Identified as RPE OCR-DA-403-P
NOTE: This is as scanned from a typed document. There are probably some typos still in this version!

When I was in primary flying school at Camden, S.C. there was a time when had gotten two pink slips (slips that indicate a bad day in the air) on consecutive days. The rule was that if you had three pink slips in a row you were set up for a check ride that meant you might be eliminated from the process. I had been in contact with the man who ran the maintenance program and he found out that I had been through the Air Corps mechanics training program and that I knew and understood how the Air Corps ran and operated their inspection program. He told me that if I were not in the flying program he would hire me to run the inspection program for the school. The school was a private contract school and it was hard to find help that was familiar with the program. I realized that I was at the point where I might wash out of the program if things went badly for me the next day. That night I called Martha in Daytona and asked her what I should do, should I try hard to avoid another pink slip or should I wash out and be on the payroll of the school for the rest of the war. of course she said that it was all up to me to make the decision.

I decided that staying in Camden S. C. for the duration was a pretty good idea. The next morning when I went up with my instructor I did all that I could think of that might get me in trouble, always aware that the instructor would keep us from getting in any real trouble. When I climbed, I climbed too fast too fast. When I turned I banked too tight. when I let down I let down too slow. When I landed I over shot the end of the field. As I taxied around for another take off the instructor said to go past the staging stand. When I stopped he got out on the ground, looked me and said "Why don't you take it around by yourself". I was totally shocked but you can believe I was as careful as I possibly could be. I think I made one trip around and came by, talked a minute and he said to go again. When he got back in we went back to the home field he talked to me and explained that our planes had a fixed pitched prop and that they were not all really the same pitch. He said that this prop probably had a little more pitch than most and gave me a little trouble when climbing but that over all it had been a good day. of course I called Daytona and told Martha what had happened. A few days later a notice came up on the bulletin board stating that anyone who came into the Aviation Cadet program from the ranks (previously enlisted) would be returned to their previous organization. That eliminated any idea of being anywhere except where the Air Corps wanted me and I had decided that what I really wanted, was to be in the air and that being a pilot was the best I could hope for.