Phil Wood's Letters
Letter #29
A Secret – A Real One
To Margretta & Gretchen
20 July 1943
Tuesday
(July 20, 1943)[1]
Dear Girls,
At last I feel military and in the swing of things! I too have a secret – a real one this time. This week, I’ve been going to this special school – a new secret weapon, hasn’t even been fully developed yet – you’ll probably read about it in the papers in a couple of months. I was the one officer in the Battalion picked to go to the school and bring the dope back to the rest of them.[2] And I went back to the Tent Camp last night to put on a demonstration of my mortars before a couple of Generals and a flock of Colonels. I’m beginning to feel like King Tut around here, and the boys did well last night, too.[3]
Oh, Mother – will you send the watch back as is – no repairs because they’ve suddenly decided to recall them all. I’ll have to buy back my own, which I sold to one of my squad leaders. I got the boots, thankee, but haven’t worn them yet because I want to get hobnails put on them – they’ll wear forever that way. Oh, and could you send me one set of enlargements, “master” size, of those pictures, plus another set, same size of those ones of the house – for Rusty. I wrote her again yesterday, though there have been no letters between us for two months. I don’t know what I’m doing as far as Rusty is concerned, except that I’m
reacting rather than acting, and just hoping that it leads me in the right direction. I’m out at sea – no matter how much I worry and think about it I get nowhere – don’t know what I want or where she stands, and probably won’t know until I see her again.
You know, I didn’t get any letters from you all for a whole week. At the end of it, I felt lost. You have no idea how much those letters mean to me, anywhere, but especially out here in the wilderness. I don’t think I realized it myself fully until I didn’t get them. But they all came finally – they were over at 14 QBI and the address is 16 QB4 –we’ve moved barracks.
[Letter unsigned]
Footnotes
[1] Postmarked 22 July 1943
[2] Phil is referring to the mobile rocket artillery systems, a concept undergoing extensive training at Camp Pendleton in the summer of 1943. His service record notes: “12 July–21 July, Rocket Indoctrination Course, Tent Camp #3.”
[3] Tent Camp was a training location out in the Pendleton boondocks. Companies and battalions rotated through for periods of a few days up to several weeks. When Phil refers to being “out in the wilderness,” he is usually referring to Tent Camp and its surrounding area.
[4] A “torch song” is a sentimental song about a lost or unrequited love – a common theme for Phil in recent letters, including the name of his singing group with Ed Keyes. It is not known if this is the same Pomona student whom Phil referenced dating back in May.
Phil is not exaggerating his secret by much. Between 12-21 July, he was witness to some of the earliest demonstrations of experimental rocket artillery systems used by the Marine Corps. These truck-borne units could quickly maneuver into position, unleash a barrage of 4.5-inch rockets, and speed away in a matter of minutes. The concept itself needed quite a bit of refinement, and the rocket troops – dubbed “Buck Rodgers Men” – saw their first combat on Saipan the following year. Phil’s training at this course was probably centered on liaison work, as the rocket trucks were intended to provide close support for infantry.
The Weapons Platoon, particularly the mortarmen, put on a number of high-profile demonstrations for senior officers – which would seem to speak highly of their proficiency.
