september 10, 1954

Sept 10, 1954

Dear Mom, Dad, and Snapper

Sounds like everything is going OK at home. Wish I was there to help with the back porch. I haven’t written for a couple of days. Haven’t had any male since day before yesterday. Had a letter from Jim. He said he was going to Fort Lee to Quartermaster’s School. Ft. Lee is in Virginia. He is just taking 8 weeks of basic that everyone takes and then he goes another 8 weeks to school. I don’t guess he is going to be in the Infantry. He is lucky in away.

It won’t be long now till the 5 RCT moves out. So far as anyone know they are leaving sometime about the 20 of Sept. The 19th Infantry Regt of the 24 Div has their advance party here and the rest of the Regt will be here about the 19th of this month. The 5RCT is going to Lt Lewis, Washington and bee stationed there. I don’t guess they are going to Camp Carson. They are taking 750 Cadre (key men such as platoon Sgts, supply, mess, 1st Sgt and Company Commander etc.) They will take 400 more who want to reenlist or extend back with them as trainers. It came out yesterday that Pvt, PFC, and Cpl with an IQ of 90 or more could reenlist for the 5 RCT and go to the states and join the 5 RCT later on. They can leave Korea up to 90 days early. The Company Commander scratched a couple of Sgt on the Cadre list. Now they are asking me to go back with them again. I would have to extend. One of the officers even called for a jeep and sent me down to the recruiting Sgt to talk to them. I told them I couldn’t do it but he said he just wanted me to go down and talk to him. I would like to go back myself. I would only had to take a year to go and it would be some good training. I think they will probably have some special training and even ski troops. If I went back I could get a 30 day leave before to long after we got back. I would probably make SFC before to long. But Ft Lewis is a long way from KC and it would cost a lot to go back and forth. I would have it pretty good. But don’t know how I would like it that far from KC for another year. You never seemed to be very fond of the idea about me staying in the army. I found out that I couldn’t take the test for Helicopter school Have you read anything about the 5 RCT going back to the states yet. It was in the Stars and Stripes that I sent to you and it was in again yesterday about the 5 taking reenlistments.

Don wonder Don doesn’t like the army from what I have seen of the 24 Div. They don’t show me much. The officers aren’t even sharp as they ones in the 5RCT. They don’t have very many Sgts in the out fit. I should do O< if they move in here where we are like they say they are. The George Co of the 19th only had 3 Sgts. Our company has about 12 or 13. They have a bunch of wise guys too. I don’t think they will get along with this bunch we have. We get some mean guys here. We got along with the 45 guys when they moved in but when we move in with the 24 I don’t think we will click. There was a Cpl Section leader here and he came in saying he was Section leader in the 24th and he had is squad leaders all picked out and everything. I wonder what he thinks I am. I have rank and time and grade on him. I guess I can use that if he try to get smart. The 45 knocked us out of our jobs when they moved in and I guess we can the same thing to them.

Well I don’t have much more to write about so I will close. I should get a letter today. If so I will write.

Lots of Love, Ted