Based on the letters of Earl Philip Reinhalter (1922-1953). Edited by his son, Earl Philip Reinhalter (1950-).


<- PREVIOUS LETTER September 7, 1943
Brisbane, Australia
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    Sept. 7, 1943

Hello Ma:
      I got a letter from you and another from Mrs. Roussey today. I am still on detached service. Every day, one of the pilots does us a favor by flying back to my old field and getting us our mail. In regards to Christmas gifts: Don't send me any clothing. I need a new wallet. If you can get some halfway decent writing paper, send it to me. I already have enough envelopes; in fact, I have about 55 airmail envelopes. I already requested in a previous letter that you send me all of the new magazines. My watch is O.K. except that it needs a new crystal. I haven't had any now for about two months. I guess I'll have one put on. Ma, if you can, send me my roller skates, the pair of which the shoes are not detachable. The others are too small for me. If both skates together makes a package too heavy to send through the mail, try sending each skate in a separate package. Well, that is about all that I can think of that I need. It isn't much is it? You can save the clothing, etc. for the following Christmas. I am pretty sure of being home by then if things continue as they have. I haven't yet heard anything in regards to O.C.S. - too early I guess.


[next page - a darker sheet of paper]

(You can see that the quality of the writing paper is going from bad to worse.)

      Well, today I did some more flying. Two flights consisting of about one hour and 15 minutes. We probably covered about 175 miles altogether. This was the largest plane that I have yet flown in. We had to climb up a twelve-foot ladder from the ground in order to reach the door in the body. That may sound like a lot of exaggeration, but it isn't. I am not allowed to name the type of plane. In the last month, I have flown a total of about three hours made up of seven flights in various planes. The flying helps break up the monotony of working on the ground all of the time. Taxiing pursuit planes around the ground is some fun too.

      If you remember, my last letter was written by candlelight. Now, I have located what they call in the Army a "day room." It is similar to a small library with a ping-pong table and radio added. It is here that I write this letter - by electrical lighting. Well, that's all for just now -
Earl


 
NOW AVAILABLE AS A KINDLE BOOK!

The Kindle book includes the letters; all 23 issues of the unit’s wartime newsletter “The Squadron Pulse,” which was originally edited by Leonard Stringfield; all 12 issues of the “Pennant Parade” newsletter that Stringfield published while sailing home after the war; complete text of the U.S. government booklet “Pocket Guide to Australia,” which soldiers heading Down Under were given to read; more than 200 photos; pre-war and postwar family history; and over 700 explanatory endnotes.












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