Dear Ma, Pa, Barb, Ann, Ele, Letter No. 12

Pvt. Anthony J. Curcio Date 2-4-43
Flight "F" 360th Tech. Sch. Sqd. Letter No. 12
Jefferson Barracks, MO. Rec'd card 4 & 5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12

Dear Ma, Pa, Barb, Ann, Ele,

Well this [is] the first real chance I got to write since I last wrote you. Please check the no. of this letter. I'm not sure whether it's 11 or 12. But make this no. 12 anyway. Everybody was free tonight after working the past three days (nights) to fix & clean up the huts. Tonight anybody can get a pass into St. Louis & must be back by 1 o'clock. But I'm staying right here in my hut & catch[ing] up with my mail. I didn't receive any mail since I was here, but boy did it come in last night. I got 13. And tonight I got 1 from you ma. You really can't express the thrills I get when I get regular mail from you ma. I really got a kick out of the way you kept writing even though you couldn't send them. And then when I did get them all it was easy to keep track of & made it so much more interesting.
Before I answer your letters ma I don't want to keep you in suspense any longer. On one of my cards I sent you I told you I took those mechanical apptitude test. Well we all was interviewed and believe you mas I got a swell corporal as an interviewer. We talk together and discussed the drafting branches of the Engineers of the Air Corps and he said that I did exceptionally wel in my tests and with my background I should make out very good in my army career. They let you take [two] choices of schools & then try to send you to one of them. Most fellows will just go to school to learn how to run mechanical equipment. The first school I was recommended for was TOPOGRAPHIC DRAFTING, which requires 3 months schooling & then if you pass that you can fill out an application for officers training school. If I do make that school which is one of the top schools I will get a technician 5th grade which is corporal with a T under it. It looks like this [symbol]. Now after all that if I don't make the grade for drafting I could have taken basic drafting which (as the corp. said) is very elementary. So I took my second pick as surveying. But the grade will not be as high. The corporal said I got a pretty good chance. So I just got to sit back & pray.
What do you say about taking a trip out here. It would be very simple traveling & I'll pay all your expenses to come out here (when I do get paid). They have placese where you can stay here for a couple days. I'm quite sure I will stay a couple more weeks. It will take 24 hrs. by Grand Central R.R. You could leave [at] 9 (for instance on morning) and get here [at] 9 the next morning. No matter what time you get here they will call me no matter where I am. As I said it will take you 24 hrs. from N.Y. so St. Louis by train. Then you just have to step into a taxi cab and say take me to Jefferson Barracks and they will take you to the gate. Then a guard will take you to visitors information. Tell them who you want to see & they will call me. Pretty easy huh. Let me know. Well all week we went to shows getting lectures & pictures on first aid, reasons why war came, what to do in case of accidents, etc. We have to walk about [two] miles there after chow in morning & then back to chow at lunch time & then back again after chow & then back again for chow at supper then mail call & then clean up our huts and pass inspection. That's what we were doing since we go[t] into these huts on Sunday.
I'll start to answer your letters now. Ma your letters are most interesting & the longer the better.
The first is the card. It was really swell & don't worry ma I will keep my chin up. The next one is #5 the one forwarded from [Camp Upton] Boy it sure sounds swell to hear the way you fixed up my roon. I just can picture you all sitting there. It sort of puts a lump in my throat.
Talking about Frank, I asked for his address but I gues syou forgot it. That reminds me. When we were down in the theatre, we were singing all the songs (The air corps song is mine now ma). but anyway the leader said what about the marine's hymn, so we all gave a roar and they put the words on the screen. Well ma I got so much feeling inside of me I just couldn't finish the song. Tears actually started to roll down my cheeks.
How are those pills affecting you? To tell you the truth ma, you really don't need pills in my estimation.
I don't think anybody can get a furlough until about 6 months of service. Whether you are not doing anything or visa versa. The most you can get is a pass over the weekend. I think it's the same in all camps.
I must agree with you Pops letters didn't sound so bad.
The pictures are really swell, that's a couple more for my collection.
This letter #9 it came with the three in one. So Teenie is still crabbing. Well that's one thing I won't hear anymore.
I hope you keep me posted the way you've been doing in your letters. They're swell, especially when they come so regular.
Please acknowledge to Mr. Massa that the kit he gave me is coming in very handy & as soon as I get a chance I will drop him a line.
Thanks for sending the box ma. I certainly will be happy when I get it.
I am really sketching this I would like to say much more but this is really getting short I almost spent 2 hrs. on this now. The fellows are arguing (friendly) and I had to put my two cents in to[o]. I would write all night but we have to put lights out at 9 o'clock & I started at 7 right after chow. I wanted to write Ele tonight but I guess I'll put it off 'til tomorrow. I just dropped her cards as I did to you ma.
The last letter I received was from you tonight about the hair I sent you ma. That was certainly cute.
I guess you're wondering who I got the 13 letters from. Well I got 5 from you ma, 2 from Elfrieda, 1 from Grandma & Aunt Anna, 3 from Eleanor, 1 card from Pat & Dave, 1 from Joe's mother. Joe is in Miami Beach, Florida. He is in tech. training school the same as me.
Please tell Eleanor & Grandma I will answer as soon as I get a chance. I'll tell you more about the camp when I get plenty of time. Probably on Sunday.

Please let me know in a hurry
whether you would like to come
ma I'm really very anxious.
Your Loving Soldier Boy,
Tony

Dear Ma & Pa & Barb & Ann & Ele, Letter No. 2

Pvt. Anthony J. Curcio 1-17-43
4th Receiving Co. Letter No. 2
Camp Upton, NY

Dear Ma & Pa & Barb & Ann & Ele,

Things are starting to slow down now. So I'll start to tell you about everything from the beginning.
We arrived about 4:15 PM and we were given company no's. Then we got a checkup for diseases and then went to chow. The food is far from that at home ma but it's not bad. At any rate they certainly give you enough of it. I got lima beans, spare ribs (which I didn't eat), potatoes, rice pudding, rice, macaroni, coffee, bread, and butter. I usually don't finish it there is so much.
Oh I forgot to tell you as we arrived the army band played "You're in the Army Now" and the "Strip Poker," some fellows felt like dancing, but they had to stay in line.
As we went from the reception house to chow the fellows said "watch out for the hook." Well we heard that so much we were beginning to get scared. Well I'll tell you what it means at the end of the letter. I'll keep you all in suspense.
From chow we got toilet articles which composed of 3 towel, a neat little shaving kit, shaving brush, tooth brush, & comb. Then we were assigned to our barracks, I got the very last one in my company, the letter is Z. The barracks are pretty nice, they are made of wood frame construction, and are ke[pt] warm by 3 coal stoves. The first night we were taught how to make our beds.
After we got in our barracks, we had to go right out again to take our I.Q. tests. Boy I was so tired I could hardly keep my eyes open. When he was reading the instructions I didn't hear a word he said. My head was spinning with confusion, not because it was hard, but because I was tired & trying to catch on to everything. But I'll tell you how I made out a little way down in the letter.
From the exam we went to get our "dog tags" as they call them. We have to wear them around our neck at all times no matter where we are. They are two brass plates with my name on & my no.
We finally got to bed about 10:30 - Everything was alright.
They woke us up [at] 5:30 in the morning. They woke up Joe at 4:30 - why I don't know. Then we washed up & came back to our barracks. One moment we wash in the next minute we were to chow. But before we went to chow we had to make our beds for inspection. For breakfast we had ham & eggs, milk, coffee, an apple & 3 plumbs. From there we got off a little time so I wrote you a letter & Grandma a short letter for fear that I wouldn't have chance to write today, but here I am writing, waiting to be called out for something or another. Then we went to the classifying office & I was interviewed. I stressed structural drafting, so where they will place me nobody knows. There I found out that I got 120 & 131 in my I.Q. test. Joe got 107 & 116. So I guess I made out alright. I thought surely he was going to top me, but those are the results. Ma[y]be because I was tired, I thought a little more, who knows.
From there we got our clothing. Gosh it was so heavy some fellows couldn't carry it. But I did. See ma you got a pretty good soldier anyway. We got 64 pieces including toilet articles which I mentioned earlier in the letter. We got one overcoat, one jacket, full jacket, 2 pair of woolen pants & 2 k[h]aki, 2 woolen shirts & two k[h]aki shirts, 2 pair of fatigue pants & jackets, two sets of woolen underwear, 3 summer underwear, 2 ties, 2 barracks bags to carry all your clothes in, 1 canteen, 1 cup, 1 portable eating tray with spoon, fork & knife, 5 pairs of socks, 2 pairs of shoes, 2 caps & 1 jeep hat. I may have forgot something but they gave us so much I don't think anybody could remember it all, no less carrying it all.
From there we got the "hook," finally. You get 3 inoculations--with the first one, you can't move your arm for a day. You keep it bent--known as the hook. Then we ate spinach, potatoes (mash & sweet), ham, cauliflower, coleslaw, bread & butter, ice cream & coffee. We also got our receipt for the insurance (enclosed). In the afternoon we got a speech and a picture on self protection from diseases. Then we had chow. We had the night to ourselves. Now we just get assignments and wait for shipment. I believe if you can get over 110 in the I.Q. you are eligible for candidates school. I'll have to check on that. I think I am on K.P. tomorrow for 19 hrs. but if I get a chance to write, don't worry ma I will.
You feel alright, don't you ma? That's good. I knew you would. Well so long for a while.

Your Caring Son & Soldier Boy,
Tony

The envelope also included a copy of his Application For National Service Life Insurance. On the back it says:
Keep this ma for your record.
Love,
Tony