'll go home for lunch. We are all well and hope that you are too. Write for what you need and nothing will be too much trouble to send. Love, Dad |
12 Feb 45 - Bearer Das quit to attend school Hired his cousin, Sarkar. Bought a monkey. It uses a box that Weezie's and DC's mongoose had used. Named her Maggie. Ice cream at PX. Electricity on again. [From the Feb 15, 1945 Hump Express > > Another Record ! > > 1345 BU, INDIA - A new base record was established here last week as planes of the 1345 hopped the Hump with more supplies, in less time, than ever before in the short history of this base. Lt. Col. Silas A. Morehouse, CO, in a brief statement commended air and ground crews for their tireless work and unceasing effort in making this achievement possible. Actual figures are not releasable, but the new record is almost double the previous mark.] 16 Feb 45 - Tell of meeting Sloan and Ororkin of Braddock area. Plan to study Algebra course. Stilwell Road opened but they don't convert us to truck drivers. Enclose picture of Hindu gods and goddesses. The little head above the main goddess is her all-seeing husband who drowned. The fellow on his knees represents uncivilized people, the two girls are the goddess' daughters and the turbaned fellow riding a peacock is her son. The creature at left is also her son but he was born without a head so in order to save him, they stuck an elephant's head on him and he survived. The lion is used for transportation, I think. 18 Feb 45 - Made chapel. 19 Feb 45 -Absolutely no fresh milk to be had. Stalled out on Weezie's cycle, gas valve was shut off. VanDorn made sergeant. What a ball game! 20 Feb 45 - I keep all of my candy and cookies in an Indian shopping bag which hangs on a wire attached to the top of the tent. This innovation has proved most discouraging to the ravenous ants in this vicinity, for the five-foot leap necessary in attaining this storehouse is a little beyond their ability. 23 Feb 45 - Mom, I don't know what to say when you asked a question like, "Are the homes pretty?" It just about knocks the wind out of me and I almost laugh but then I realize you are serious. The 'homes' are like adobe huts, sometimes with a tin roof. There may be cow manure plastered on the outside to dry in the sun. They use it for fuel over here. Of course the British residents have nice brick or stone homes, also wealthy Indians. There is a ground rat living under our tent but he doesn't seem to be hungry as he doesn't bother us at all. Went to see same USO show two nights in a row. Real live women. 25 Feb 45 - Made chapel for third Sunday in a row. Had chocolate ice cream at PX. 25 Feb 45 - Yes, I'm sorta tired after flights. Sometimes you get so tired you can practically sleep while walking around. I'm not allowed to tell you how long the trips are. That is a strict lie about leaving heaters out of the planes to provide more room for cargo. We just don't use them sometimes. I keep warm when I want to, but sometimes I like to freeze myself. I think you meant oxygen mask instead of gas mask but I can't answer your question. You asked about emergency landing fields. An emergency landing field over the Hump is any flat space (relatively flat) that you are very lucky to happen to be over at the time an emergency occurs. Byers is right about "eks" in China. After we land over there, we go into the "line shack" to get a cup of coffee and a bite to eat. 99% of the time they give you eggs. The Chinese cook never asks you what you want, he asks you "how you want 'em?" They have very good eggs in China though. I don't understand his statement about not staying long in China because of scarcities. We don't stay because we have to bring the plane back so another load can be taken over. Peck wrote an article to the Editor's Mailbag in the Hump Express Army newspaper.. I went to Scott Field, IL with him. 27/28 Feb 45 - No. 10-� to Hsinching-14:55-Pilot Frank R. Moore |
 | D. C. Boyd ready to roll |
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