Dear Ma, Pa, Barb, Ann & Ele Letter No. 85

Co. "A" A.S.T.U. 3920
U. of O.
Eugene, Ore.
Letter 85
Rec'd (2) 121 9/9-9/10
9/16/43

Dear Ma, Pa, Barb, Ann & Ele,

It is Thursday night and I'll start a letter. Although I won't be able to finish it all at once. I guess I will have to write like that from now on unless I cut them short, and I don't want to do that.
Four day and I'm still alive. I feel sorry for the boys who didn't have a knowledge of some of the subjects. They certainly are feeding us plenty. So far I am making out OK.
I am always talking about the good system they have here for everything. Well today we went to P.E. and got a full set of clean gym clothes and they will be ours until the end of the term. We just have to pay for their cleaning at the end of each month. They are cleaned each time we go there & that's 3 times a week. We got a sweatshirt, pants, athletic support, socks, & sneakers (I think we will have to pay). And a towel. Boy what a swell system. I really like it.
Davidson is here also. And I just got a letter from Borella and he said he made it home. He was home 24 hrs. He said it was worth it. He said he wrote you a letter. Did you receive it?
DiFranza went to Salt Lake City, Utah. And while on the subject of DiFranza, There is no reason why you should be peeved. The nurse was the girl I met. All you have to do is ask me ma. I can't remember whether I wrote nurse or girl in the letter before. And I wish you wouldn't get peeved anymore about things like that because it isn't worth it ma. Ain't that right?
Aunt Anna told me Clifford's address & guess where he is? In this big country he is about 25 miles from me. He's at Camp Adair and we drew rations from that camp. What a coincidence. I just wrote him a card tonight.
I am still fussy about fat ma, but not as much. I still take it all off.
Anita may come down Oct. 2. I hope she does. She's a swell girl.
I'll close now. I didn't think I would finish but I just made it by 3 minutes. So long until my next letter

Your Loving Soldier Boy
Love & Kisses
Tony

Dear Ma, Pa, Barb, Ann & Ele Letter No. 79

Co. "A" STAR Unit 3902
U. of Idaho
Moscow
Letter 79
Rec'd (two) 116

Dear Ma, Pa, Barb, Ann & Ele,

It is Monday morning & I believe things are starting to happen around here. DiFranza was shipped out yesterday. He's a language student.
Well DiFranza & I had another nice weekend. We went to Lewiston and almost didn't get there. Being DiFranza was shipping he had to be back at 10 o'clock Sunday morning. But we went anyway. Gerry Taplin (nurse) came down to meet us at the bus stop and we went to her house & had something to eat. Wall I certainly glad we went. Aside from having a good time, I saw the most beautiful sights I ever saw. There is a mountain right next to Lewiston and in order to get to Lewiston you have to go over the mt. It's about 6 thousand feet high and as you come down the side, the road makes hairpin curves all the way down. It took us about 30 minutes to get down. And from the top you can see Lewiston & Clarkston and Clearwater River & Snake River separating the two towns (HISTORICAL: that's where the Lewis & Clark expedition was ended. I believe they started from St. Louis). and you could see the mts. in the background and it looked simply beautiful. It was really something to see.
The four of us went to a little club they belonged to and we danced and had a couple drinks and then we went to another dance where they had a band. She's a nice dancer too. Her mother was planning on giving us a nice big meal at noon time Sun. but we had to leave at 7 in the morning so DiFranza could get back in time. We had a real nice time.
I got a letter from Pop. Thanks a lot. And I sent Aunt Margaret a letter last week. I hope she is better.
Bruno has Eng. Cadet before his name and it stands for Engineering Cadet because we are taking engineering.
I didn't get any letter from Frank recently. But I sent a V letter to him about a week ago. I hope he gets it.
I am fine and I probably am picking up some more weight although I didn't weigh myself. And my eyes seem to feel better.
The weather is pretty nice today. I hope you are all feeling well & happy. I will write soon again. Until then I remain

Your Loving Soldier Boy,
Love & Kisses
Tony

P.S. I also received the pictures. Thanks.

Dear Ma, Pa, Barb, Ann & Ele Letter No. 78

Co. "A" STAR Unit 3902
U. of Idaho
Moscow
Sept. 3, 1943
Letter 78
Rec'd --

Dear Ma, Pa, Barb, Ann & Ele,

It's Friday morning (during study period) and I can't say that anything new has happened.
I washed quite a few pieces of clothes last nite after study. It's pretty easy washing in a place like this because your clothes don't get so dirty like they do at a regular army camp. But the water is hard here. It's the hardest I ever saw. And it even smells half of the time. But we are getting use to it so it's not so bad although we don't drink much of it because it isn't so refreshing.
I told you last week that on the way coming back from Spokane, DiFranza & I met two girls. Well we didn't expect to be here this weekend (and we still don't know) but if we do stay here we will probably go to Lewiston to see them tomorrow. They seemed pretty nice and I think we can have a lot of fun. I tell you about it if we go.
I got a letter from Mable (Sect. at J. Thatcher) and she gave me all the dope about the place. She writes a nice letter.
Yesterday, instead of going to calisthenics, DiFranza and I took a walk around the countryside and took pictures (his camera). We started to walk up one of the hills and the further up we got the more beautiful it got. The golf course looked like a velvet blanket. We passed a few farms and took a couple of pictures of the cows, etc. I hope they come out. I would like to have them for the scrapbook. They'll be nice to look at in the future.
I can't think of anything else right now. I'll write soon. Until then I hope you are all in the best of health and very happy.

Your Loving Soldier Boy,
Tony

Dear Ma, Pa, Barb, Ann & Ele Letter No. 76

Co. "A" STAR Unit 3902
U. of Idaho, Moscow
8/30/43
Letter 76
Rec'd 112 & 113

Dear Mom, Pa, Barb, Ann & Ele,

Well here it is another Monday and I'm sill here. But I did have a swell weekend. DiFranza & I went to visit Spokane. It's about 70 miles N.W. of here. We left at 4 o'clock. We took a bus & got in Spokane at 7 o'clock. We headed first to the U.S.O. to get a bite to eat. After we ate a band came in, so we stayed there. And boy that band was good. I think it's the best I heard since I'm in the army. And all the girls could dance here. There was was no question about that. The dance was over at 11 o'clock, little did we realize we didn't have a place to sleep. All the dormitories were filled up. We asked a sailor where we could get a place to stay. He said he didn't know, but if we couldn't get a place we could sleep with him. Well that's where we ended up. It was the funniest thing. The three of us in that bed. We couldn't toss & turn like we wanted to and I woke up about 10 times and the sailor said he fell out of bed once. We were so restless we got up at 8:30. We went to the service men's center and had coffee and cake for breakfast and we also took a shower and polished our shoes. Boy those service centers are swell. I guess we won't know what to do without them. We walked around a little and a car came up beside the curve and asked us if we would like to go to some church. He would take us to any church we wanted to go.
They operated through the U.S.O. It almost knocked me over. It was the first time I saw that before. But we didn't go because we had to catch a 12:30 bus back to Moscow and we still had to eat and we didn't know where the church would be. We got the bus and as we were coming back it started to rain. But it was still a nice trip. Boy and what nice scenery. Hill, hills & some more hills. But as we got closer to Spokane the hills got bigger and the pine trees got bigger. It was further up north. Also coming back on the bus we met a young nurse and we talked to her all the way back. She was nice. She came from Lewiston about 40 miles south of Moscow. We had a swell weekend. And DiFranza met a buddy of his from his home town at the U.S.O. at Spokane, and boy were they happy to see each other. Before DiFranza came into the army he used to color postcards and every time we go some place we run across cards that he colored before he came into the army. I'll enclose a card that he did and if you run across any cards with Tichnor Bros. on them you can bet that he did them. He comes from Boston, Mass.
Last night I received 6 letters in mail call. Two cards, one from Ann & one from Mom & Pop. Boy they were swell thanks. I received a letter from Ma, 2 from Anita, and a letter from Elfrieda.
I am so glad Boby is giving you such a swell time ma. And I'm glad you all are having a swell time. Boy did my heart sink when you told me about losing Grandma. I can just imagine how everybody felt especially Grandma. I just can't explain how I felt, wow!
I am so glad you were so surprised about the war bond. Every time I had a few extra dollars I sent Elfrieda it and she saved them for me. I sent her the rest so she could get it off her hands before she got married. She's a good kid. That is a swell present you sent Elfrieda. I just know she will like it an awful lot. She liked mine an awful lot too. As long as she is happy.
I wish you would send the pictures ma. You can wait with the paper. It will be forwarded if I'm shipped. They have a pretty good system here.
I am fine and I hope everybody is ok too. I'll close now and until my next letter I remain

Your Loving Soldier Boy,
Tony

Dear Ma, Pa, Barb, Ann & Ele Letter No. 69

P.F.C. Anthony J. Curcio
Co. "A" STAR Unit 3902
U. of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho

Date 8/11/43
Letter No. 69
Rec'd 105

Dear Ma, Pa, Barb, Ann & Ele,

There isn't too much to tell about what I am doing because the routine is the same each day. We go to classes in the morning (I am making out OK so far) (we had two quizzes so far and I got 79 & 80). In the afternoon we have military correspondence & then calisthenics & close order drill followed by a swell shower. In the night we have the study class ( where I am now writing this letter).
Monday nite after I got out of study hall & washed a few pieces of clothes & my shirt & pants. And Tuesday nite I ironed the shirt and pants. They didn't come out bad for an amateur.
Today I got a letter from Anita. She writes me about every nite. She's right on the beam. I also received an invitation for Elfrieda's wedding. What she sent one to me for I don't know.
Boy ma, did you hear from Joe D'Angelo? I didn't hear from him in quite awhile and was just wondering what's what. I hate to write to him until he writes to me because Davidson, Borella & myself feel that if there was anybody who should go to college, it was him. And if I wrote & told him we all made it I imagine it would hurt him a little even though nothing could have been done about it. I wish you would write to him ma & explain to him why I didn't write.
I feel if he heard it from you he wouldn't feel so bad. He's such a swell fellow. Boy when they shipped him they certainly took a part of me.
I bought a banner for Eleanor so she can hang it in her room. I will send it soon. I hope she likes it.
I hope Bob & Sis have a grand time on their vacation. If it was like last year I'm sure they will.
Boy Ele is certainly stepping out. Boy I would love to see you all again. I just pray every night I get someplace east. If it's far enough east ma[y]be some of you can come & see me? Ma[y]be huh? I'm praying.
I'll include some pictures I had made. One of the fellows took them at McChord Field (Difranza is his name, he is in one of the pictures). Some were also taken here. I wrote on the back describing them. I hope you like them.
The weather here is still swell. I'm in the best of health. Hope you all are also. So until my next letter I remain,

Your Loving Soldier Boy
Love & Kisses
Tony