Second Lt. Howard D. Spalding

7 Jan, 1944

Dear Bryant Service Club,

The letter I received from you is certainly proof of Uncle Sam’s complete mail coverage. Your letter was sent to my basic school in Greenwood Miss., I left there May 28^th since then I’ve been to Columbus Miss for advance, went home from there on Aug 4 for ten days. Then back to Hendricks field Florida where I had B-17 transition or first pilot, then home again, and then to Lincoln Class. + Rank Post for assignment at Lincoln Nebraska, I spent a month there then came here.

Sioux City is a plane and combat crew training school. Here I received my 11 men crew and all our final training. Feb 13^th I leave here for Lincoln where we get overseas assignments.

So a lot has happened since Greenwood!!! This is the best field I have ever been on. My crew is perfect and everything is going along fine.

Most of our work here is ground school and flying, formation flying usually. The other day we flew a 10 ship formation at 20,000 to Le Crosse + Des Moine. We had 5 land at Des Moine because our gas was so low. We got back to the field just before it closed. Luck was riding [?].

Well I guess that’s all
Lt. Howard Spalding

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May 8, 1944

Dear Bryant Service Club,

I guess it's about time I used some of my penmanship I was trying to improve in Bryant and thank you for the Easter box. The boys and myself enjoyed it very much. A surprise package is always something to think about.

Now I am in Basic Flying training school at Greenwood, Mississippi! We are just finishing and we'll go to advanced soon. I here [sic] from Bill Bliven quite often. He was up there a little while ago. Said it seemed quite different. Lots of new faces. Be we all belong to Bryant!

Thanks again for the candy and if I ever get home I'll be sure to drop in at Bryant.

So Long,
Howard Spalding
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UNITED STATES ARMY
AIR FORCES

Sept. 5
Sunday-

Dear Bryant Service Club,

I received your letter and immediately put the list of addresses to use. I found out where lots of my college friends were by read [sic] it.

I’m down here at Nashville to be classified. Yesterday I was classified as a pilot and issued my new cadet uniform. Of course we haven’t been sitting around. In 8 days we had KP three times, dinner detail once, and butcher detail once. They say it’s a good for our discipline [sic].

Thanks for the information.

A Bryantite
Howard Spalding

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Dear Sirs:

I received your package yesterday in the morning mail call. Thanks a lot, it was a complete suprise [sic] to me because it was my first gift from Bryant.

Today 120 men shipped from here to get to Nashville to be classified. This is the second shipment we have had from here. I’ll see one more bunch go then I’ll go.

It is swell up here. It is nothing like the real army. It’s almost like going to Bryant except you don’t go home, ever! – and we have PT (physical trg) every day, Mon – Sat.

PT is the next thing on the schedule today. We’ve got to climb a mountain again. PT here always ends with something to make you exzert [sic] yourself to the maximum!

I have enclosed a copy of our detachment paper. I thought it would give a good overall picture of what we do as to sports, etc.

The bell will ring pretty soon now for PT so I guess I’d better mail this.

Thanks again for the swell package!

Sincerely,
Howard Spalding Bryant ‘43
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[Engraved on card]:
Thank You

Over and
over again!

[Handwritten inside card]:
Bryant Service Club,

Thanks for the Christmas letter and the box of candy. It is swell to read of people you’ve known.

Hope everything is fine at school.

Howard Spalding

over

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