June 17, 1942 Camp Custer, Mich.

Dear Mother,

Well here it is Wednesday. So I think I'll write a few lines. I received your letter and was glad to hear from you. I am still here. They are sending them out fast tho. I don't know how soon I'll be going. Monday night I was placed on convoy duty. We had to meet the trains and buses and all new men we had to march to the mess hall and then find them barracks to stay in. I got off of that at 2:30 A.M. Yesterday I had off that is I did not have any detail work to do. To-day I am on guide duty. On from 8 A.M. till 7 P.M. We are on one hour and off one.

Have you written or heard from Irene this week? I received two letters she wrote last week. I haven't received any this week yet from her. I expect one to-day. If I am here yet Sunday, I'll let you know and why don't you come up. I don't think I'll be able to get a pass to come home. I would like to tho.

I got a letter from Harold & Lenore. Tell them if you see them thanks. I haven't sent hardly any out yet because I don't know how long I'll be here. I am the last one left in our barracks that came in last Tuesday night. We receive new ones everynight. So it is pretty hard to make many friends. One fellow named Padding has been here about a month. We get to gether quite often. He is a swell fellow to.

How are the strawberries lasting? I wish you could get sugar like we do, you would enjoy them more then. What did Glenn think of an army camp, or didn't he say?

It isn't so bad. After I get stationed I'll write to everybody, because I'll have a permanent post address then. This way they will have to transfer all of the mail if I go out.

Well I must close for I go on in about 5 min. again. Tell everybody hello for me, and that I'll write as soon as I am shipped out.

Ralph


Background Information:

• Ralph was the son of William Stephen Brown & Bessie Louise Chulip Brown.
• Ralph had 5 brothers and one sister. In birth order the children were Harold, Clifford, Luella, Glenn, Ralph, Harley, and Freeman.
• Harold (born July 13, 1910) was married to Lenore in 1930. They had 2 children, Harold James (born March 14, 1931) and Marilyn Louise (born Aug. 3, 1937).
• Glenn (born Dec. 19, 1916) lived with his parents and helped with running the family farm.
• Ralph passed away on June 17, 1967 (exactly 25 years after this letter was written).

The next posting will be on Sunday, June 21.