The following letter was written by my grandfather (Kelly
Dixon, C/270) from Camp Adair to his sister. It was written on U.S.
Army Air Corp stationary.Camp Adair
Oregon
7 May 1944
Dear Zylphia, James & Kids:
Received your nice letter and will endeavor to answer it.
This leaves me feeling o.k. except for sore feet, tired back and
slightly hungry. Ha! Ha. I sure could use some fried chicken now
even if I did have some for chow to-day. When your chickens
get large enough I'm coming up for a chicken dinner. I like the Army
allright except for the chow which is too scanty here. I guess James
is kinda sore about not going to the Navy isn't he? I know Jim is
full of eagerness to be in uniform. I gues he is gone by now.
Well I'll try to tell you all about my outfit. I'm in the
Provisional Replacement Training Center of the 70th Infantry
Division known as the Oregon Trailblazers. Camp Adair is located in
the Willamette River Valley, a beautiful place. Portland, Oregon is
75 miles north and Pacific Coast is 60 miles west. Salem, the state
capitol, is 26 miles away. There is a Marine Air Base at Corvallis,
Oregon and a woman's college there also so there are gangs of women
over there. Corvallis is only eight miles from camp. Clint is in the
same barracks I am and is doing o.k. Me & him went over to Corvallis
last nite and came back to camp at about 1:30am. Went to several
bars, beer gardens and finally the USO, a real nice place. I danced
with some of these Oregon women. 99% of them are tall as the dickens
and none I have seen are good-looking as the W. Va. gals. We were on
the rifle range all week shooting the M-1 rifle also the carbine. I
made marksman rating on the M-1 with a score of 162 out of 210. We
marched out to the range every morning at about 6:00 and back every
evening at 7:30 carrying a full field pack and rifle also. That's
just plain T.S. to me.
The weather here was terrible from the day I arrived till
last Sunday. Rain all the time. Then last Sunday the sun came out
and it's been pretty and clear ever since. This summer will be dry
and hot as every summer is here. However I may be shipped to another
camp in a week or so. Well write and tell the local news soon as you
get time. Thell the kids hello for me and everyone else too. Be
seeing you soon.
Your Brother,
"Eugene"
P.S. I saw Bluefield paper with Col. German's* picture in
it.
P.S.S. I think James got a T.S.S. on the Navy deal.
*Webmaster note: Could note quite decipher my
grandfather's handwriting on this one. The name is my best
interpretation.
