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Nile Kinnick correspondence, June-August 1942

1942-08-22: Front

Saturday
August 22, 1942
Dear Folks,
During the past week we had a few hours of camera gunnery and then
finished up our work in SNJs with four hours of combat manuevers.(dogfighting)
There is very little of this sort of thing going on anymore, mostly
a slash and dash type of attack, dive once and get away; however, it is
good practice, and I enjoyed it very much. We are now flying F8As known
better to you folks as the Buffalo Brewster.  It is a high powered mid-wing monoplane fighter which under 10,000 feet performs quite comparably
with the F4F. After our landing practice and familiarization work in
this plane we shall have 15 hours of attack tactics, five hours of dive
bombing, and then my days as a cadet will have come to an end. All
going well we should finish up in 10 or twelve days. Were it not for
the fact that there are so few of these planes available for the number
of classes needing to fly them, we would be through much sooner.  But the
end is definitely in sight now, and I am eager to head north.
You will remember my saying that King and I had made plans to get
together on my next night off, that being Thursday just past. The forepart of the week he wrote to say that Mary Jane had come down, that she
was staying in Stuart, a little town 15 miles north of Camp Murphy, that
he was wonderfully well pleased with it all, and that both of them would
meet me in the bus station in West Palm Beach. I had postcarded that I
doubted if I could make it before 8:15 or 8:30, and that is the way things
stood when I went to squadron Thursday morning. I was much dismayed to
find that I was scheduled to fly until 6:30, meaning that I couldn't
possibly shave, shower, and dress, and be ready to go before 7:30.
Getting started that late would mean that it would be dark while I was
still on my way and that since the highway was near the ocean I would
have to dim my lights and drive at about 25 miles per hour. 1 visualized
myself dragging in about 9:30 and King and Mary Jane all tired out with
waiting.  However, in my first trip out in the Brewster the instructor
was quite unimpressed with my landings(too fast, not completely stalled
out, bounced, etc.) and decreed that I couldn't take my 5:30 to 6:30
hop until I had had another hour of landings with another group. It
turned out that there weren't enough planes to go around and that I
should have to wait until another day. It then being about four oclock
I took hasty leave, from squadron and got started for WPB about five
oclock. Driving leisurely and stopping to pick up several hitch-hikers
at different points I arrived at the appointed bus station about seven
oclock. After waiting about twenty minutes in strolled Kingsley, he
having the good sense to look in and make sure that I hadn't gotten
in sooner than I had anticipated. He and MJ were just having dessert
in an air cooled dining room of the hotel across the street, so I
returned with him and quickly ordered for myself. We had a wonderfully
fine visit, I wish that it might have been longer. They took a bus
north to their respective places at 12:30.  I would of course have
driven them back but I had already stretched my gas allowance about
as far as it would go.  Both of them seemed in good spirits and in
good health. And especially so, since MJ has just gotten a civil
service secretarial job at the very Army camp where King is stationed.
Isn't that fine? After bidding them good night I returned to my hotel
for a little shuteye, being in much need of same since I had had the
duty the night before and didn't get to bed until late. My room was
on the fourth floor facing a small bay to the east off of which blew,
a nice breeze all night long.  I also had a fan and a radio. All very
nice, all very comfortable, all very enjoyable, but also very lonely.
I slept well, wakened late, read a couple of articles in an old Journal
I had picked up in the ubiquitous rack in the lobby the night before,
and then headed back for Miami, getting in there shortly after noon.
I had no more parked my car and started to walk across the street than,
the bus from the air station drew up and among the occupants was

Saving...

Saturday August 22, 1942 Dear Folks, During the past week we had a few hours of camera gunnery and then finished up our work in SNJs with four hours of combat manuevers.(dogfighting) There is very little of this sort of thing going on anymore, mostly a slash and dash type of attack, dive once and get away; however, it is good practice, and I enjoyed it very much. We are now flying F8As known better to you folks as the Buffalo Brewster. It is a high powered mid-wing monoplane fighter which under 10,000 feet performs quite comparably with the F4F. After our landing practice and familiarization work in this plane we shall have 15 hours of attack tactics, five hours of dive bombing, and then my days as a cadet will have come to an end. All going well we should finish up in 10 or twelve days. Were it not for the fact that there are so few of these planes available for the number of classes needing to fly them, we would be through much sooner. But the end is definitely in sight now, and I am eager to head north. You will remember my saying that King and I had made plans to get together on my next night off, that being Thursday just past. The forepart of the week he wrote to say that Mary Jane had come down, that she was staying in Stuart, a little town 15 miles north of Camp Murphy, that he was wonderfully well pleased with it all, and that both of them would meet me in the bus station in West Palm Beach. I had postcarded that I doubted if I could make it before 8:15 or 8:30, and that is the way things stood when I went to squadron Thursday morning. I was much dismayed to find that I was scheduled to fly until 6:30, meaning that I couldn't possibly shave, shower, and dress, and be ready to go before 7:30. Getting started that late would mean that it would be dark while I was still on my way and that since the highway was near the ocean I would have to dim my lights and drive at about 25 miles per hour. 1 visualized myself dragging in about 9:30 and King and Mary Jane all tired out with waiting. However, in my first trip out in the Brewster the instructor was quite unimpressed with my landings(too fast, not completely stalled out, bounced, etc.) and decreed that I couldn't take my 5:30 to 6:30 hop until I had had another hour of landings with another group. It turned out that there weren't enough planes to go around and that I should have to wait until another day. It then being about four oclock I took hasty leave, from squadron and got started for WPB about five oclock. Driving leisurely and stopping to pick up several hitch-hikers at different points I arrived at the appointed bus station about seven oclock. After waiting about twenty minutes in strolled Kingsley, he having the good sense to look in and make sure that I hadn't gotten in sooner than I had anticipated. He and MJ were just having dessert in an air cooled dining room of the hotel across the street, so I returned with him and quickly ordered for myself. We had a wonderfully fine visit, I wish that it might have been longer. They took a bus north to their respective places at 12:30. I would of course have driven them back but I had already stretched my gas allowance about as far as it would go. Both of them seemed in good spirits and in good health. And especially so, since MJ has just gotten a civil service secretarial job at the very Army camp where King is stationed. Isn't that fine? After bidding them good night I returned to my hotel for a little shuteye, being in much need of same since I had had the duty the night before and didn't get to bed until late. My room was on the fourth floor facing a small bay to the east off of which blew, a nice breeze all night long. I also had a fan and a radio. All very nice, all very comfortable, all very enjoyable, but also very lonely. I slept well, wakened late, read a couple of articles in an old Journal I had picked up in the ubiquitous rack in the lobby the night before, and then headed back for Miami, getting in there shortly after noon. I had no more parked my car and started to walk across the street than, the bus from the air station drew up and among the occupants was