A Coyote On Maneuvers

Sept. 23, 1943

Dear Mother,

We are going right along with maneuvers. At this rate it won't be long before they're over.
Some of the boys have encountered rattle snakes around the bivouac area. Now then you can't hardly find anyone sleeping on the ground. Practically everyone sleeps either on top of a truck or inside one. The four of us on the anti-tank truck still sleep on the ground mostly because there is no place on the truck to sleep.
Last night we had quite a bit of fun. A young coyote and the four of us had a little game of hide and seek. The little thing came right up into camp. Evidently it hadn't had a drink for some time. We put out a pan of water and he came up within three feet of one man to get that water. The man tried to grab the coyote. That little animal really took off. That man thought he moved fast but he was slow compared to the coyote. We never did catch that coyote.
Hay lets don't be talking about food so freely in your letters. Talking about chicken and roast makes my poor mouth water. We haven't had anything but canned "C" rations since we hit this desert. Just when I get so I can eat this food you write about chicken. I'm disappointed in you making me dissatisfied.
These guys are talking so much and so loud I can't think so I'm going to close this letter.

Love
Kenneth

On Maneouvers Sept 10, 1943

Sept. 10, 1943

Dear Mother,

I'll dash off a few lines here between guard shifts. Five days on the desert maneuvers and still going strong, I hope.
Did you get rested up from taking the kids uptown? I hope you had a good time celebrating my birthday. I had quite a day. Four of us sat all day in the middle of the desert guarding a road that nobody would want.
I got the birth certificate yesterday. I haven't fully decided to use it yet. After maneuvers are over I'll find out what gives and then decide whether I want to transfer or not.
Thanks a lot for the box of candy. Those chocolates really go over good. Everyone thinks they should be eaten before they melt. You never saw people work any harder to see that the mission is taken care of.
Sometimes these lieutenants make me mad. About the time we get our truck camouflaged so you can't see it they want us to move. I'll have to stop now and bow to their whims.

Love
Kenneth

June 8, 1943, Before heading out for desert training in Calif.

June 8, 1943

Dear Mother,

Well I guess this will be my last letter from Camp Funston, Kansas. Some of the fellows are pretty anxious to hit the trail, but something tells me they will wish they were back in Kansas before long. If what the advance party says is true the desert camp is like Camp Sutton only hotter. The morning they wrote back it had cooled off to 95o. The day before it was 125o and nothing but sand -Sand in your bed, sand in your clothes, and sand in your food. But that's all part of the training to separate the men from the boys.

I found a few more ticks when I started taking a shower. They didn't last long though.

We tried to get to town Sat. evening - sense it was our last in Kansas - but everyone else had the same idea. The buses were full, the cars were full so finally we got disgusted and returned to the barracks to spend the rest of the week end.

I'm going to quit now and finish packing my clothes away.

Love
Kenneth