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In 1943 I was drafted into World War 11 right out of Madison High School, Rochester, NY. This is my story as told in the letters I wrote home. They’re all here, all 192 of them. Spend some time with me as I describe my experiences in basic training and then off to war. They were written in an attempt to help me feel close to my family and to let them know what was going on in my life. It’s the first time I was away from home and I have to confess that I was homesick. My folks were Esther and Jacob Kaplow. We were four children in this order: Arnette, Ruth, Bob, and myself.

Tension

Ben is 18 years old.  He is at the University of Connecticut for A.S.T.P. school.  Here he tells his folks not to be shocked if he cheats on his upcoming exams because he doesn’t want to be out of the ASTP before he gets his furlough over Christmas.   Florence, Ben’s wife, could see how much a furlough meant to him and the other soldiers.  And she says, “Within our 53 years together, I never saw Ben cheat or heard him lie.  In fact, he was brutally honest.”

November 20, 1943   
Storrs, Conn.
Friday Night

Hello Folks,
It’s me again.  No special homework to do except reading, but I can do that Sunday so I’m taking it easy tonight.  We got brand new desk lamps yesterday, which makes it much easier on our eyes.  That twitch I had in my eye has disappeared, so I’m all right physically, the only thing wrong being that I’m not too happy most of the time.

 As I think I told Ruth; sometimes I feel like I want to stay here but then I think of all the work, and tension, and the way I’m always tired and I want to be shipped out, but then I don’t know what’s ahead of me, so I’m in a hell of a state of mind.  That’s why I’m not too interested in my studies anymore, even though I make a stab at it every night.  It doesn’t do to pay any attention in Physics anymore, cause I’m so hopelessly confused, though I passed the exam.  I’ll have to cut out sleeping in class, though -- getting too many hotfoots!  We give them to everybody that goes to sleep.

And some nights, some bug gets into all of us and we have a riot in the room.  Pushing kids down the hall on top of dressers; throwing bags of water on the kids in the room below when they stick their heads out of the window; having battles with coke bottles; and one night, when two of the fellows were in bed, another showers them with the refuse from the wastepaper basket.  All such nonsense as that.  It helps to lift our spirits.

The other night we had a 15 minute blackout.  A fellow from another room came in with his blouse & garrison hat on & told us to keep away from the window & to shut off the radio.  In the dark, we thought it was the Sarge. But when we found out______!!  Today was just like a Spring day.  It was lovely.  But from our window we can still see some of the ice left on the lake from a couple of days ago.  What changeable weather.

There are a lot of planes always flying around here.  Sometimes they circle around & do some stunts for us.  Like today, there was a trainer that was circling & banking right outside our window.  So low we could see the pilot. 

I haven’t received the box as yet, but my mouth is watering for that salami. About the exams ---  The only thing I flunked was math, which I expected.  If I’m still here for the next exams, I don’t mind telling you that I’m going to cheat as much as I can.  Don’t be shocked.  It’s no longer a matter of knowing the stuff yourself, it’s so you’ll be able to stay around for the Christmas furlough (Friday night to Sunday night) and for the furlough at the end of the term.  After the term is over, I won’t care about flunking out at all.

Some fellows in the Air Corps that flunked out this time, left a few days ago.  They’re supposed to read another shipping list next week sometime.  Well, that’s about all.

Love,
Ben

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