Ernest C. Shawcross
1013 No. Broad Street
Elizabeth, N.J.
12 September, 1943

Dear Miss Thompson:

I have been wanting to write to you for the past month, but there are so many things to be done everyday that I have very little time to myself. I want to thank you for your swell letter and also for the copy of the
gService Men
fs News.
h It was swell to find out how the other fellows are doing in all the branches of the service. I sincerely hope the school will continue to publish the Service Men
fs News because I enjoyed it no end, and I know Bernie and Al did too. Reading about the school and the fellows certainly brought back a lot of memories ? it certainly is a grand school with a grand bunch of fellows and girls. I wish it were September 1939 and I were starting it all over again. There are a lot of things you wish for when you are in the service, and nine time out of ten it is something you had, or some part, of your old way of life.

We lost one of the members of our quartette ? Johnny Russo. Three weeks ago he had an operation in which he had his appendix removed. He was taken to a Navy Hospital on Long Island and was there up until two days ago. He is now at home waiting orders. He will probably go in the next class at Northwestern ? that is if he can get by the physical. It
fs a tough break for him ? he was doing very well over here ? much better than the rest of us have been doing.

As I told you on my card, Al Scott and myself are roommates. Bernie Schneider
fs room is right across the hall from ours, and we all have the same classes and teachers. Even when we are marching in formation we are together ? I have Bernie on my right side and Scott behind me. We were very lucky to be together ? it was purely coincidental. We are kept busy the whole day ? from six in the morning until ten at night ? and it is plenty tough. We have five subjects ? navigation, ordnance, damage control, seamanship and recognition training ? besides drilling for two hours a day. I thought that since I was in the Navy I would not have to march ? well, take it from me, all I do is march. We had a visit from Mel Whiting a couple of weeks ago ? he didn
ft think he was going to stay at C.C.N.Y. Haven
ft had a chance to see the other fellows up there, but there may come a day when we will. Send us anything the school puts out ? newspaper, college catalogue, library bulletins, industrial art articles anything
Ernie