c/o Co-36-16 San Deigo Cali.
May 24, 1936
Dear Eva & Charles:
Well I’ve got my hair cut to about a half inch. I think most of it is less than a half inch. They cut every body’s hair that way when they first go in. They average less than a minute on our hair cuts. Pretty fast hair cutting I call it. Some of them don’t look so hot. My cut looks better than most of them. They examined every square inch of our body, figuratively speaking, both here and in Frisco. The guys over us sure are tough. They curse us and everything else.
I’m scared to hang around them. There is several hundred of us fellows that are new. We have to stay in a detention here for three weeks, and then we go in with the rest of them.
They gave us $87 worth of clothes. More clothes than I ever saw at one time. For instance; 6 pairs of sailor pants, 6 jumpers, 3 pairs of shoes, every thing imaginable. Even a shoe shining outfit, comb, wash cloth, clothes brush, etc.
We have to drill, march etc. and boy if we don’t catch on the first time they give you….. But this sure is a fun place, nice library, etc.
Well, I must close. I don’t think I will be able to write very often. There is so much to do. And I want to make the trade school. But I will write often as I can.
My address
U.S. Naval Training Sta.
c/o Co. 36-16.
San Diego Calif
With Love, Bill
Pardon the writing. I’m in a library. You have to be here.
Write Soon
I am sending some pictures of this place.