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Leonard Kephart to Laura Kephart, February 13, 1943, page 1

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  • February 13, 1943 Dear Mama, I hope this gets in the mail downtown in time to reach you on Sunday and also that the P.O. at Boonville has Special Delivery tomorrow. We, evidently, dont. In any case I hope your birthday is celebrated in pro- per fashion and that all is well, or rather that all are well. Its too much to expect that all is well. Me, I’m ready to do a Rip Van Winkle for a year and let’s skip all the things that I’m afraid will happen in the next twelve months. Its a brave man who would prophesy what things will be like then. Probably its just as well. I put off writing this letter in hopes of having a picture of the baby to include. But the little rascal has chosen the last three nights to act up and we could not get any decent shots of him until last evening and I haven’t the prints of those yet. I’ll send some though in a day or two. He really is a fine baby. He weighed only about 7 pounds when he was born but now, at two months, he is over 11 and has three chins. Boy does he like to eat. Ralph has named him Rootin-Tootin because he is either rooting or tooting all the time. But he sure is a sweet little old fella and its going to be hard to let him go. Jane is leaving Thursday for Atlanta where Ralph was transferred the first of February. He is inspector of construction, or planning rather for all the Air Corps fields in the South- Eastern area. Dont know how he got to be an expert on Airfield planning but that’s what he is. Evidently they think he is pretty good for this is certainly a pretty reasonible [sic] job. Also its a lucky break. He was original- a reserve Officer in the Infantry but by some hokus-pokus known only to the army he became an Air Corps officer. Anyway it keeps him on this side of the ocean and I’m not above liking that. I’d rather he would be a live officer than a dead hero. We already have three dead boys in this neighborhood and I’m afraid there will be more. Buddy is back at sea on patrol off Cape Hatteras. His boat was a long time getting re-habilitated [sic] but now its better than new and he is glad to be on board again. He applied for Coast Guard Air Corps training some time ago but they are not making any appointments now and he may not get in. I would not be surprised if they put every boat that will float on convey duty to Europe and North Africa this spring. The submarines are going to make a supreme effort to stop the convoys before the Navy can get togethear [sic] enough escort vessels to protect them and it means that every escort vessel that they can lay their hands on will be used between now and July. An 83-footer isp [sic] pretty small to cross the ocean in bad weather but they may have to. It will be tough going if they do. Buddy’s address, for the time being, is Ensign George O. Kephart, Morehead Section Base, Morehead City, North Carolina. Barbara and Mary Ann returnes [sic] yesterday from a visit to Buddy at M.C. Mary Ann has been here since her father died in January. Barbara was thrilled
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