Sunday Afternoon April 4, 1943

Dear Mother,
          Here it is Sunday afternoon and
time for me to write you another letter.
I received your letter and the picture of
Harley's car. Gosh I bet he really is proud
of it.
          No our chapel wasn't dedicated until
today. It was a very beautiful ceremony. There
was a grand crowd out. The chapel will seat
400 people and it was really crowded. There
were a few standing outside. The chaplain
from Fort Sam gave a wonderful talk.
          I wish you could see the chapel. It looks
like the picture on the front of the bulletin I
am sending you. It is covered with asbetsos
shingles like King's have on there house and
it has amber stained glass in the windows.
          They found an old church bell and had
that installed last week. It has a tile floor
and is finished off inside with this matching
fiber board. It has a tint of pink to it. The
choir sets in back in a choir balcony. They


have a Hammond Electric organ and the
front of the church is really pretty. The alter
is set back in and above this is a large
painting of Jesus saving the lamb. This is
lighted up all the time. They have deep
purple drapes trimed in yellow. Then out
front of the alter is a little raised platform
on each side of this are the pulpits. On the
left side of the church is the American flag
and on the right is the Christian church flag.
It was really banked in flowers this
morning.
          One of the fellows in my barracks is
being married in it Thursday. It will be the
first wedding in the chapel. Public relations
department are going to take pictures. If any
of the post papers have pictures in them I
will try to send you the pictures.
          I wished you could have been to
see and hear the dedication of the chapel. It was
really one of the best messages given at any
dedication I have ever heard.
          Have you heard them broadcasting
for the soldier that was bitten by a dog
in Pittsburg Penn? They have been giving it
on the radio about every 15 minutes.


          We have been having grand weather here
all week long. The first of April we started to
wear out sun tans. Gee it seems good to
get out of the wool clothing. I won't be able
to wear my summer cap I have at home.
They don't allow these to be worn in this
area only by officiers. We are allowed to
wear the fiber sun helmets thou. It has
really been hot here lately. It gets up around
90 here during the day. There is always a
good breeze blowing and if you can get out of the
sun it does feel kinda cool. They say this
isn't hot weather at all yet. It is hot enough
for me.
          I received a letter from Lenore this week.
I didn't get one from Cliff's or Luella's. I guess maybe
I had better write to them. It is getting hard to
answer all my letters every week. By the time
I get them all answered I have to write quite a
few letters. There isn't so much for me to write
about anymore either. I don't hardly know how
to write or to start out anymore. About everything
is the same all the time.
          They are landscaping the field and the military
reservation post here. From the gate where you
enter here there is a boulevard. Along this
they have laid sidewalks and set in trees
they are filling up the center with dirt and


going to plant this into flowers. At the gate
they are building a gate guard house and are
going to put a double arch over the gate
with the guard house in the center. Then the
flag pole and flag. Along the edge of the
boulevard they have fixed parking lots. It
really is going to be a pretty field when it is
all finished. About half way down in the field
they are building a band stand. All the barracks
have asbestos shingles for siding. They are
real light grey. They sure look pretty. I will
try to find some pictures of the field in the paper.
They are putting in more pictures every week.
          Down at the hangers they have a good
assortment of bombers here that are undergoing
repair work at this time. We are working on
them everyday. Gee they are mamonth things.
          I was promised an airplane ride last
week and had a parachute on twice ready to
go and at the last minute orders were changed
so I missed out. One of our test pilots said
he would see that I got my ride. So maybe
I will be getting one soon. I hope so. They
fly around for 2 or 3 hours at a time. Some
of the fellows have flew when they flew 240
miles per hour. They have been up as high
as 1000 feet. Gee I am anxious to get up in
the air.


          Don't worry about me riding in a plane
these planes are safe. The pilots are real
good pilots. A lot of the fellows get sick while
they are riding. I think I will be able to stand
it though. They say this is the best flying spot
to learn pilots to fly. It is clear here and you
can see so far.
          Well I guess I have told you about
everything I can think of for this letter. I don't
know what more to write about. I hope you send
Ilene Whitman's address. I would like to drop in
and see them soon.
          So long for now. What have you been
doing lately and today? Write soon. I will try
to write when I find time.
                                      Love Ralph.


The next letter will be posted on April 10th.

Background Information (and comments):

• You might remember that everyone on base had to get rid of their cameras. That is why Ralph says that he'll try to find pictures in the newspapers to send home. I have attached scans of the bulletin for the dedication ceremony.

• What is a fiber sun helmet? The following website provides a great deal of information and photos. www.militarysunhelmets.com

• I tried to find a photo of the chapel, but was not successful. However, I found a website that provided information about Stinson Field. Here is what was written:

Stinson Field, San Antonio, Tx

Established in 1915 when the Stinson family initially leased the land from the City of San Antonio, Stinson Municipal Airport is the second oldestgeneral aviation airport in continuous operation in the United States.[3]

During World War II the airfield was used by theUnited States Army Air Forces as a training base. At the end of the war the airfield was returned over to the local government for civil use.

The airport currently has an FBO, two flight schools, police and state aviation units, a part 135 operator, two aerial photography outfits, helicopter tour company and helicopter flight school, and numerous general aviation aircraft. It is also home to theTexas Air Museum. The historic terminal was completely renovated in the 2006-2008 time period and runway 9-27 re-opened on March 11, 2010 after being re-surfaced and extended to 5002 feet, allowing the airfield to receive more private and business jet traffic.[4]

In August 2010, The Texas Wing of the Civil Air Patrol announced it will be locating its statewide headquarters to Stinson Municipal Airport.