Dear Ma, Pa, Barb, Ann & Ele Letter No. 67

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

Date 8/5/43
Letter No. 67
Rec'd ----

Dear Ma, Pa, Barb, Ann & Ele,

It is now about 9:30 PM Thursday nite and I want to get a letter off before lights out at 10:30.
Today we started our refresher course and just now my head is going round & round. I'll have to do plenty of studying & I do mean studying. Our first class this morning was a study period, next we went to physics, then math & then chemistry. Being that this is a refresher course they just start from the beginning & shoot thru the book and then plenty of work to do trying to keep up with them. After those periods we had chow & then back to a class called military correspondence. After that we have calisthenics & close order drill for two hours. That brings us up to 5 o'clock in the afternoon. Then we take a shower, rush into town for a few min. to pick up some pictures (we had duplicates made) then we rush back to chow. After that we go to a study hall from 7:30 to 9 o'clock where we do our homework. I just got out of study hall now & that brings me up to where I started this letter. I am sorry if it's written in a hurry, because I want to get as much written as possible tonite.
Yesterday we had [it] pretty easy because we were waiting to be assigned to classes & didn't have anything to do so I washed some clothes & ironed my shirt & then did some studying.
Last nite we had a little rain storm & it thundered. It started just as I went to bed about 10:30. It was the first time it rained since I'm here.
Boy it's swell to sleep here. It's nice & cool at nite & a nice cool breeze blows thru the room & you just fall asleep. I think it's the most comfortable I slept in the army.
I don't know whether I told you or not but I got a letter from Sonny & he is making out as an aviation cadet. He passed all his tests. He is at Helena, Ark. He sends his best regards.
I also received two letters from Anita Becker, the girls I started to tell you about in the other letter. Ma she seems like an awful swell girl. She's getting her picture made for me & she is getting my picture made from the studio I got the pictures made for you. She makes me feel swell. I really miss her. It's too bad I couldn't see her a little more. Well that's the way things go & I guess the war won't last forever, especially the way our boys are cleaning up on the other side.
I am in the best of health hope you are all in the best of health. And Ma how are you feeling? I hope I receive a letter from you tomorrow. I am just dying to get some word from home. Until my next letter I remain

Your Loving Soldier Boy,
Tony

Dear Ma, Pa, Barb, Ann & Ele Letter No. 66

Pvt. Anthony J. Curcio

Co. "A" STAR Unit 3902

U. of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho

Dear 8/3/43

Letter No. 66

Rec'd ----

Dear Ma, Pa, Barb, Ann & Ele,

Well everybody I'm in. I passed my tests and today I had an interview & went before the board of 3 officers & I'm accepted. Isn't that swell. They will have classes here for refresher courses in math, physics & chemistry. We will attend these classes until we are called for shipment to a permanent college. I'm praying it's someplace east of the Mississippi. Then after the first 3 months I can get a week off and get home without any trouble. The course I am in is basic Engineering. If I make the first 3 months I go on to the second three months, etc.

One of the boys had some film left in his camera & we took a couple more pictures today. If they turn out OK I will send them on. How did you like the others I sent?

Gosh there isn't much to say because there isn't anything to do around the campus during the week. But as soon as we start our refresher course here, (which can last from 3 days on) we will also have some exercise in the afternoon. I think I will like that.

We have to leave the study hall in a few months so I shall close & try to write tomorrow.

So until then I hope you all are in the best of health. So until my next letter I remain

Your Loving Soldier Boy,

Tony

P.S. I am a buck Private again. But don't feel too bad. There is a master sgt. with us who is now a buck private also. After the course is over & we make the grade we will automatically get stripes. It's a good deal what do you say?

P.S. Borella & Davidson also made it. We will probably stick together for a long time yet.

Dear Ma, Pa, Barb, Ann & Ele Letter No. 65

P.F.C. Anthony J. Curcio

Co. "A" STAR Unit 3902

U of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho

Date 8/2/43

Letter No. 65

Rec'd ---

Dear Ma, Pa, Barb, Ann & Ele,

Boy being at this place portray the army life. We don't have revellie in the morning. Just get up & make your bed before 8 o'clock. But I got up for breakfast.

Sat. we took tests all day. First we were given a psychology test which wasn't to[o] easy. After that we were given an algebra test and last a geometry test. Boy they made my head twirl. I don't think they were to[o] hard. The thing is I didn't have anything like that in such a long time. But they say they are pretty lenient.

Sunday morning Davidson, Borella & I took pictures. I will include them in this letter. I think they came out OK. What do you say?

I also have some postcards which I will send.

Sunday afternoon, Davidson & I went to play a little golf on the University golf course. Davidson was trying to teach me. I got a couple of good wallops that made me feel pretty good. But I think I will need a lot of practice.

Sunday nite I studied some more with one of the boys. We are restricted to the campus grounds all week. The only time we are allowed off is 1 hr. from 5:30 to 6:30 at night incase we want to pick up a few odds & ends & Sat nite & Sunday afternoon we can get off the University grounds. Sunday nite we have to stay in and study. Every nite except Sat. & Sunday we have to come to the Study Hall (where I am now) from 7:30 to 9 o'clock. Then we go back to the barracks & lights out at 10:30.

Today we were supposed to be interviewed to see how we made out etc. But they weren't ready for us so we have to go back tomorrow. Boy I hate to wait in suspense.

I hope I receive some mail tomorrow. I didn't receive any since I'm here.

How is everything home? Is everybody OK?

I will close now because I want to write on the postcards & pictures. Until my next letter I remain

Your Loving Soldier Boy,

Tony

On the back of the picture above, it says, This came the best. Borella is in the middle. Davidson is at the end. You can get a slight glimpse of the hills in the background. Taken on the campus grounds. 8/1/43

Dear Ma, Pa, Barb, Ann & Ele Letter No. 64

P.F.C. Anthony J. Curcio

Co. "A" Star Unit 3902

Univ. of Idaho, Moscow Idaho

Date 7/30/43

Letter No. 64

Rec'd --

Dear Ma, Pa, Barb, Ann & Ele,

I received the telegram tonight. I hope I didn't give you the wrong idea. You said in the telegram that I should hurry home. Well I explained everything in the letter I sent last night. I hope I didn't disappoint you in the telegram. I tried to state clearly that I wanted the money just in case and not that I was coming home. I felt so bad that you did take that interpretation of the telegram. But the reason I wanted the money sent here in a hurry was that I didn't want you to send it to McChord Field & chances are that I will be shipped pretty soon to a permanent college and if the course shouldn't start for a while I may get a furlough until it does start. But I am not in a college yet. I have to pass exams & go before the board here before I get to a permanent college. So keep your fingers crossed. Chances are pretty good that I will be shipped closer to home as they are shipping quite a few to the eastern colleges. So there again keep your fingers crossed.

Then after the first 3 months of my course I get one week off & if I am near home things would be perfect. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Today we didn't do much except study all morning. 5 of us in the little room[...]discussing problems on trig & geometry until my head was spinning. The afternoon we went to one of the buildings to fill out some papers on our schooling and discussed the program. If I pass the tests & the [?] I will be qualified for basic engineering. And after 9 months & I still qualify I can take advanced engineering in civil engineering. I think it's an excellent opportunity. Don't you?

In this course we will get no passes during the week & one pass over the weekend. So it will be no picnic & will have plenty of work to do.

My eyes are bothering me from staring at figures so much. I hope they snap out of it. I guess it will. After not doing anything for quite awhile it's only natural that they should bother me until I get on the ball again.

As I look out of the window you get the most beautiful sights. This country is very hilly & the hills are covered with different patches of vegetables & grass. It looks like a patch quilt in different shades of green. It looks like a painted picture. Oh it's so beautiful I only wish you were here to see it.

The weather is really nice here & is cool at night so I slept pretty well at night.

I will close now hoping everything is clear and hoping you are not disappointed in me not getting my furlough just now & hoping you are proud that I got a chance to try for an army college.

So until I write again I remain,

Your Loving Soldier Boy,

Tony

Dear Ma, Pa, Barb, Ann & Ele Letter No. 63

P.F.C. Anthony J. Curcio
Co. "H" Star Unit 3902

U. of Idaho, Moscow Idaho

Date 7/29/43
Letter No. 63
Rec'd

Dear Ma, Pa, Barb, Ann & Ele,

Boy I guess you were al surprised when you received the telegram. But gosh it all happened so fast.

We found out Wed. that we were going to be shipped to University of Idaho and we packed an off we went! There were only 10 fellows from the whole company so I guess I am pretty lucky. Davidson came along with me. And Borella came from his outfit so we are all together for awhile again. I never thought that anything would come up again about an army college. But you can't tell what's going to happen from one day till the next.

We left at 5 o'clock Wed. night & went to the Union depot in Tacoma. And caught the 8:40 train. We arrived here at 12 noon today just in time for chow. We had pullman cars only I didn't get much sleep because it was so hot. Moscow is right on the border line between Wash. & Idaho. This university is certainly a swell one. It's really beautiful. We have rooms in the dormitory that the girls used to sleep in. They say there are some girls on the grounds but they are probably some place on the other side of the campus. In my room there are 6 other fellows & a suite & a bath tub. Boy I hope to tell you this doesn't feel much like the army.

When we came into the mess hall they had girls & civilians dishing out the food and civilians for K.P.s and the food is swell here. With milk standing on the table. It almost knocked me over.

We were given a little speech by the officer and he told us that this is a replacement [?]. We will be given tests and interviews and if we pass we will leave for one of the colleges. Which one I don't know. But they do send quite a few back east so keep your fingers crossed.

In this course we will have very little time for ourselves. I'll tell you about the schedule when I find out more about it.

That means ma that I won't get my furlough for awhile although if I don't make the grade here they would send me back to my old outfit and things would be the same as before, but I'll try my best because I know you want me to go to college. I asked you in the telegram to wire me the money just in case I should get to a college and if the course didn't start I may have a chance to get a furlough before I did start. That's a long chance but I heard of it happening already.

That's all I can say about what's taken place now but I will write again and let you know as things take place.

Last week when I went to the U.S.O. dance I met a girl named Anita Becker. And so I had a date with her Sunday. You all must think I'm quite a casanova but I am really not. It's just that when I find a nice girl I like to take her out.

Well anyway she took me over to meet her parents and we had a swell time. Peggy was the kind of girl you could have a swell time with, but Anita seemed so different especially when I met her parents and out what a good bringing up she had. And when we sat down to eat Sunday nite her father said a prayer before and after meals. I[t] made me feel so good.

And guess what she can play the piano. And boy can she play. Her hands just glide over the keys. I hope Barb & Ele get to play like that.

Oh. Yes. When we left 5 o'clock Wed. it took us a half hour to get to the Union depot. So we had from that time till 8:30 for ourselves. So I called up Anita as soon as we reached the station and she came down within 30 minutes. She made me feel so good. Like if she cared and when the train pulled out of the station she walked along the station until the train went to[o] fast and the only thing she could do was wave goodbye.

I am sorry I couldn't stay at McChord Field for awhile because I know she would be only to[o] perfect. I hope I get to meet her again sometime. And I know you would like her an awful lot ma. I think she gave me that extra punch before I left and [I] think I will need it as this course isn't going to be any snap as we will be working from morning till night.

I shall close now ma and will write real soon as things progress. Please say a pray[er] that I will pass & that I be sent to a college near home. I will write Grandma tomorrow so tell Grandma all about it until her letter comes, o.k. So until then I remain

Your Loving Soldier Boy,

Tony

Love & Kisses.

Dear Ma, Pa, Barb, Ann & Ele Letter No. 62

P.F.C. Anthony J. Curcio
1875 En. Avn. Bn. Co. H & S
McChord Field, Wash.

Date 7/24/43
Letter No. 62
Rec'd 100 & 101 Boy it certainly is getting high

Dear Ma, Pa, Barb, Ann & Ele,

It is now 7:15 in the morning and I'd thought I would write a letter before I got to work. Today we work on the job. Yesterday we had to train.
Yesterday afternoon I went to the dentist. I had 4 cavities and he fixed them all up. I was in the chair about an hour. It just goes to show you that there isn't much work. When there is no money to pay you can get done awful fast. Isn't that right?
Yesterday afternoon (Thurs) we had our regular retreat parade as we do every Thursday. Boy I love a parade. And from the piece that Eleanor got out of "See Here-Private Hargrove," that's morale. I get a thrill when the band sounds off & the airplanes go zooming overhead. That's one thing I like. I am right guide also. The whole battalion has to guide on me! So I have to watch out I'm in line etc. You can ask Boby what right guide is o.k.

I got a letter from Frank the other day. It took over a month to get back to me. It was a swell letter. I answered him right away and wrote a nice long letter.

Wed. nite I saw "Coney Island." Is it in N.Y. now? I mean the picture (joke). It was pretty good.

Elfrieda wrote me a letter (well still writing to each other as usual) and she ask[ed] me my advice on sending you all an invitation. She thought it would offend you all. But that is silly. I'm sure. So if you would like to go let me know & I will tell her. O.K.

Do you think I should try to get my furlough to see Ele get married? It will come pretty close anyway I guess.

Just Davidson & I are in the tent. Borella was the one that went to the other outfit.

I think I will go to the U.S.O. tonite with Peggy. I'll let you know about it.
I hope you can ge the money to me as soon as possible Ma. But I don't expect it too soon anyway. But just in case.

I will close now we have to fall out in a couple of minutes. So until my next letter I remain

Your Loving Soldier Boy,

Tony

Dear Helen

7/22/43

Dear Helen,

I received your very darling letter of July 13. I guess I must thank you for making such cute & appropriate excuses on the delay of my last letter. May I extend that statement a little further and say that you have an extreme quality of common sense & understanding, plus an excellent way of stating your thoughts. I wish everybody I write to could have just half as much as you have. I am afraid it would help ever so much.
I expect a furlough next month. At that time I will relate to some friends why I couldn't write so often & then I shall be forgiven, up until the time when something comes up and it will start all over again. I guess by this time you think my friend are just awful. So I will justify them by saying that I guess I felt the same way about men in the service when I was a civilian with so much time on my hands I didn't know what to do with it. There is one thing that I forget sometimes & that is, there are two sides to every story. That's why I justify or try to justify to myself when I say anything that can be made into two stories. I guess that's the safest way--Right?
Monday we started training again, but I believe it's only for a short period. One of the jobs we have been working on is not complete yet so we train one day & work on the job the next. Boy it's hard to train again after having it pretty easy for awhile. But I'll get used to it.
I went to a few U.S.O. dances but not so many. It's to hot to dance. Do you find (?) it that way? Last Sunday I went to one of the nearby lakes and we went canoeing. When it came the time to go in we had a little race to the dock with a few friends of ours. They had the race well in hand when something happened & over they went. I am sorry to say, but it sure was funny. I said to them, instead of helping them, "hold on I want to take your picture." I never had such a good laugh. But I felt kind of [sic] sorry for them because of their [sic] newly pressed O.D.'s
I just found out that I may still have a chance to go to an army college. But I'm not saying anything until it happens. I hate to disappoint anybody.
I am so happy you got your raise. I guess we both made a little progress in our respective jobs. I guess I can say we both got a raise even though mine is a bit small.
My 3 sisters are going on a vacation Aug. 14. I am a bit scared because my furlough should fall in about that time. I hope it works out O.K. I wouldn't like to ask my sisters to change their plans. That would be mean I guess. I know how much the planning there is in a vacation. Maybe [sic] it's fun. I haven't did it in such a long time I don't remember.
I got my teeth fixed today. I don't think the dentists are half as bad as the fellows make them. He treated me pretty well. And only 4 cavities in 7 months. That's pretty good for me.
I shall close now hoping you are in the best of health.
Sorry I forgot about the weather. It's hot. We didn't get rain for quite awhile believe it or not. Until the next letter, I remain

As ever
Tony