Saturday 1943

Dear Mom, Dad and Family,

Well here I am again folks. You’ll have to pardon the pencil, because I forgot and took my pen “upstairs” and it burst due to cold and low air pressure, so it is getting repaired now. Thanks a million for the box of eats. Boy were they ever good to have. Those cookies you baked were luscious Mom, they made me remember a long while back when I used to swipe one or “two” before supper. They were sweet and fresh yum-yum. Well how is my little wee sister coming along. I hope I see her before she grows much bigger. Howdy Ray did you get my letter okay? How about a letter from you, and give Barbara a big kiss for me and also Mom and Dad and the girls and you too big boy.

I am pleased you got the extra money and check okay. That cleans that up. My pay is OK at this end too. I got a post card from Jack today. It was a lovely picture of Vic. Parliament buildings. Boy it brought back memories. I have been terribly busy lately flying all day, dropping bombs and firing machine guns. You know when I’m up in my bombing hatch looking at the ground thru my bombsight and I feel in a new and different world. I look down and see farm houses and lakes and hay stacks and people and think – if they only could see me looking at them thru a bombsight at them – they look so helpless and far away. Our target is at the edge of a deserted lake and it is a triangle 30′x30′x30′ – it looks like a pin head from 4500′ feet. I have dropped plenty of eggs on it and only hit it once. When you do hit it, it is because you aimed wrong, try and figure that out.

When the Americans say they drop eggs into a barrel from 20,000′ they are calling themselves terrific liars and even degrading their marksmanship. Ask me I know – now! I froze my fingers bombing today and they are still sore. But you get used to it. It was 50° below up there and that ain’t cool – its cold.

Yes I will get embarkation leave when I graduate, which should be in about 8-10 weeks. I don’t know where I go from here, but I’ll let you know. We should leave here in a week or two. I may even be posted to Edmonton A.O.S. so here’s hoping.

Boy does that meal stir my appetite, Mom if you mention that food again I’ll sent the C.O. after you so help me – ha-ha-ha.

Here is a sample of the talk we use here: We were dispatched upstairs to lay our lot; when we got to the plotting office we were given our strip, when got out to our kite we found it U/S, then the weather went U/S, so we didn’t get off the deck, if we had have gone up our legs wouldn’t have come down and we would have had to belly in, as it was one A/C hit the deck all folded up. Can you figure it out. I’ll tell it to you sometime.

Well people’s I am on first bombing detail in the morning at 0700 hrs so I’ll fold up now and get some much needed shut-eye. Incidentally I have passed all my final exams and have nothing to worry about. My average for all work was 82%, third highest in class. So rest easy. Bye now!

Love and kisses to all
Peter