July 31, 1942

Dear Carl,

I just got the letter you wrote me, that came along with mother's letter, thanks a lot Carl its darn nice to hear from you. Now to answer your letter. The women over here are o.k. Carl, they are every bit as good as you find at home, and for Canadians they are so damned [?] to get along with, it's really amazing. They seem to go for Canucks, and that's about all there is to it. I'm having a whale of a time over here, and there's plenty of excitement going on to keep the place interesting. Believe me it's quite a thrill to see a plane get shot down and go into a power dive and splatter all over hell's half acre, it suddenly makes you realize that you've suddenly stopped playing games.

We'll be doing several operational trips from this station we're at now, and then if we live through these, we go directly to an operational squadron, we're going out quite often, whats the funny part of it all, is that each trip may be your last.

Though believe me Carl, it's no picnic for those people below who get these huge bombs we drop anything from one to four ton bomb, and believe me that last one will clean out a whole city block like nothing. It's really a lot harder navigating by night over here, you've got to watch you don't get plugged by your own fighters, and you've got to watch for Jerry all the time, at night you practically got to go right beside another plane before you can recognize it. The planes we have here are bloody nice to fly in, they are like huge apartment houses. We have our own private cemetery here, and it's surprising how fast it's getting filled up just through flying accidents alone, you've got to watch at night that you don't smack into balloon barrages or mountains or so damned many other things that by the time you land again your head feels too heavy to carry around with all the different things you've got to think of.

All I hope is that I can last through this war, so I'll have something to talk about when it's over - (if they don't get me first)
There's one consolation, I've got just as much a chance as the next fellow at getting out of it, so why worry. All I hope is, if I have to get it, that it comes quick and clean. Please give my best regards and love to Zio, your mother and the girls, tell them that I'm still feeling well and I hope they are the same - solong for now Carl, I'll let you know when I hit something really exciting....Fritz (over)

p.s. Please give Betty my best regards as well Carl. It is too bad you can't get in, as I know you'd love it if you ever got into it Carl

Solong Pal

Fritz