Excerpt

Letter home, February 26, 1943

Dear Folks,
This is the project I promised. To begin at the beginning of this here little journal.

Saturday night, February 20, and Sunday morning, Feb 21 1943. There were four cars of WAACs. Two cars were tourist sleepers with berths on both sides and an aisle in the middle and they were very crowded and stuffy.

We were really lucky to be where we were even though we were the last car so last for breakfast. Three girls to a compartment. Dorothy and I slept together in the lower.

In the tourist sleeper cars there were enough fussy gals so that they couldn’t open the windows. We kept ours open all the way during the day and it was swell. Windows were terribly dirty so I managed to lean out and wash the outside.

Meals were really excellent on the train. Had stops in Phoenix and Tucson but when I say stops I mean they let us get off the train to run around the tracks and depots for a bit.

Monday, February 22, a holiday. They let us sleep until 7:45. Southern Pacific left us at El Paso in the middle of the night but we stayed in the same cars, just different engine and crew. Then found out there was no diner on the train. Ours was a 100% troop train so every time it stopped all the WAACs and soldiers swarmed out and overwhelmed any nearby soft drink or magazine stand. Also of course some rapid acquaintances developed. Didn’t do much good though, our respective cars were out of bounds to each other.

Moonlight was beautiful last night. We were very tired and really slept. I tried to look out a couple times during the night but couldn’t keep awake for more than a minute. Dorothy and I sharing a lower berth still. I’m establishing my reputation as a screwball. Oinest is well liked. He is sitting on top of the headrest of my seat. Everyone asks if I’m the one who asked whether I could bring a mascot.

We’re being overfed considering we don’t do anything. So far it seems I packed the right things. Not too much and not too little. Have been wearing bobby sox and oxfords since yesterday morning. Lack of hair on my head is a blessing.

Tuesday, February 23. This letter sounds like a timetable. I kept a little log book, hence all the tiresome detail. Surprised to find two cars of soldiers between us and the diner. And that was the day I chose to wear my sweater. Soldiers whistle fine! Lunch at 4:00 again. Then stopped in Avondale, Louisiana before we crossed the Mississippi. They were taking the diner off so we all had to hurry and eat while there. Had dinner early at 7:15 for once. Chatting with soldiers on the tracks beside the train. Didn’t dare get out of reach of the train as its movements were unpredictable. Dark by the time we crossed the Mississippi. Went over a four mile bridge into New Orleans.

Train fussed around the railroad yards in New Orleans for three hours. At one time we were beside a train full of Navy aviation cadets but with the span of a railroad track between us. We opened windows on all sides and yelled back and forth. I got out my flashlight and one of the boys had one so we had fun. One of the girls found a fellow that knew her brother who is in the Navy so they even exchanged names and addresses in the din of the switchyard. We really wore ourselves out yelling and waving back and forth. We were hoping like fools that we might get time to go into the city as we knew we had to change trains there. Didn’t get out to mail a letter even. Passed through a little bit of Mississippi in the dark. We had fun waving at people all along the way during the daytime. Most people startled to see women on what was obviously a troop train. They probably think soldiers are allowed to take their wives to war now. Couple of railroad workers in Louisiana or thereabouts leaning on shovels. Wiggled one finger in answer to waving.

Really intoxicated with the scenery all along. Couldn’t concentrate on reading or writing or anything. Most of the girls annoyed with the broad expanses of desert through Arizona and Texas but I never tired of looking at it. What a country we got! Then there was the striking change when we hit the wet lowlands of Louisiana and through Alabama and Florida. For some reason it seemed to me the train whistle sounded different and sort of weird near the swamps. Moonlight lovely on a couple nights. One night we pulled up the shade and turned out the lights just in time to catch the moon rising over a hill.

Thursday, February 25. From here on the story gets a bit rough so brace yourselves. We were supposed to hit Jacksonville about 11:00 p.m. but it turned out to be 1:00 a.m. It was the last night out so we dopes, that is most of the girls, stayed up. Had a long stop so a group of us flew out of the station and across the street for hamburgers. Brought them back and ate on the train but we were there about an hour and a half. The last night spirit continued to prevail and we didn’t feel like going to bed. Little did we know. Ah me!

I crawled into my berth at about 3:00 a.m. Was just about getting drowsy when they called us at 3:30. Daytona!! We had heard a rumor they would drop our cars there and let us sleep till morning but it wasn’t true. They just dumped us.