San Antonio Aviation Cadet Center
San Antonio, Texas

1-14-44

Dear Miss Thompson-

We arrived here just about a week ago and since then weve scrubbed the barracks floor four times, gotten another cadet clip  an air corps application (illegible) the well know G1 haircut, and taken the mental aptitude test for pilot, navigator and bombardier. Today well take the Psychomotor test which will measure our physical reactions so they say. The next few days will be physical examination days. So starting now we are pretty well occupied for the first time since we arrived.

We landed down here via day coaches of the definitely antique classification in the midst of the coldest weather in 52 years of glorious Texass history, which is certainly true. I had never expected to see icicles on cacti, but thats the case right now.

All our gang came from New York and New Jersey. Incidentally, one of the boys in my barracks comes from Jersey City, studied industrial arts at Dickinson High School and he told me he had planned to enter Newark State last Sept. but the boys in Khaki diverted his pathway, somewhat. So, it seems that there are two perspective students for N.S.T.C. down here anyway!

You might be interested in the mental aptitude tests we struggled through yesterday. There were quite a few of them; all in all the tests lasted 6 or 7 hours. We had two math tests, first one was more elementary than the second one, just using the fundamentals, and simple algebra. The second part was much more involved, using much more rate, time, and distance variety- such as a bomber flies at the rate of 200 mph, after it has flown 50 miles, a pursuit ship takes off at the same airport and flies at rate of 350 mph. How long until the pursuit ship overtakes the bomber?

We had a mechanical principle test that was really a gem. It includes most of the physics principles, such as picturing a large drum on a wind---(sp?)  and a small drum  the question being which would require less energy to lift a weight of 100 lbs or so. Still groggy from this, they followed up with a neat Spacial Orientation Test. It included identifying on a drawn map, segments of photographed area.

Then we had a General Information test. Reading comprehension, Dial & Instrument reading problems, and a few other tests which I really dont recall. Heres a testers paradise.

While at (illegible), I took quite a bit of physics, history, English, math & geography. The courses in most of the subjects were comparable to the course probably offered back in Newark. For instance in physics we took a total of 88 class hours and about 80 lab hours  (Physics all day for 2 months). The course was supposed to be equal to a years collegiate course in Physics so I was wondering how I can get credit back at Newark State. Perhaps you could advise me about that, Miss Thompson. I certainly would appreciate it.

Time to leave for the next batch of tests. None of us have very high hopes now since the standards have been raised to pre-war heights, which were quite high  65% higher  so they say. But if were qualified, well go through, if not I supposed were better off washing out now than later on when it really would be harder to take.

Yours,

Art Bowman