Tuesday, 1943

Dear Mom, Dad and Family:

Hello again. How are y’all? And the weather? It is grand here; just like spring. Nearly all the snow is gone and the runways are clear again.

Well I went to Moose Jaw on my 48 and I had a very good time there. I even spent $1.15 to have my hair cut, thinned and washed. Boy it sure was worth it. We went to a dance at I.O.O.F. There was a swell crowd there and I met a few of my pals from P.E. school there. All in all it was great to get clear of Mossbank for a few days. We all saved to make our leave a success. So we stayed at the best hotel, with bell hops, room service, telephones, radios etc. Boy we lived like kings for 2 days.

How are you Mom and Barbara? Well I hope. I sure will be glad to see her. I received the Valentines chillun, thanks a millun. They sure were cute. Hello Ray old boy how are you little fella?

Well peoples at last we have started to fly. We started at 7.00 A.M. today and I have just come down and finished my supper at 6.00 P.M. and boy am I tired – wow! I was up 4 times. First in a Battle to take camera gun pictures. We looped and dived and lazy eighted and falling leafed. Boy what fun, but my stomach objected at first. It’s okay now. Then I did turret and machine gun exercises the rest of the day in Boly’s. Man are they ever fast. To fire from these the pilot flies over a 32 mi. long lake. It only takes about 5 min to cover it. We fly about six feet from the ground and fire into the lake on the first exercise. Then go up to 5,000′ to fire at towed targets. We start bombing the end of this week and should graduate on Mar. 5. When we flew 6 feet over the lake we chased a herd of horses, went under the wires and between elevators in a town ideally situated at the end of the lake at 300 miles an hour. Boy this is the life only I was sitting in the wrong place, I should have been where the pilot was.

When we pulled out from between the grain elevators I nearly blacked out. Some of the fellows gave up their breakfast. But all got over it okay. It sure is great to be doing all these manouvers, dives and wing overs instead of just seeing them in a show. I see in the paper where Huge Chapman was killed! A fellow I was at I.T.S. with was killed at the same time. He was the second chum of 2 fellows I chum with who was killed in two days. All are from the same school in N. Westminster.

Well there isn’t much more news now. So I will sign off and get a shower and some much needed and loved sleep. Flying sure is tiring – believe me.

Bye now! Love
Pete.